Pair of Swedish Sgrafitto Art Vases by Elsa Engeström, Gustavsberg, 1913

A complementary pair of early Swedish Art Deco sgraffito vases in blue on a turquoise ground. The vases were designed and decorated by the renowned Swedish ceramicist Elsa Engeström. Both are signed and dated underneath.

The vases are in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. The National Museum in Stockholm holds a number of vases by Engeström, including blue sgraffito examples like these.

Elsa Engeström (1885-1976) worked for the Gustavsberg porcelain company from 1912 to 1916 under Josef Ekberg as artistic director. Gustavsberg was founded in 1826 and was from the start a flagship of Swedish ceramics. Sgraffito is a technique were they carved through the surface slip surface before firing to reveal a lower layer of contrasting colour.