RICE PORCELAIN "RIVI" BOWL FK/34

Rice Porcelain was completed after 10 years of effort, inspired by the Chinese "firefly" porcelain that the artist admired at the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts in the early 1930s.
Each openwork pattern is cut out by a craftsman using a special knife, then bisque-fired at 800°C, glazed, and fired again at 1380°C. The cut-out parts become vitreous, allowing light to pass through and making the openwork pattern appear.
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 in 1950.
The series was exhibited at the Milan Triennale in 1951.

The cut mark is 'ARABIA -F.H.Kj- MADE IN FINLAND'.
'RIVI' means 'line' in Finnish.
*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 School of Applied Arts in Graz, 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, which was established by Kurt Ekholm in 1933, and served as its 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, unveiled in 1942, began mass production in 1950 and continued until 1974, becoming a long-selling model and earning international acclaim as Arabia's representative artistic porcelain.

ARABIA｜1873 –｜FINLAND

Arabia was established in 1873 as a subsidiary of the Swedish ceramic manufacturer Rörstrand in the Arabia district on the outskirts of Helsinki, and began operations in 1874. In 1916, it became independent as a Finnish company, separating from Rörstrand's capital.

In 1929, one of the world's largest tunnel kilns, spanning 112 meters, was introduced, leading to increased production efficiency and the establishment of 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 to work, fostering a system where both products and art pieces could develop in parallel.

A major characteristic of Arabia is that its product development has always involved the interplay of three areas: the art department, the applied arts department, and the product design department.

The art department included artists such as 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 "firefly" technique. Mass production began in 1950 and it became a long-selling item until 1974, earning international acclaim as Arabia's representative artistic porcelain.

Against the backdrop of functionalism spreading in Scandinavia in the 1930s, Ekholm released the AR series tableware (SINIVALKO) in 1935, indicating the future direction of Nordic modern design.

In 1945, Kaj Franck joined as a designer and, along with Kaarina Aho and Ulla Procopé, advanced the modernization 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 a long history of awards since the 1930s, particularly 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, establishing its global reputation.