Danish ceramicist Jens Michael Andersen opened his pottery workshop on the little island of Bornholm, off the coast of Denmark, in the 1890’s. He (and his four sons) won recognition and awards at ceramics expositions throughout Europe. Their shopmark, a chevron with three parallel herrings, was adapted from the town crest of Rønne, home town of their workshop.
In 1955, the company hired German ceramicist Marianne Starck as Art Director, a position she would hold until 1993. Starck brought an exciting and distinct look to the pieces she designed for Michael Andersen—always with a highly-sculpted, dimensional appearance. Whether a (rather serious) vase, like the one above, or one of her more colorful and whimsical decorative wall plaques, Marianne Starck’s works have become highly collectible.