Icelandic pottery

I have been a fan of Icelandic pottery for a long time, ever since I was given my first piece as a child. Unlike asian pottery, with its clean lines and beautiful glazes, or even southwestern pottery, with its bold symmetric designs, Icelandic pottery delights in its roughness. The movement started in the 60s with the inclusion of hraun (lava rocks) into the glaze, or embedded into the form. More modern pieces are less apt to use rough hewn hraun, but they still maintain the rough aesthetic by leaving portions unglazed, and by using a corse tempering material.

My mother gave me a set of Icelandic pottery for my 30th birthday, and although it was beautiful and heavy and thick, I could tell as soon as I picked it up that it was also friable and therefore fragile. One piece broke the day after I got it, but I repaired it. The other piece started to show some cracks in the glazing (glazing some surfaces and not others adds to the likelihood of this happening). But I kept it around. Then Palmer started playing with it, and it quickly broke. I have not repaired it, nor have I thrown it out. The three broken pieces rest on my shelf, awaiting a rebirth. And that seems apt these days, here in Iceland.     

Comments

jason said…
Hi,
I'm going to Icleand in two weeks for vacation. I love Asian pottery and am interested in seeking out Icelandic pottery. If you could point me in the right direction, that would be appreciated. I am renting a car, so I am mobile to go out to more remote areas to meet artists as well.
thanks,
Jason
jason_mak@hotmail.com
June 23, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Kristi said…
I am trying to research Funi Island pottery of Iceland. Do you know anything about it? I have bought some salt and pepper shakers marked "Funi Island". I would like to know more about the company but cannot find anything on the internet.
January 16, 2011 at 4:37 PM
Lissy said…
Hi Kristi, I have never heard of that company, sorry!
January 17, 2011 at 3:54 AM
Melissa said…
I picked up a piece of pottery while in Iceland but can't find any information on the artist... the name carved into the piece is Hofy... any help is very much appreciated! Feel free to e-mail me...
oddmelissa@gmail.com

Thanks!

Melissa
August 21, 2011 at 11:18 PM
Jean said…
I have an Iceland handmade lava ceramics bowl - GLIT HF #13119
HOFDABAKKA 9
REYKJAVIK (not sure about the letter between V and K. Do you know anything about this piece or where I can see if it has any value at all. thanks.
April 27, 2013 at 7:04 PM
Lissy said…
Hello Jean,

Glit is one of the better known names n handmade Icelandic pottery, and although the collectors market for it may not be scorching hot, depending on the year and the design, it could be worth up to $100. Here is a link you might find interesting : http://www.etsy.com/listing/97012720/iceland-glit-lava-pottery-vase-vintage
April 27, 2013 at 11:39 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi Kristi

I believe Funi Island was a pottery works owned and operated by Ragnar Kjartansson before he started Glit. I think Ragnar moved away from Glit between 1968 and 1971, but their influence lives on. There was recently a retrospective of Glit at a gallery in Iceland, http://www.honnunarsafn.is/pages/4639 .
There are huge differences between Funi and Glit, but I'm pretty sure it both had the same founder.
July 28, 2013 at 1:54 PM
Anonymous said…
Kristi: It's not "Funi Island" of Iceland. "Ísland" is "Iceland" in Icelandic, so it would be rightly referred to as "Funi of Iceland" in English.

Adding to what Anonymous, posting 2013, above says, Funi was started by Ragnar Kjartansson in the late 1940s before the better-known Glit was established (about 10 years later).

I would disagree with Anonymous regarding differences between Funi and Glit. As far as the pottery is concerned, someone familiar with Glit would definitely recognize many of the design elements in Funi.

Melissa: Hofy is Hólmfríður Vídalín Arngríms who I believe works from the North of Iceland.
May 19, 2014 at 12:17 AM
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