A Bing & Grøndahl porcelain 'Heron' pattern (Hejrestellert) japonaiserie part dinner service, early 20th century

This service has been in the collection of the present owner for about 40 years and before that it was in the collection of her father; it is unknown where or when it was acquired by her father.

Pietro Købke Krohn (1840-1905) was a painter, illustrator, museum director and leader of the Danish 'Japonisme' movement. He was the son of the sculptor and medalist Frederik Krohn and studied art in his youth. Like many of his generation, he served in the Second Schleswig War in 1864, after which he travelled in Northern Europe and Italy. He achieved fame as a book illustrator and engraver with his brother Johan Krohn. Moving in artistic and literary circles, from 1880, Krohn diversified and undertook the first in a series of professional roles by becoming a costume designer at the Royal Danish Theatre. From 1885 to 1892, he held the position of artistic director of Bing & Grøndahl, and from 1893 became the Head of the Danish Museum of Art & Design. His directorship of Bing & Grøndahl marked a period of great creativity and design innovation at the factory. Founded in Copenhagen in 1853, perhaps in the shadow of the long-established Royal Copenhagen factory, the factory had, until then, been known for reproducing Danish Golden Age sculpture after Bertel Thorvaldsen as well as elegant service wares. The 'Heron Service', inspired by Japanese art and anticipating the Art Nouveau style, was launched in 1888 at the Scandinavian Exhibition in Copenhagen. Notable for using simple underglaze-blue for luxury decoration, the service was also shown and praised at the Paris exhibition in 1889.

A watercolour drawing by Krohn for the heron design in the centre of the oval platters in this service is held in the Clay Keramik Museum in Denmark, and an ice bucket and a cup and saucer are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, accession nos C.236-1986 (ice bucket) and C.236&A&B-1986 (cup and saucer).