Rörstrand porcelain was one of the most famous Swedish porcelain manufacturers, with production initially at Karlbergskanalen in Birkastan in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

History

The Rörstrand waterfront site was first documented in the 13th century when Magnus Ladulås donated property to the Convent of

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

. In 1527, the area was returned to the crown under Gustavus Vasa. The area was named "Rörstrand" because the clear lake's shore was overgrown with reeds. After an "Associations contract between all concerned in the Swedish Porcelain works, which will be established at great Rörstrand in the

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

manner" was signed in 1726, a porcelain factory was built at the castle of Rörstrand. The factory had indeed been given the privilege to produce true porcelain, but

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

was the only ware that was made until the 1770s. In 1758, the rival manufactory at Marieberg began to produce porcellanous

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

. High production costs, a small market, and intense competition from imported Chinese porcelain kept Rörstrand from trying to copy Marieberg's goods. By the 1770s, Rörstrand began producing its version of English stoneware, but it took a substantial amount of time until Rörstrand mastered the technology. After the acquisition of Marieberg in 1785, Rörstrand was the only major Swedish porcelain factory, and technology was not a priority. Only after Gustavsberg, founded in 1826, became a competitor, mass production of transfer-printed tableware (earthenware) took off. During the 1860s, the Rörstrand porcelain facility was one of the nation's largest factories. In 1900, Rörstrand employed around 1,100 people. The factory's products had an excellent reputation worldwide, and it participated successfully in various art and industrial exhibitions. The expansion of Stockholm required land for housing. In 1926, the factory in Rörstrand was closed and demolished. Production was then moved to

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

(after the Gothenburg porcelain factory was acquired) and then to

Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the seat of Lidköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2021. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Vänern and sometimes refers to itself as "Lidkö ...

in the 1930s. Between 1960 and 1990, Rörstrand passed through several owners, including Upsala-Ekeby AB, Finnish

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...

, Hakusan and Gustavsberg porcelain factory. As of 2001, Rörstrand is a part of Iittala, which moved production to Sri Lanka and Hungary. On 30 December 2005, the factory in Lidköping closed down. Thus, an important chapter of Swedish industrial history ended after almost 280 years. In 2007, Iittala, which owns the Rörstrand brand, was acquired by

Fiskars Fiskars Corporation (natively Fiskars Oyj Abp; formerly Fiskars Oy Ab until 1998) is a Finnish consumer goods company founded in 1649 in Fiskars, Finland, Fiskars, a locality in the town of Raseborg, Finland, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) wes ...

. The former porcelain factory is now a museum, in which the legacy lives on.

Tableware

Complete dinnerware table sets in the same decor could be ordered from the beginning. These sets were usually custom-made, and no product names were assigned. When printed decors for mass production appeared —the first dinnerware dates from 1826—they were not given product names. In the mid-1800s, a few descriptive names, such as "Turkish pattern," appeared in the price lists, but product names for tableware were introduced only at the end of the 1800s. The exception is the

Willow pattern The Willow pattern is a distinctive and elaborate chinoiserie pattern used on ceramic tableware. It became popular at the end of the 18th century in England when, in its standard form, it was developed by English ceramic artists combining and ...

, already well-known and well-reputed in England; Rörstrand produced its decor version between 1830 and 1888. The "Purple Lace" pattern was one of the most popular tableware patterns of the 1800s. It was produced from 1845 to 1934 and remained popular well into the 1900s. At the turn of the century, Rörstrand created a range of tableware sets, such as "Bella" and "Vineta," produced for nearly 50 years. Another of Rörstrand's long-running dinnerware sets was "Green Anna" (Swedish: Gröna Anna or Grön Anna). The Gothenburg Porcelain Factory produced the design starting in 1926. Ostindia is an example of one of the factory's popular designs; it is still made today. As for more recent productions, "Mon Amie" - the white porcelain tableware with cobalt blue nuanced flowers - was designed by Marianne Westman in 1952. Through the years, "Mon Amie" became a classic and was relaunched in 2008 as a celebration of Marianne Westman's 80th birthday. In 1956, Rörstrand designer Hertha Bengtson developed "Koka Blå". In the 1960s, the "Koka" design was also launched in brown and green versions.

Some important products

*Since the 1760s, leading manufacturers of stoves *1760s: first printed decors *1770s: first pieces of earthenware *1881: first dinner service of feldspar porcelain *1930: presentation of the National tableware, designed by Louise Adelborg, the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 *1991: presentation of the Nobel tableware, used since the Nobel Banquet

Some Rörstrand designers and potters

Gallery

File:Crayfish plate, probably designed by Alf Wallander (1862-1914), Rorstrand, c. 1911, creamware - Nordiska museet - Stockholm, Sweden - DSC09814.JPG, Crayfish plate, probably designed by Alf Wallander (1862-1914), Rorstrand, c. 1911, creamware File:Rorstrand Mon Amie dinner plate.jpg, A plate from Rorstrand's Mon Ami line, designed by Marianne Westman File:Rörstrand Vieta mark.jpg, A Rörstrand mark on the bottom of a piece from the Vieta line, Carl Harry Stalhane File:Bla eld kant300x200.jpg, A detail of the braided detail on a piece from the "Blå Eld" (Blue Fire) line.

