Linn Ware: Celebrating the Ceramics of Olifantsfontein
Timed Online Auction, 2 - 13 May 2025
Session One
About the SessionThis 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.
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
comprising teapot, sugar bowl with cover, six teacups, six saucers, and six cake plates, painted LINN WARE or LW
Notes
The utilitarian nature of the Linn Ware pieces contributed to their popularity. This particular set has the characteristic green and russet colour palette, achieved using copper and iron 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.
