SAXBO – stoneware for the people
25 January – 20 September 2026
The exhibition SAXBO – stoneware for the people unfolds the story of two remarkable women who dared to compete with the esteemed factories Bing & Grøndahl and the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory. Nathalie Krebs and Eva Stæhr-Nielsen quickly achieved artistic success with their stoneware, and even in their own time the Saxbo studio was celebrated as a highlight of Danish and Nordic ceramics.
In 1929, Nathalie Krebs set out her simple vision for the new stoneware studio: “Pure colours, simple forms, honest craftsmanship and sound technique.” As director and glaze master, she led the studio from its founding until its closure in 1968. A decisive factor in Saxbo’s success, however, was the appointment in 1932 of the young ceramicist Eva Wilhjelm, later Stæhr-Nielsen. Until 1968, she designed the majority of Saxbo’s forms, including the iconic Split Jug (Spaltekanden), which became synonymous with “classic Saxbo stoneware”. The enduring popularity of the Split Jug is evident even today, with the company Spring Copenhagen having reintroduced the design.
The exhibition SAXBO – Stoneware for the People is built around a new donation of 104 significant works, acquired from a Danish private collection with support from the New Carlsberg Foundation. It explores and nuances the story of women’s position and influence in the applied arts, focusing on the unique and close collaboration between glaze specialist Nathalie Krebs and designer Eva Stæhr-Nielsen. It also shows how Saxbo’s stoneware, made for the “average Dane”, gained international recognition and was acquired by museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. The studio’s vases, jars, and bowls, with Krebs’ elegant glazes in shades of green, blue, brown, yellow, and white, achieved cult status as works of art – a fascinating paradox explored for the first time in this exhibition.
The exhibition is supported by:
Augustinus Fonden, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond, Arne V. Schleschs Fond, Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, Toyota-Fonden.