Axel Salto

Hostler Burrows, New York

Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2013

Axel Salto, Den Spirende Stil, Copenhagen, 1949, p. 48 (for a related example)

Pierre Lübecker, Salto, Copenhagen, 1952, n.p 

Susanne Bruhn and Christina Rauh Oxbøll, eds., Axel Salto: Master of Stoneware, exh. cat., CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, Middelfart, 2017,  p. 180

Sanne Flyvbjerg, Playing with fire : Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto, Oslo, 2023, n.p.

The “fruit form” vase is one of Salto’s best-known designs. Though relatively compact – just under nine inches high – the composition packs a terrific punch. The compressed, tightly integrated lobes, plump contours and jaunty stem do convey the quality of an actual piece of fruit, though not a specific one (unless, perhaps, some heretofore unknown hybrid of an apple and a pomegranate). This example features Salto’s “Sung” glaze, derived from Chinese models, which comes near to celadon green where it pools. What may not be immediately apparent is that the vase is all but non-functional, having only a vestigial opening at the top of the stem; Salto anticipated many other ceramic radicals in using the vessel form as a vehicle for sculptural expression. 

Glenn Adamson