Maker

 Bing & Grondahl

Bing & Grøndahl was founded on April 15 1853 by Grøndahl, who was a figurine maker for the Royal Danish Porcelain Factory, and the Bing brothers, who were art and book dealers. The factory was located on the corner of Vesterbrogade and Rahbek Allé in the Vesterbro area, at that time outside the city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Grøndahl initially began the company to produce bisque figurines modeled on the neoclassical sculptures of Thorvaldsen. The company extended production to include high style dinnerware and coffee sets.

Bing & Grøndahl's Seagull dinnerware, designed by Fanny Garde (1855-1925) in 1895, the company's signature design. The modest, classic design features flying seagulls against pale blue backgrounds, sea horse handles and shaded patterns of scales around the edges. Due to its popularity from the 1950s to the 1980s, the Seagull design was considered the "National Service of Denmark". During that period one out of every ten Danish households owned some of the dinnerware service.

In 1895, Bing & Grøndahl created the first in their series of Christmas plates. Designed with a traditional winter scene in cobalt blue and white, the plates have been released annually for more than 100 years. Noted as desirable by collectors, this series became responsible for a large portion of the company's production.

In 1987 the company merged with its primary competitor, the Royal Porcelain Factory under the name Royal Copenhagen.

---