Arabia 135: Ceramics - Art - Industry

until sunday january 25 2009
Design Museo
T : +358 (0)9 622 0540
Korkeavuorenkatu 23
00130 Helsinki
Finland

Public Relations
Christa Pelin
T : +358 (0)9 6220 5428
christa.pelin@designmuseum.fi

info@designmuseum.fi
www.designmuseum.fi

With what would Finns have used as coffee cups and plates over the past century if the Rörstrand porcelain factory of Sweden had not received permission in 1873 from the Imperial Senate of Finland to establish a subsidiary named Arabia in Helsinki.


Teacup and plate, mold D, decoration Canton. Faiance, copperplate technique. 1893-1925. Copperplate, decoration Canton. Photo: Rauno Träskelin.

The Arabia Porcelain Factory did not supply the Finnish market alone, and by the late 1940s it had grown to become Europe's largest porcelain factory.
The exhibition at Design Museum includes Arabia's popular tableware and ornamental models throughout the company's history. The exhibits range from the initial products through various services with exotic plant and floral motifs, such as Fasan Willow, Japan, Canton, Singapore, Diana, Koti and Myrna, to the multi-purpose functional collections of the past years and decades. These include Kilta, Teema, Paratiisi, Valencia, Ruska, Liekki, Arctica, Olo and many others. The exhibition also provides information on different materials and techniques of manufacture and decoration. Works by the designers of the Arabia Art Department are an impressive visual aspect of the exhibition. The featured designers include Friedl Holzer-Kjellberg, Toini Muona, Michael Schilkin, Birger Kaipiainen, Rut Bryk, Kyllikki Salmenhaara, Raija Tuumi, Aune Siimes, Liisa Hallamaa, Annikki Hovisaari, Sakari Vapaavuori, Oiva Toikka, Heljä Liukko-Sundström, Kati Tuominen and Kristina Riska.