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.

 


Current Bid

ZAR 12 000
Lot 18
  • Linn Ware; Bulbous bowl with flared neck
  • Linn Ware; Bulbous bowl with flared neck
  • Linn Ware; Bulbous bowl with flared neck


Lot Estimate
ZAR 12 000 - 15 000
Current Bid
1 bid
Current bid ZAR 12 000
Location
Cape Town
Delivery
Additional delivery charges apply
Shipping
Condition Report
May include additional detailed images
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About this Item

Olifantsfontein, South Africa 1943-1955
Bulbous bowl with flared neck

painted LINN

green-glazed earthenware
16cm high, 37cm diameter

Notes

The iconic emerald green in this piece was achieved by using copper oxide in a transparent glaze, which together with the signature innovation of double-glazing, resulted in rich depth-enhancing finishes. Larger items such as this were thrown by hand by Frank Agliotti, a skilled Italian potter who worked at the Ceramic Studio from 1926 to 1931.

View all Linn Ware lots for sale in this auction