Michael Andersen & Son, Bornholm, Denmark
The terracotta, faience, and stoneware factory Michael Andersen was established in 1890, when Jens Michael Andersen took over an existing workshop in the city Ronne on the Danish island of Bornholm, where many well-known ceramic enterprises are located. Jens Michael Andersen was trained as a ceramicist at another known company on Bornholm, L. Hjorth, where he worked for many years. Throughout the years, Michael Andersen mainly produced decorative items, and only to a lesser degree housewares.
It was especially the family's eldest son, Daniel Andersen, who left his mark on the production. He sought inspiration by staying in what is now called the Czech Republic, and later in Vienna. Daniel Andersen developed the Persia technique, a new glaze which received the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1935. As artistic director Daniel Andersen continuously employed a wide range of artists, including the Danish ceramiscist and sculptor Knud Kyhn, the Austrian sculptor Ernst Weber, the Danish sculptors Jacob Bregnø, Harald Isenstein, Vibeke Hansen, and Peter Hald.
Marianne Starck was employed at Michael Andersen and Son in 1955 . She was educated at the School of Fine Arts in Hamburg and became a prominent figure in the company. From 1975 she had the artistic as well as the technical responsibility and distinguished herself with a large, versatile and imaginative production.
