P. Ipsens Enke was a ceramics manufacturer based at

Frederikssundsvej Frederikssundsvej is a major artery in the North-West, Brønshøj and Husum districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Nørrebro Station as the direct continuation of Nørrebrogade and changes its name to Herlev Hovedgade and then Skovlunde By ...

78 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The company was founded by Peter Ipsen in 1843 and was continued by his widow Louise Ipsen and son Berthel Ipsen after his death in 1860. It achieved international success with its replica of antique Greek and Roman ceramics, winning awards at international expositions and opening its own shops in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After the turn of the century, it collaborated with artists such as

Thorvald Bindesbøll Thorvald Bindesbøll (21 July 1846 – 27 August 1908) was a Danish National romantic architect, sculptor and ornamental artist. He designed the Dragon Fountain, Copenhagen (''Dragespringvandet'') and is perhaps best known as the creator of t ...

, WillumsenJ and Axel Salto. It closed in 1955.

History

Early history (1843–1860)

Peter Ipsen (1815-1860) initially apprenticed as a joiner in his home town but gave it up as a result of poor health to become an apprentice at the Royal Porcelain Manufactury in 1833. His sharp eye for shape made him a favourite of

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch Gustav Friedrich (von) Hetsch (28 September 1788 – 7 September 1864) was a Danish architect. Biography Hetsch was born in Stuttgart, he was the son of Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch (1758–1838). He studied at the University of Tübingen and i ...

. He remained at the Royal Porcelain Manufactury after completing his apprenticeship six years later. ] Ipsen established his own pottery on 15 April 1843 in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

. His products included flower pots, lamps, water coolers and tea sets as well as replica of antique Greek vases and vessels. He had no oven and therefore had to burn his output at the Royal Porcelain Manufactury. Ipsen initially experienced some difficulty selling his yellow, unglazed creations to the city's many porcelain vendors but demand slowly increased and by 1847 he was able to buy a small piece of land and build a new workshop at Frederikssundsvej in

Utterslev Utterslev is a neighbourhood in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Utterslev is centered on Utterslev Torv (Utterslev Square) and is most known for the Utterslev Mose marshland which straddles the border with Gladsaxe Municipality to t ...

. He opened a ceramics shop at

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major stre ...

31 the following year. In 1852, he was represented on an exhibition at Christiansborg Riding Grounds. He had close ties to Hetsch and

Henrik Olrik Ole Henrik Benedictus Olrik (24 May 1830 – 2 January 1890) was a Danish painter, sculptor and applied artist. Early life and education Henrik Olrik, born in Copenhagen, was son of customs inspector Henrik Johan Ludvig Olrik and Benedicte Marti ...

International success under Louise and Berthel Ipsen (1860–1900)

] ] ] Ipsen died in 1860. Louise Ipsen, His widow continued the company with Hermann Bonfils as manager. Peter and Louise Ipsen's son, Bertel Ipsen (1846-1917), became an apprentice under Bonfils om 1861. He became the formal manager of the company when Bonfils was drafted in 1865 but his mother continued to play a central role in the operations. The company was represented on the Nordic exhibitions in Malmö in 1861 and Stockholm in 1866 and at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1756 and

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

in London in 1870. In 1871, P. Ipsens Enke was granted the predicate Purveyor to the Court of Denmark. The company won a gold medal at a competition in Amsterdam in 1877.

20th century

P. Ipsens Enke was converted into a family-owned limited company (''aktieselskab'') in 1895. The company began a production of glazed stoneware with more modern designs in circa 1900. It collaborated with artists and designers such as

, Christian Joachim Jensen,

Georg Jensen Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie). Early life Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife grin ...

and Axel Salto. Stender, a publishing house, acquired the company after Berthel Ipsen's death in 1917. The company acquired Dalbygård Clay Pits on

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

in 1920. It closed in 1955.

Works

Works from P. Ipsens Enke are represented in the collections of Neue Pinakothek in

München Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, National Museum in Stockholm, Los Angeles Museum, Cleveland Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, National Museum of Finland in Helsinki,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York City,

Danish Design Museum The Designmuseum Denmark () is a museum in Copenhagen for Danish and international design and crafts. It features works of famous Danish designers like Arne Jacobsen, Jacob Jensen and Kaare Klint, who was one of the two architects who remodeled ...

in Copenhagen, Les Amis des Musees de la ville de Mons in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, National Arts Club in New York City and the National Museum of Latvia in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

References

External links

{{Commons
Video
about the company for Kulturcentret Assistens

Source
Ceramics manufacturers of Denmark Defunct manufacturing companies of Denmark Danish companies established in 1843 19th-century Danish businesswomen 1955 disestablishments in Denmark