RICE PORCELAIN "VIIRU" MUG FK/7

Rice Porcelain was inspired by Chinese "rice grain" porcelain that she saw at the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts in the early 1930s, and it took 10 years to perfect. Each openwork pattern is cut by hand by artisans using a special knife, then bisque-fired at 800°, glazed, and fired again at 1380°, causing the cut sections to vitrify and the openwork pattern to emerge through the light. Initially, even small pieces were unique items that took four days to produce, but after further research, they began to be manufactured as a product series from 1950. It was exhibited at the Milan Triennale in 1951.

"VIIRU" means "thread" in Finnish.
The cut mark is "ARABIA -F.H.Kj- FINLAND"
*In very good condition with no noticeable damage.

FRIEDL KJELLBERG｜1905–1993｜AUSTRIA

Friedl Kjellberg was an Austrian female ceramic artist. She studied ceramics at the Graz School of Applied Arts in Austria, and after graduating, began her career as a ceramic artist at Arabia in 1924.

She was also a founding member of Arabia's art department, established by Kurt Ekholm in 1933, and served as director from 1948 to 1950, succeeding Kurt Ekholm.

During her 46 years at Arabia, she primarily produced art pieces as an artist in the art department.

The Rice Porcelain series, her representative work announced in 1942, became a long-selling model manufactured from 1950 to 1974, and is internationally acclaimed as Arabia's representative artistic porcelain.

ARABIA｜1873 –｜FINLAND

Arabia was founded in 1873 as a subsidiary of the Swedish ceramics manufacturer Rörstrand in the Arabia district of Helsinki, and began operations the following year in 1874. In 1916, it separated from Rörstrand's capital and became an independent Finnish company.

In 1929, the world's largest tunnel kiln at the time, stretching 112 meters, was introduced, establishing production efficiency and a mass production system. This allowed Arabia to develop into one of Europe's leading ceramics factories.

In 1932, Kurt Ekholm was appointed art director and organized Arabia's artistic activities into an art department. He created an environment conducive to artists' work, establishing a system that allowed for the parallel development of products and art pieces.

A major characteristic of Arabia is that product development has been carried out through the interaction of three fields: the art department, the applied art department, and the product design department.

Artists such as Toini Muona, Friedl Kjellberg, Michael Schilkin, Birger Kaipiainen, Rut Bryk, and Kyllikki Salmenhaara participated in the art department. Their works gained international recognition from the 1930s onwards, playing a significant role in Arabia's cultural aspect and the development of Finnish ceramics.

In the 1940s, Friedl Kjellberg developed Rice Porcelain using the rice grain technique. Mass production began in 1950 and it became a long-selling product that continued until 1974, receiving high international acclaim as Arabia's representative artistic porcelain.

Against the backdrop of the functionalism that spread in Northern Europe in the 1930s, Ekholm released the AR series (SINIVALKO) tableware in 1935, indicating the direction of later Nordic modern design.

In 1945, Kaj Franck joined as a designer and, together with Kaarina Aho and Ulla Procopé, spearheaded the renewal of product design. The Kilta series, released in 1953, achieved great success as innovative modern design tableware characterized by simple geometric forms and versatility.

Arabia boasts numerous awards since the 1930s, but particularly in the 1950s at the Milan Triennale (1951, 1954, 1957), many products by designers in addition to works by artists in the art department received awards, establishing its global reputation.