A beautiful mid-century stoneware table lamp with amazing glaze.
Made by Ulla Winblad Hjelmqvist for Alingsås Keramik, Sweden, 1950s.
Great original condition. No chips, cracks or crazing.
Signed with makers mark.
Sold without the lampshade.
Height of the lamp without the shade (but incl. the socket): 20,7 cm (8 in.)
Light source: E26/E27 screw bulb.
Switch on the white cord. European electrical plug (but we can change it for an American plug if you'd like).
Ulla Winblad (later Ulla Winblad-Hjelmqvist, 1933–1992) was a Swedish ceramic artist whose distinctive stoneware helped establish Alingsås Keramik as one of Sweden's leading producers of artistic ceramics during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Helsingborg, she first trained at Jie Gantofta before studying at the Slöjdföreningens Skola in Gothenburg. In 1958, at only twenty-four years of age, she was appointed artistic director of Alingsås Keramik, where she was responsible not only for the factory's artistic direction but also for supervising a workforce of around fifty employees. Under her leadership, the factory experienced one of its most creative and successful periods, producing handmade stoneware that was exported widely, particularly to the United States.
Winblad's work is characterized by bold, sculptural forms and richly textured surfaces, often decorated using sgraffito, a technique in which patterns are carved through a coloured slip to reveal the clay beneath. Her designs include elegant vases, bowls, floor lamps, and, above all, the charming wall plaques for which she is best known today. These plaques, frequently depicting stylized birds, owls, fish, and other animals, combined playful imagery with the clean lines of Scandinavian modernism and have become enduring icons of Swedish mid-century ceramics. Her Alingsås pieces were typically signed "U. Winblad" together with the factory mark.
In 1967, Winblad emigrated to Seattle, Washington, where she established her own ceramic studio under the name Winblad-Hjelmqvist. There she expanded her repertoire to include sculptural covered jars, jewellery, miniatures, and raku-fired ceramics while continuing to develop the expressive style that had made her successful in Sweden. Her work found an enthusiastic audience in the United States, and examples were acquired by the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle. Today, Ulla Winblad-Hjelmqvist is regarded as one of the foremost ceramic artists associated with Alingsås Keramik, and her Swedish and American works are highly prized by collectors for their craftsmanship, originality, and unmistakable artistic character.