■ CERAMIC WALL PLAQUE WITH HORSE CHESTNUT LEAF, by Toini Muona for Arabia, Finland, 1965, the rectangular earthenware body impressed in low relief with a single horse chestnut leaf, the turquoise glaze pooling into the veined recesses to an almost cobalt depth and drawing pale at the raised ribs, the gradation revealing the full register of the glaze and the precision of the relief beneath it. Fine crazing throughout consistent with Arabia production of this period and with the ware; original wire suspension mechanism intact to the reverse, which is incised with the TM monogram, the Arabia mark and the date 1965.
Good condition consistent with age and use, with no chips, losses or restoration. Height 23 cm (9 inches); width 29 cm (11 ⅜ inches).
Toini Muona (Helsinki, 1904 - Helsinki, 1987) joined Arabia's Art Department in 1931 and remained one of its defining figures until 1970, recognised with the Gold Medal at the Milan Triennale in 1951, the Pro Arte Utili Medal in 1955, and the Finnish State Prize for Arts and Crafts in 1957. Her botanical wall reliefs, developed from the 1950s onward, translate her mastery of glaze chemistry into a vocabulary drawn directly from the Finnish woodland, and constitute one of the most distinctive bodies of mid-century Arabia studio production.
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□ Her work is held in institutional collections of Scandinavian design, the Designmuseo, Helsinki and the Nationalmuseum Sweden among them.