Linn Ware: Celebrating the Ceramics of Olifantsfontein

Timed Online Auction, 2 - 13 May 2025

Session One
About the Session

This sale features a broad selection of Linn Ware that celebrates South Africa’s rich ceramic traditions highlighting a key moment in the country’s artistic development — during a period when industrialisation and mass production were rapidly transforming the design landscape.  The Ceramic Studio, renamed Linn Ware in 1943, was founded on Sir Thomas Cullinan’s farm Olifantsfontein, outside Johannesburg which had rich deposits of clay and lime. It was staffed mostly by women students from the Durban School of Art, several of whom studied further at the Royal College of Art, London.  The Studio closed in the late 1950’s but left behind a beautiful body of work that is highly collectable today. Discover more about Linn Ware's fascinating history here.

 


Sold for

ZAR 9 380
Lot 14
  • Linn Ware; Bowl raised on low foot
  • Linn Ware; Bowl raised on low foot
  • Linn Ware; Bowl raised on low foot


Lot Estimate
ZAR 4 000 - 4 500
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 9 380
Location
Cape Town
Delivery
Additional delivery charges apply
Shipping
Condition Report
May include additional detailed images

About this Item

Olifantsfontein, South Africa 1943-1955
Bowl raised on low foot

impressed dish stamp

painted LINN WARE

blue-glazed earthenware
8cm high, 30cm diameter

Notes

This particular bowl has a swirling, blue colour palette, achieved using cobalt oxide in a transparent glaze, which together with the signature innovation of double-glazing, resulted in rich skeins of colour and the luminosity for which these pieces became renowned.

View all Linn Ware lots for sale in this auction