Collection: Royal Copenhagen Baca and Tenera

Baca

The Baca series was a line of faience art pieces produced by Danish manufacturer Aluminia and subsequently by Royal Copenhagen from 1965 to 1996. Conceived by artistic director Nils Thorsson, pieces were decorated using a unique technique combining silkscreen printing and metallic salts in the glaze to create tactile relief patterns.

Thorsson designed most of the shapes, while the decorative patterns were created by him and a variety of other designers such as Ellen Malmer and Johanne Gerber. The decorations often featured bold abstract patterns and stylised plants and animals. "Baca" is Latin for "ring", with the designer's personal cipher stamped inside a ring on the underside of each piece.

Tenera

Tenera was a faience art series launched by Danish ceramic factory Aluminia in 1958 and later produced under the Royal Copenhagen mark. The forms in the series were designed by artistic director Nils Thorsson and he collaborated with a pioneering group of female artists to create the decorative motifs.

These beautiful motifs often featured abstract depictions of flowers, fruits and birds. In contrast to the later Baca series, decorations in the Tenera series were hand-painted and tend to have bolder colours and patterns. Some pieces have textured surface patterns, giving their designs a wonderful tactile depth. Every piece is signed on the underside with the designer's cipher and the painter's initials.