1970 BAVARIAN PORCELAIN
Pale, yet big on texture, Rachel Leedham’s displays of Seventies vases are constantly evolving, as she explains to Ruby Henderson
Every time I visited an antiques fair, I realised that I was gravitating towards Op art vases from the 1970s. I love the matt porcelain and the strong patterns – they give a sense of movement and add a wonderful, textural quality to a white- on-white interior,’ says Rachel, who has been collecting white Bavarian porcelain for the past 20 years. ‘The designs sit beautifully with the Modernist furniture we have in our home,’ she adds.
Rachel began buying pieces at antiques shops on Camden Passage and also from fairs such as Midcentury Modern and The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea but, as she honed her eye, she also began purchasing from eBay and Etsy. ‘In the early days, I bought a few glazed vases, but I have since sold them on. For me, it is the bisque pieces that are particularly striking.’
A number of German porcelain manufacturers produced these designs in the late 1960s and 1970s. Heinrich, Hutschenreuther and Eschenbach are just a few names, but one of the most famous is Rosenthal, which commissioned the likes of Danish painter, designer and artist Bjørn Wiinblad and the great Finnish Modernist designer, Tapio Wirkkala. They both created pieces for Rosenthal’s trailblazing ‘studioline’ brand. One of the most enduring collections for ‘studioline’ is the ‘Plissee’ range, created in 1968 by German architect and designer Martin Freyer. It featured a collection of pleated, onionshaped vessels in white or black, and Rosenthal still produces three of the designs, including the elegant large ‘Plissee’ vase pictured in Rachel’s home on page 72 (£408).
Another jewel in the crown of her collection is the ‘Pollo’ vase by Tapio Wirkkala, a stylised chicken shape featuring delicate beading around its slender neck. ‘I had acquired the much smaller version of the vase when Rosenthal was still producing it, and when I spotted a large, vintage example at a fair, I decided I had to have it,’ Rachel recalls.
Each piece can stand alone, but Rachel likes to group them en masse around her home. ‘I play with the shapes, the heights and the di erent patterns. Sometimes, I might bring together all my pleated vases – I have nearly 10 in di erent sizes – and then a few months later, I’ll mix them up with other designs. I have so many vases now that I have to rotate them. I even use some of them as pen pots on my desk!’
The beauty of these pieces is that they are still very a ordable. ‘I’ve bought some of mine for as little as £15,’ says Rachel. ‘They make fantastic gifts for like-minded friends, who have started their own collections.’