Flash Porcelain Vase – Dorothy Hafner for Rosenthal, 1980s

Porcelain vase from Dorothy Hafner’s Flash series for Rosenthal Studio-Line, shown here in the larger 23 cm version. With its triangular form and vivid graphic decoration in black, red, yellow, blue, and turquoise, the piece captures the playful, high-contrast design language that made Hafner’s work for Rosenthal so recognizable in the 1980s.

• Dimensions: H 23 cm, W 13 cm, D 13 cm
  
• Material: Porcelain
  
• Brand: Rosenthal
  
• Designer: Dorothy Hafner
  
• Color: White, black, red, yellow, blue, and turquoise
  
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition; minimal signs of use; surface bright and well preserved
  
• Era: 1980s
  
• Origin: Germany
  
• Remarks: Flash series

Place it on a shelf, console, or sideboard where the pattern can stand out against a calm background. It looks best with very little around it, so the shape and color stay crisp and easy to read.

Dorothy Hafner (born 1952, Woodbridge, Connecticut) is an American ceramist and glass artist whose bold, postmodern geometric pattern language turned functional tableware into collectible design. After founding Art in Dining and creating lines for major firms (including Tiffany & Co.), she began collaborating with Rosenthal in 1982, becoming best known for the “Flash” dinnerware series—widely regarded as her signature porcelain work.

Rosenthal, founded in 1879 in Selb, Bavaria, is one of Germany’s most important porcelain manufacturers, recognised for combining industrial production with high design standards. With its Studio-Linie programme from the 1960s onwards, Rosenthal invited international artists and designers to create avant-garde forms and décors, making pieces like this set both functional objects and design collectibles.