Porcelain Vase Duo “Plissée” – Martin Freyer for Rosenthal, 1968

Bisque porcelain vase duo from Martin Freyer’s iconic Plissée series for Rosenthal Studio-Line, designed in 1968. The finely pleated matte white relief wraps around each piece like soft fabric folds, creating a calm Op Art rhythm that shifts gently with the light.

• Dimensions:
  • Rounded vase: H 21 cm, Dia 18 cm
  • Slim vase: H 23 cm, Dia 9 cm
• Material: Bisque porcelain, matte exterior, glazed interior
• Brand: Rosenthal Studio-Line
• Designer: Hans Martin Freyer
• Color: White, matte outside, glossy white inside
• Condition: Very good to excellent vintage condition; no chips, cracks or repairs, with a light, even patina from age
• Era: Design year is 1968, both vases date back to 1969
• Origin: Germany
  

Best on a sideboard, console or low cabinet where side light can glide over the pleats: place the taller vase slightly behind or to one side of the rounder piece, add just a few fine branches or dried grasses to one vase, and keep the rest of the vignette quiet – a couple of books, a small bowl or candle.

Hans Martin Freyer (1909–1975) was a German painter, graphic and industrial designer whose work ranged from architecture and stage design to textiles and product design. Best known to the wider public as the creator of the refined Volkswagen VW logo in 1938, he later worked as a freelance designer of patterns, structures and reliefs. From 1964 to 1974 he designed for Rosenthal, developing sculptural relief decorations for glass and porcelain in the studio-line – most famously the Plissée vases, whose pleated, fabric-like white or black bisque surfaces remain icons of mid-century and Op-Art influenced German porcelain design.

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.