Danish Modern Krenit Bowl by Herbert Krenchel for Torben Ørskov & Co., Black and White Enamel

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Danish Modern Krenit Bowl by Herbert Krenchel for Torben Ørskov & Co., Black and White Enamel
Circa 1953–1966

This Krenit … Read more Danish Modern Krenit Bowl by Herbert Krenchel for Torben Ørskov & Co., Black and White Enamel
Circa 1953–1966

This Krenit bowl is a classic of Danish Mid-Century Modern design, created in 1953 by the civil engineer and materials scientist Herbert Krenchel (1922–2014) and produced by Torben Ørskov & Co. of Copenhagen. Pressed from thin sheet steel, it pairs a glossy white enamel interior with a matte black exterior, the two surfaces meeting at the famously fine rim, so thin that the bowl seems to be made from a single millimeter-thin plate of steel. The rounded, flaring sides rise from a narrow base to a wide mouth in a profile of complete simplicity, balancing strict function with an elegance equally at home on the kitchen counter, the dining table or a living-room shelf.

The bowl belongs to the original Torben Ørskov production, which ran from 1953 until the mid-1960s, and retains its paper label. At 12.4 cm across, it is the size of the C-bowl, the first Krenit bowl Krenchel designed and the model from which the later range of sizes and colors was developed.

The crisp contrast of black and white suits a modern or Scandinavian interior and sits equally well among antiques. The bowl works singly on a desk, bedside table or entry console as a small catchall, or grouped with other Krenit bowls in mixed sizes and colors on a shelf or coffee table.

Dimensions:
Diameter: 4⅞ inches (12.4 cm)
Height: 2¼ inches (5.7 cm)

Marks:
Base: Original circular black and yellow paper label printed "ACID-PROOF ENAMEL / KRENIT / DENMARK".

Provenance:
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge

Condition:
Good vintage condition. Retains original label.

References:
Museum of Modern Art, New York, object number 1307.2001.1-5, Krenit bowls, designed 1953.
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, CG001945/3, Krenit bowl of the same size (diameter 125 mm, height 57 mm), Walter C. Cook Decorative Art Collection.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, 1990-33-1, Krenit bowl, The Mel Byars Collection of 20th Century Design.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1983-50-2, "Krenit" Bowl, designed 1953.
Normann Copenhagen, "The Story of an Extraordinary Bowl."

Historical Context:
Designed during the golden age of Danish design, the Krenit bowl grew out of a conversation between Herbert Krenchel, a graduate of the Technical University of Denmark whose research concerned materials and fiber reinforcement, and Torben Ørskov, at a time when green salad, long popular in America, was becoming a fixture of the Danish table. Enamel was then a cheap, workaday finish for chamber pots, soap dishes and water jugs. Krenchel devised his own process for laying an even, glossy colored enamel inside a thin steel bowl while leaving the outside matte black, and named the result Krenit, joining his own name to Eternit, the fiber cement he worked with as an engineer. Launched in 1953 as the first product of Torben Ørskov & Co., the bowl won a gold medal at the Milan Triennale of 1954.

By the time production stopped in the mid-1960s, around a million bowls had been made. Unable to find another manufacturer who could meet his standard, Krenchel let the design lapse until his family approached Normann Copenhagen, which reissued it in 2008. Examples from the original production are held by the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

(Ref: NY10311-cax) See less