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 23
  • Linn Ware/Ceramic Studio; Pedestal urn with flared neck
  • Linn Ware/Ceramic Studio; Pedestal urn with flared neck
  • Linn Ware/Ceramic Studio; Pedestal urn with flared neck


Lot Estimate
ZAR 6 000 - 8 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 9 380
Delivery
Additional delivery charges apply
Shipping
Condition Report
May include additional detailed images

About this Item

Olifantsfontein, South Africa 1925 - 1955
Pedestal urn with flared neck

indistinctly stamped

grey-glazed earthenware
22cm high, 21,5cm diameter

Notes

Although the deep turquoise glaze was the Linn Ware trademark colour, the Studio also manufactured other colours such as this grey. Several items make use of the pedestal, which required a careful balance of form, structure and proportion.

View all Linn Ware/Ceramic Studio lots for sale in this auction