Axel Salto (1889–1961)
Vase, c. 1931–1932
Stoneware, presumably Saxbo

In the spring of 1931, Axel Salto began working at the workshop Saxbo, which had been established by the chemical engineer Nathalie Krebs (1895–1978) alongside artist Gunnar Nylund in 1929. Presumably it was here that Salto created this cylindrical vase, decorated with openwork leafless branches and glazed with the blue Effet de nuit glaze.

The thrower at Saxbo was Oskar Olsen, and this vase must have been thrown by him. Salto then carved out the branch pattern while the clay was still soft, after which the vase was glazed and fired. The Effet de nuit glaze was developed by Krebs, who created a number of new glazes especially designed for – and well suited to – Salto’s stoneware work. The glaze is very much the main aspect that links the vase to Saxbo, where Salto’s works were often not inscribed with a date nor given the workshop’s stamp.

Salto worked at Saxbo for approximately two years. It was a productive period for both him and Krebs, who entered into close, albeit not always entirely harmonious cooperation. They held very different views on the ideal mode of ceramic expression, which presumably prompted the cessation of their cooperation in the autumn of 1932.¹ Following that, Salto shared a workshop with the potter Bode Willumsen until 1933, at which point he became associated with the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory. This latter affiliation lasted until Salto’s death.