Bing & Grøndahl
Founded in 1853 by Royal Porcelain figure-maker Frederik Vilhelm Grøndahl, who died a year and a half later, and book and art dealer / brothers Meyer and Jacob Bing, Bing & Grøndahl became an international contender in the ceramics market by 1860. In the 1880s, the firm adopted the Japanese aesthetic and the practice of underglazing, and began brushing and spraying muted color onto objects to achieve fresh and airy results.
Porzellanfabrik Bing & Grøndahl was the first private porcelain manufactory in Denmark. In 1888, the firm introduced the Heron service, which was a great success at the World Exposition in Paris, 1889. From 1897 onwards, Bing & Grøndahl moved in the direction of decorative sculpture and in 1914 began producing stoneware. When Bing & Grøndahl merged with the Royal Porcelain factory in 1987, the joint name became Royal Copenhagen. Bing & Grøndahl's three-steeple mark in green underglaze (pictured) was in use from 1902.
When a period of artistic leadership by Harald Bing (son of one of the founders) came to a conclusion, Pietro Krohn took on the role. In around 1895, soon after the Copenhagen art museum formed a decorative arts department, the museum acquired a collection of Bing & Grøndahl ceramics. By this time, the firm had shifted from historical revival styles to the aesthetics of Japanism and naturalism. Further stylistic advances were made under the next art director, Ferdinand Willumsen. A painter who had studied in Paris, Willumsen became familiar with French ceramics and ceramists while there. Ceramics produced under his direction featured modeling of the surfaces... either by means of relief carving or applied sculpture... to depict blossoms, leaves, and sea life. Effie Hegerman-Lindencrone and Fanny Garde were two leaders in this type of design. Hans Peter Kofoed supplied many simple shapes that were perfect vehicles for underglaze painting without carved or applied sculpture. Because many of the same decorators worked for Bing & Grøndahl and Royal Porcelain, work from the two factories is often similar.
