Birds, birds, birds

Gerhard Heilmann (1859-1946) was one of Royal Copenhagen’s first underglaze painters, and quickly became one of the leading artists within the factory. Heilmann had both an artistic and scientific interest in birds and would later make a name for himself as an ornithologist. His influential publication The Origin of Birds (1926) is still considered a classic in the field.

This vase features three South American parrots in different poses. Heilmann presumably found his model for this atypical motif in the Copenhagen Zoo, which was located virtually next-door to Royal Copenhagen’s new factories on the edge of the city’s historical centre. Heilmann has reduced the parrots to theiressence, without losing anything of their character. Against the tonal background, their blue bodies are almost silhouettes. The birds sit on twisting tree branches that, as a kind of band decoration, meander across the vase.

Heilmann’s restricted colour palette on this early vase was presumably due to the limited technical capabilities at the time. What is also striking is the thickness of the porcelain compared to later pieces. In this early, still relatively experimental phase, it was believed that making the wall of the vase thicker would reduce the risk of bursting and craquelure.