Annikki Hovisaari Unique "Hourglass" Vase

An hourglass-shaped vase, handmade by Annikki Hovisaari for Arabia, Finland, circa 1970.

This unconventional piece features an expressive, iron-rich glaze with hues of amber, orange and chocolate brown. The dynamic glaze, applied with a brush in a loose, audacious manner, gives the surface a strikingly graphic quality. The colour palette and organic glaze application reflect the 1970's' shift toward environmentalism, illustrating how Hovisaari’s work contributed to a broader Nordic movement embracing naturalistic, earth-like aesthetics. This sensibility is especially evident when paired with her coarsely textured chamotte clay.

The object's unusual form reflects Hovisaari’s characteristic unconventionality and her broad exploration of form. She frequently pushed the boundaries of the “vase,” rejecting traditional pottery shapes in favour of wide-ranging experiments in throwing and construction. This piece takes the shape of an hourglass or diabolo, thrown in two halves and then stacked together. Its graphic, geometric silhouette provides a compelling contrast to the organically applied glaze and textured clay. 

Hovisaari entered the pottery at Arabia, Finland's oldest manufacturer of ceramics, at the age of 30 in 1949. This came after three years of studying ceramics at Helsinki’s Central School of Arts and Crafts (now Aalto University School of Arts & Design) from 1946 to 1949.

To begin with, Hovisaari worked in Arabia’s department of industrial art where she mainly designed decorative items for large scale production alongside a small amount of hand thrown items. However, in 1963 she was able to move to a studio in the art department where, on the 9th floor overlooking water and woods, her main attention could be focused on creating one-off art pieces.

Here, Hovisaari and ‘the [other] Arabia artists could work and create as they will. With the full resources of the factory at their disposal.’ [1] In this setting, over the next 11 years, Hovisaari rose to become one of Finland’s most daring & celebrated ceramists.

Hovisaari is considered a connoisseur of glazes and was a skilled maker as well as a talented designer with a unique approach to form.

[1] Ulf Hård af Segerstad, Scandinavian Design (London: Studio Books, 1961) p.38.