British influences
The Gustavsberg Parian production was highly influenced by the British ceramic industry. The parian porcelain was first developed by the English company Copeland & Garret in the 1840s. It was named after the legendary Parisian marble of the antique world. Parian is characterized by its white, matte surface, similar to something between plaster and marble.
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- Gustavsberg Parian pitcher from the 1860s
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- Drawing of Gustavsberg porcelain factory in the 1870s
The start of Gustavsberg parian production
In Sweden, Gustavsberg porcelain factory started producing parian in 1861. It was initiated by the British George Barlow, who then worked as a factory foreman for many decades. Initially, Gustavsberg fetched workers, patterns, models and materials from Great Britain. Within a decade, the parian production developed a more distinctive Swedish style.
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- Public art sculpture “Baltesspannarna” (The Duellists) by J.P. Mollin
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- Old Gustavsberg parian sculpture “Bältesspannarna” (The Duellists). Early 20th century.
The scope of Gustavsberg parian
The original Gustavsberg parian series was crafted until 1933. It comprises about 250 objects, mainly sculptures ranging from well-known motifs from ancient times, to sentimental child figures. The most well-known parian sculptures are smaller versions of famous public Swedish artworks, like the “Baltespannarna” (The Duellists) by Johan Peter Molin.
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- Parian sculpture “Ariadne”. 1868-1925. Height 45 cm / 17.7 inches.
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- Kaolin clay
The production process
The Gustavsberg parian was made of 1/3 kaolin clay, 1/3 Swedish feldspar and 1/3 Cornwall stone (English feldspar). The raw materials were ground down and mixed with water. The early items were modeled by hand, but later molds were used for production. A parian sculpture was casted in many different parts, which were then merged with a thicker parian mass. The objects were marked with the factory stamp and the parian maker’s signature. The burning then occurred at about 1200°C (2200°F) for 50 hours.
A selection of Gustavsberg old production parian objects
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- Parian sculpture “Skonheten” (The Beauty). 1889-1899. Height 23 cm / 9.1 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Solrosen” (Sunflower). 1918-1925. Height 50 cm / 19.7 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Amor och Psyche” (Amor an Psyche). 1860-1890. Height 28 cm / 11.0 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Orleansk jungfru” (Maiden from Orleans). 1900-1925. Height 29 cm / 11.4 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Kristus” (Christ). 1872-1925. Height 30 cm / 11.8 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Hager i vass” (Heron in the reed). 1860-1890. Height 28 cm / 11.0 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Viking” (Viking). 1899-1925. Height 34 cm / 13.4 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Leendet” (The smile). 1907-1925. Height 25 cm / 9.8 inches.
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- Parian sculpture “Neapolitansk fiskargosse” (Neapolitan fisherboy). 1868-1925. Height 27 cm / 10.6 inches.
Stig Lindberg’s parian series
Stig Lindberg rediscovered the Parian material in the 1960s. His parian series consists of seven sculptures in a limited edition of 500-1 000 pieces. These modernistic interpretations of the older parian production are today highly sought after by collectors.
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- “Stora Eva” (Large Eve). 1977. Height 30 cm / 11.8 in.
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- “De tu” (The Two). 1977. Height 18 cm / 7.1 in.
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- “Tvillingarna” (The Twins). 1977. Height 24 cm / 9.4 in.
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- Stig Lindberg holding a unique pre-production “Narcissus”.
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- “Narcissus”. 1977. Height 21 cm / 8.3 in.
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- “Mannen med masken” (The man with the mask). 1977. Height 24 cm / 9.4 in.
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- “Susanna i badet” (Susanna in the bath). 1977. Height 41 cm / 16.1 in.
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- “Lilla Eva” (Small Eve). 1977. Height 18 cm / 7.1 in.
Please visit our Stig Lindberg Parian gallery if you are looking for high-quality Nordic design.
