Ceramics from the collection of Magnus Palm

When Magnus Palm decided to divest parts of his ceramic collection and turned to us here at Formstad Auctions, we were both proud and delighted. Magnus is a respected figure in our industry, the founder of the magazine Scandinavian Retro in 2011, the author of "Stora boken om Stig Lindberg" (2016), "Stora boken om Upsala-Ekeby" (2018), and "Utflykter i Art Nouveau" (2021), books widely used as reference literature by collectors, auction houses, and antique dealers.
However, Magnus has also made a name for himself as a distinguished collector, not only of porcelain and ceramics but also of everything from Moomin dolls, Dala horses, old picture books, and The Flintstones to hippopotamuses, teddy bears, and stencil fonts from the days of the '68 generation.
One of the questions we asked Magnus when he came to us was why he wanted to sell, as a dedicated collector wouldn't typically want to do that, right? He responded:
I live in a small space, and for a collector, it becomes challenging in the long run. I can't fit everything I buy; it ends up in boxes, cabinets, and various storage spaces. I buy way too much, succumb to curiosity and inquisitiveness, constantly invent new collecting areas for myself. It's borderline pathological.
When, after the Art Nouveau exhibition "En ny stil för en ny tid" (Hallwyl Museum, 2022-23), I got back over 120 items I had lent out, I realized they wouldn't fit, the void left by them had been filled with other things in the meantime. My interest in Art Nouveau as a style had also waned, leading me to want to reduce that collection.
Couldn't I then also limit my Stig Lindberg collection to "early Stig," that is, Stig Lindberg from the 1930s and 1940s? Well, why not! It would save a lot of space. And could I not finally settle the score with Gambone, Fantoni, and the other Italians? Yes, I could! There are other collectors who would derive greater joy from them than I would. Slowly, the realization grew that it would be somewhat liberating to lighten the collections a bit.
Said and done, now we find ourselves with a rather incredible collection of ceramics from the 1890s onwards. Among the interesting pieces, we want to highlight Herman Neujd's vase with three water nymphs from 1899, no less than nine works by Gunnar Wennerberg, or why not Georg Jensen's little crab bowl, rarely seen in Sweden. Helmer Osslund's bowl with the lying swan, designed in 1896-97, is also among the treasures. Among the more modern items, we find something as special as a complete set of Stig Lindberg's stoneware series "Vitrin" from 1956, but also rare pieces by designers such as Hilkka-Liisa Ahola, Lisa Larson, Hjördis Oldfors, Anna-Lisa Thomson, and more.
Feel free to explore this exciting collection of ceramics!