Collection: Knabstrup (Denmark)
Knabstrup Keramik developed from an older Danish brickworks into a ceramic manufacturer in 1897. The brand traces its brickmaking heritage to 1645, although historical accounts differ over the earliest origins of the site. The beginning of ceramic production in 1897 is the clearer starting point for understanding the pottery collected under the Knabstrup name.
Under H. H. Schou, flowerpots became a central part of the business, and by 1911 Knabstrup had grown into Scandinavia’s largest producer of them. The range expanded to include decorative plant containers and other household ceramics. When Schou died in 1928, his daughter Frida Schou assumed leadership, initially alongside a co-director and later as sole managing director.
From the 1930s, collaborations with ceramic artists broadened the factory’s output. Its history encompasses practical pottery as well as decorative design, including the Pondus penguin money box modelled by Johannes Hansen for Landmandsbanken in 1967. This variety is important: Knabstrup was not confined to one designer, one glaze or one type of object.
Bjørn Wiinblad and Nymølle took over ceramic production at the end of 1977, and the old ceramic factory closed in 1988. Knabstrup Keramik was relaunched in 2017, drawing on the historic name and design heritage. The revival should be distinguished from uninterrupted production at the original works, and vintage pieces should be dated through their own marks, designs and documentation rather than the age of the brand alone.
Read more in Knabstrup’s own history and the historical factory account.
