AXEL SALTO | Important 'Colossal' Vase

Gifted by the artist to a Danish private collector, 1947
Thence by descent to the collector's nephew
Bruun Rasmussen Copenhagen, 7 March, 2013, lot 931
Private collection
Piasa Paris, 17 February, 2016, lot 96
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Copenhagen, Designmuseum Danmark, Det Brændende Nu - Axel Salto, 3 November - 10 December, 1989, cat. no. 203

Axel Salto, Den Spirende Stil, Copenhagen, 1949, pp. 72-73 illustrates the present lot and its associated sketch
Axel Salto, Det Brændende Nu - Axel Salto, exh. cat., Designmuseum Danmark, 1989, cat. no. 203 illustrates the present lot
Susanne Bruhn and Pia Wirnfeldt, eds, AXEL SALTO - MASTER OF STONEWARE, exh. cat., CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, Middelfart, 2017, p. 184, cat. no. 365

Overall in very good condition.The work has been inspected under UV light. The base with an area of professional and sensitive restoration in a slight arc form, radiating from the edge, approximately 8 cm up the bottomof the 'trunk' of the form and to the other edge. This is visbile from the underside, measuring approximately 21 cm across and is possibly an older restoration or firing flaw repaired during production and is not visually disruptive. The underside of the base with a chip measuring approximately 1.5 x 4 cm and is not visible when the vase is upright. A circular area directly below the upper rim with professional and senstive restoration measuring approximately 7 x 15 cm and is slightly glossy. The wooden base with scattered scuffs, scratches and snallow intendtations concentrated to the upper rim. The upper rim with a chip measuring approximately 0.5 x 2 cm. The An incredibly rare documented and monumental work with excellent provenance from the Salto family.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

  The ceramics of Axel Salto find their roots in the naturalistic world. They engage with it, yet never attempt to create a facsimile of nature itself. Reflecting on the landscape that was to be his greatest influence, Salto’s relationship with nature is clear: ‘The sprouting style… expresses a movement, a growth… there is an inner urge in things which must come out… The vase is like a living organism; the body buds, the buds develop, and sprouting, even prickly, vases are a result of this life.’ The artist writes these words in Den Spirende Stil, a special and limited publication produced on the occasion of his 60^th birthday in 1949, where the present lot and its associated sketch are both illustrated together. One of only two known examples and retaining its original wooden base, the ‘Colossal’ vase wholly embodies Salto’s intimate relationship with his chosen material of clay. It is fitting he chose to establish his naturalistic designs on this material which originated from the very earth that so inspired him.