References

Citations

Sources

*Ankarberg, Carl-Henrik; Nystrom, Bengt: Rörstrand in Stockholm: brick, ceramic fajansmanufaktur and major industry 1270-1926, Stockholmia, Stockholm 2007, Monographs issued by the City, 0282-5899; 184 (Swedish). ISBN 978-91-7031 - 184-0 (inb.). Libris 10,468,157 *Bæckström, Arvid: Employment and disciplinary conditions in Rörstrands porcelain factory during the 1700s, the Museum of Technology, Stockholm 1934 (Swedish). Libris 10,353,271. *Bæckström, Arvid: A so-called Cadogan-pitcher from Rörstrands childhood, Gothenburg 1951 (Swedish). Libris 10,553,574 *Bæckström, Arvid: Some ceramic messages: one more Cadogan-pitcher, Gothenburg 1953 (Swedish). Libris 10,553,585 *Candr'eus, Cecilia: "... new materials and manageable products ...": of Gustavsberg Fabriker manufacture of household plastics 1945-1970, Department of Art History University of Uppsala, Uppsala, 1998 (Swedish). Libris 10,145,021 *Eriksson, Gunilla: Flint Porcelain with printed decoration, Kulturen, Lund 1969 (Swedish). Libris 10,556,682 *Folcker, Eric G.: The oldest Rörstrandsfajanserna, 1910-1925 (Swedish). Libris 10,556,740. *Herlitz Gezelius, Ann Marie: Rörstrand, Signum, Lund 1989, Books on Art (Signum), 99-0345976-9 (Swedish). (inb.). Libris 7748022 *Jarefjäll, Katali; Quirin Bertil: Rörstrand: people, objects, plant, Bertil Quirin, enter2006 (Swedish). (inb.). Libris 10,283,218 *Johansson, G.: Rörstrand: from manufacture to modern large-scale industry, 1726–1944, Malmo 1944 (Swedish). Libris 9820376 *Lagercrantz, Bo: Iris, Vineta and Green Anna Rörstrands Tableware 1860-1960, ICA, Västerås 1962 (Swedish). Libris 8873368 *The new Rörstrand. weden1951 (Swedish). Libris 11,356,427 *Lagercrantz Stay: Rörstrand: decors 1850-1990, Rörstrands museum, [Lidköping 1990 (Swedish). Libris 1235293 *Nystrom, Bengt; Brunius Jan: Rörstrand 280 years: the faience, earthenware, porcelain & stoneware, Ica, Västerås 2007 (Swedish). (inb.). Libris 10,140,658 *Rörstrand Museum (Lidköping); Eklund Petter: Rörstrand Museum: everyday products and porslinsprimadonnor, Rörstrand Museum, Lidköping 2008 (Swedish). Libris 10,740,953 *Vogel Rödin Gosta: Rörstrand 250 years: the exhibition 17 June to 31 August 1976, Västergötland tourist association, Skövde 1976 (Swedish). Libris 1,320,085 *Gyllensvärd Bo, Hernmarck Carl: Rörstrand during three centuries: 1726-1943: Exhibition April 3 to May 16, 1943, *Nationalmuseum, Stockholm 1943, the National Museum exhibition catalog, 0585-3222, 91 (Swedish). Libris 1,411,525 *Rörstrands porcelain factory., Strengnas printed to Carl Erik Ekmarck. 1831 (Swedish). Libris 10,197,300 *Rörstrand Decors., Hackman Rörstrand, Lidköping 1996 (Swedish). Libris 2233424. *Scherman, Susanna, 1964 -; Perlmutter, Michael: The Swedish stove: 1700s production from Marieberg and Rörstrand, *Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 2007 (Swedish). (inb.). Libris 10,415,873 *Ray, Gustaf Holdo: Rörstrand and Marieberg: a contribution to the Swedish ceramics history of UTI 18th century., The author., Stockholm 1870 (Swedish). Libris 1585292 *Ray, Gustaf Holdo: Rörstrands history and the effects of 1726-1850., Stockholm 1879, Rörstrands collection of earthenware and porcelain, a (Swedish). Libris 1610727 *Terrine from then and now: Rörstrand United States 260 years, 1986 (Swedish). Libris 3264927

External links

Rörstrands PorcelainRörstrand Museum in LidköpingPorcelain factory in LidköpingArticle about Rörstrand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rorstrand Porcelain Ceramics manufacturers of Sweden Defunct manufacturing companies of Sweden Purveyors to the Court of Sweden Wärtsilä Fiskars Lidköping Companies based in Stockholm 1720s establishments in Sweden 18th-century establishments in Stockholm