Axel Salto (1889–1961) was a pioneering Danish ceramist and designer whose work is celebrated for its dynamic forms and organic inspiration. Drawing from nature, Salto developed his distinctive "budding," "sprouting," and "fluted" styles, which allowed his pieces to embody the growth and vitality of the natural world. His stoneware, particularly the "sprouting" vases produced for Royal Copenhagen, are emblematic of his innovative approach, showcasing both a mastery of glazing techniques and a profound connection to organic motifs.

Royal Copenhagen

Hand thrown, hand applied and carved, glazed stoneware.
Incised 'SALTO', dated 1937, and manufacturer's mark to the underside.

Ceramics

Unique 'Budding' Vase

History:
This unique ‘Budding’ vase was very likely made by Axel Salto himself in 1937. The model is similar to no. 20713, but it has different dimensions and no. 20713 was put into production by Royal Copenhagen seven years later, in 1944. It is therefore most likely that this unique vase was an experiment by Salto himself. The vase would have been cast by his foremost potter and collaborator Carl Halier. After which Salto himself would have applied the ‘ buds’. If you feel this vase inside, you can feel Salto's fingertips that pressed on the wet clay to apply the buds. The carving, made with carving knives, is raw and immediate, unlike Royal Copenhagen's manufactured models. The use of these tools goes hand in hand with Salto's development in the same year, in which he was working regularly with wood engravings, using the same materials.  


We would like to thank Susanne Bruhn (PhD fellow, CLAY Museum Denmark) for help with cataloguing. 


Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Denmark) 2017, p.177, cat. no. 218. (reference to model no. 20713)

Model no. 21330, designed 1955.
Stoneware in Oxblood glaze,with green highlights, decoration in relief.
Manufacturers mark and model no. to the underside. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

'Budding' Vase

Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Denmark) 2017, p.180, cat. no. 286.

Model no. 20.701, designed 1944.
Glazed stoneware, decoration in relief.
Manufacturers mark to the underside. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

'Sprouting' Vase

Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Denmark) 2017, p.176, cat. no. 206.

Model no. 20.560, designed in 1943.
Stoneware in Sung glaze, with decoration in relief.
Manufacturers mark to the underside. Impressed 'EO'. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

Vase

Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Denmark) 2017, p.173, cat. no. 148.

'Sung' glazed stoneware, decoration in relief, silk.
Manufacturers mark to the underside. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

Provenance:
C.C. Thomsen, Mrs. Esther Thomsen;
Thence by Descent.

Lighting

Table Lamp

History:
In 1932, the Danish textile manufacturer C.C. Thomsen and his wife, Mrs. Ester Thomsen, had their new home built at Bernsdorffsvej in Gentofte, north of Copenhagen. Arne Jacobsen, one of the young, pioneering architects of the time, was commissioned to design the villa. The couple selected the furniture with care, and an eye for Danish architecture and decorative arts. Their collection of ceramic works by Axel Salto were acquired from the 1930s to the 1950s.  

Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Denmark) 2017, p.183, cat. no. 332.

Glazed stoneware. 
Inscribed 'SALTO / 1937' with blue three line wave.

Vase in the 'Budding' Style

Model no. 20.560, designed in 1943.
Stoneware in Solfatara glaze, with decoration in relief.
Manufacturers mark to the underside. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

Provenance:
C.C. Thomsen, Mrs. Esther Thomsen;
Thence by Descent. 

Photographed together with: ref. <a href="https://www.jacksons.se/products/vase-2306010" target="_blank">2306010</a>.

History:
In 1932, the Danish textile manufacturer C.C. Thomsen and his wife, Mrs. Ester Thomsen, had their new home built at Bernsdorffsvej in Gentofte, north of Copenhagen. Arne Jacobsen, one of the young, pioneering architects of the time, was commissioned to design the villa. The couple selected the furniture with care, and an eye for Danish architecture and decorative arts. Their collection of ceramic works by Axel Salto were acquired from the 1930s to the 1950s.  

Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Denmark) 2017, p.173, cat. no. 148.

Model no. 20.733, designed in 1945.
Stoneware glazed with Gundestrup glaze, decor in relief. 
Signed 'SALTO', with three waves to the reverse.

Literature: 
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Danmark) 2017, p.178, cat. no. 238.

Model no. 20.804, designed in 1946.
Stoneware, with decoration in relief.
Manufacturers mark and model no. to the underside. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

Large Bowl

Literature: 
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Danmark) 2017, p.179, cat. no. 258.

Model no. 20.561, designed in 1943. This example executed in 1957.
Stoneware in Oxblood glaze, with decoration in relief.
Manufacturers mark and model no. to the underside. Signed by the artist to the underside: 'SALTO'.

Literature: 
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. CLAY - Keramikmuseum (Danmark) 2017, p.149, cat. no. 149.

Model no. 20.676. Designed 1944.
Glazed stoneware, decor in relief. 
Inscribed 'Salto' and painted with blue three line wave to underside of base.

Bowl

Literature:
Bruhn, Susanne, Wirnfeldt, Pia, 'Axel Salto: Stentøjsmesteren', 2017, p.175, cat. nr. 181.

Københavns Stentøjsbrænderi

Pale grey glaze, with moulded decoration of branches, fruits and leaves. 
Signed Salto, 1935 to base.
Together with a presentation base of solid Cuban mahogany carved with the text: “1910-C.B. Henriques-1935 Sophus Beredndsen A/S”.

Vase Height:  29 cm 
Including Base 34.5 cm

Provenance: 
Jurist and Lawyer of the Supreme Court, Carl Bertel Henriques (b. 1870, d. 1957).

Early Vase

Literature: Axel Salto: “Axel Salto Keramik”, ill. described as fig. no. 14.
Susanne Bruhn and Pia Wirnfeldt, eds, 'Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware', exh. cat. Middelfart, pp.58-59, p. 168, cat. no. 37

In “Axel Salto Keramik”, Salto quotes and applaud art historian Merete Christensen whom in an essay in “Nyt Tidsskrift for Kunstindustri” describes her view on this particular model: “Here Salto has had the porcelain-technique in mind where relief-work of this kind would have kept its precise form under the sparse, thinly flowing glaze. In stoneware the result is different. Here the fat glaze will slowly work its way down the ramified surface, now and then checked by the design and filling out the cracks. It will smoothe the surface, hide the sharp outlines and unite the jar and relief into a whole. Instead of showing sharply against the wall as a decorative ornament, the relief will grow as a living, tumbling climber in the wall itself and seem to emerge almost breathing out of it. The sharp relief lies as if ossified under the thin glaze, which like a layer of flowing lava covers it and fixes its expression of fresh growth, at the same time curiously organically and logically explaining its material, the cold hard stoneware - as a fossilized plant. In this case the precise modelling has proved itself a necessity. Had it been done more weakly, the surface would have become too vague, and the climbers would not have given the expression of strong growth, which it now conveys”.

Glazed in beige, brown and blue hues, signed SALTO incised, in blue 21439 and the three waves, in green DENMARK.

"Budding" Vase

Stoneware 'Sung' glazed vase, Royal Copenhagen, Denmark, 1950-60s.
 Incised signature SALTO, 21452 (or 21453?) and the three waves in underglaze blue and stamped DENMARK in green,

The model designed 1946, this example executed 1969-1973.
Sung glazed stoneware.
Inscribed 'SALTO' with manufacturer's mark and model number.

Literature: 
Susanne Bruhn, Pia Wirnfeldt, eds, 'Axel Salto - Master of Stoneware', exh. cat., Keramikmuseum Danmark, Middelfart, 2017, p. 179, fig. 268
Axel Salto, 'Den Spirende Stil', Copenhagen 1950, p. 78

Axel Salto

1889-1961