RICE PORCELAIN "OKSA" BOWL FK/68 with BLACK FOOT RING

Rice Porcelain was inspired by Chinese "rice grain" porcelain that Kjellberg saw at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna in the early 1930s and took ten years to complete.
Each openwork pattern is individually cut by hand with a special knife, then bisque-fired at 800°C, glazed, and fired again at 1380°C, turning the cut-out parts into a glassy material that allows light to pass through and highlight the openwork pattern.
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 is a rare piece with a matte black-brown glazed foot.
"OKSA" in Finnish means "twig."
The cut signature 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 ceramist. She studied ceramics at the Graz School of Arts and Crafts in Austria and began her career as a ceramist at Arabia after graduating 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 created art pieces as an artist in the art department.

Her masterpiece, the Rice Porcelain series, announced in 1942, became a long-selling model, mass-produced from 1950 until 1974, and is highly acclaimed internationally 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 in 1874. In 1916, it separated from Rörstrand's capital and became an independent Finnish company.

In 1929, the world's largest tunnel kiln, spanning 112 meters, was introduced, streamlining production and establishing a mass production system. This led to Arabia's development 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 a production environment for artists and established a system that simultaneously developed both products and art pieces.

A major characteristic of Arabia is that product development has been carried out through the mutual 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 acclaim from the 1930s onward, playing a cultural role for Arabia and an important part in the development of Finnish ceramics.

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

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

In 1945, Kaj Franck joined as a designer and, along 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 has won numerous awards since the 1930s, but its global reputation was particularly established at the Milan Triennale in the 1950s (1951, 1954, 1957), where many products by designers, in addition to works by artists from the art department, received awards.