RICE PORCELAIN BOWL FK/1

Rice Porcelain was inspired by Chinese "hotarude" (firefly) porcelain, which the creator saw at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna in the early 1930s, and it took 10 years to perfect.
The openwork patterns are individually cut by craftsmen using a special knife, then bisque-fired at 800°C, glazed, and fired again at 1380°C. This process vitrifies the cut areas, allowing light to pass through and making the openwork patterns stand out.
Initially, even small pieces took four days to produce as unique items, but after further research, they began to be manufactured as a product series from 1950.
It was exhibited at the Milan Triennale in 1951.

This piece features a rare pattern.
The cut mark reads "ARABIA -F.H.Kj- MADE IN 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 School of Arts and Crafts in Graz, 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, which was 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 created art pieces as an artist in the art department.

Her masterpiece, the Rice Porcelain series, introduced in 1942, began mass production in 1950 and continued until 1974, becoming a long-selling model and 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 on the outskirts of Helsinki, and began operations the following year, 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, measuring 112 meters long, was introduced, establishing production efficiency and a mass production system. This allowed Arabia to develop into one of Europe's leading ceramic factories.

In 1932, Kurt Ekholm was appointed art director and organized Arabia's artistic activities into an art department. He created an environment for artists and established a system for developing both products and art pieces in parallel.

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

The art department included Toini Muona, Friedl Kjellberg, Michael Schilkin, Birger Kaipiainen, Rut Bryk, and Kyllikki Salmenhaara. Their works gained international recognition from the 1930s onwards, contributing to Arabia's cultural aspect and playing an important role in the development of Finnish ceramics.

In the 1940s, Friedl Kjellberg developed Rice Porcelain using the "hotarude" (firefly) technique. Mass production began in 1950 and continued until 1974, becoming a long-selling product and earning international acclaim as Arabia's representative artistic porcelain.

Against the backdrop of functionalism spreading in Northern Europe in the 1930s, Ekholm introduced the AR series (SINIVALKO) tableware in 1935, demonstrating the direction of later Nordic modern design.

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

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