Rörstrand’s production of figurines has a long-standing tradition. Posing figures of humans and animals in majolica and porcelain were produced throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, led by Waldemar Lindström and his porcelain animals, inspired by Danish design. However, after the factory moved to Gothenburg in 1926, the more exclusive sculptural production came to an end.
Gunnar Nylund was recruited to Rörstrand following an exhibition at Svenskt Tenn in 1930, where he had presented stoneware pieces from his own firm, Saxbo. He was placed at the newly acquired factory in Lidköping, where he revived the company’s figurine production—this time in the favored stoneware clay. Nylund’s ability to bring a personal interpretation to his animals came naturally; from an early age he had been encouraged by his father, the sculptor Felix Nylund, to pursue zoological studies, and he even assisted him in his work.
Production expanded on a large scale for five decades at the factory, making these figurines Nylund’s most beloved contribution to Swedish ceramics.
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