Crown Lynn Metro Vase

This vase is from the original master.  Parts of this are bound with steel and have brass moulding knobs to last repeated handling when making casting moulds.

The Designers

Crown Lynn struggled against the New Zealand public’s perception that the best ceramics were from England.  The designers worked to styles that were popular with European fashion.

The Form

This form can be described as art deco or modernist.  Some reference to the Swedish design that was becoming cutting edge taste with the 1950’s style.

Challenged by the conservative tastes of the majority public.   In those days, the advanced work of Crown Lynn’s designers such as Mirek Smisek, Frank Carpey, and Deniel Steenstra, these artists worked on a huge range or pieces.   Often toning down their best efforts to reach a marketable standard.

Today this form is a natural setting in a post modern environment.  They provide sharp lines of elegance, and simplicity in overall presentation.

The Finishes and Function

The range of finishes range from the best known Ivory Matt glaze that most of the original pieces were produced.  There is also a selection of pastel tones.

More of a decorative piece than a functional vase.   It is useful to store items in a easy to remember and less obvious spot!

This was part of the Studio Ceramics range of Crown Lynn work.  An Auckland producer that employed many people trained in the original Crown Lynn factory.

The Next Generation

Crown Lynn Kiwi, makes the Next Generation of the forms produced originally at Crown Lynn.   Then by Catherine Anselmi Ceramics, later by Studio Ceramics and since 2017 by Stepa.nz (Stepahead Ceramics)  a companion label Crownlynn.kiwi.

Description of Metro Vase by Te Toi Uku – The Crown Lynn and Clay Work Museum

This is a Shape 477 Diamond vase. It looks like it might date from around the early 1960s but that is just an estimate. It was described as 12.75 inches wide in the records and the one in the Te Toi Uku collection is 325mm wide.  In 1964 all shapes in production were given four digit numbers and it became Shape 2044.  The 477 Diamond Vase was made by Catherine Anselmi and Studio Ceramics before Stepahead.

Information provided by Te Toi Uku