Nautica Porcelaine Noire Bowl – Jan van der Vaart & Helmut Drexler for Rosenthal, 1990s

Large Porcelaine Noire centrepiece bowl in deep black porcelain, designed by Dutch ceramist Jan van der Vaart (Nautica Series) and hand-finished by Helmut Drexler with a rose-gold lustre rim. The strict, geometric body and warm metallic edge capture late-20th-century Rosenthal design at its most refined.

• Dimensions: H 11 cm, W 28.5 cm, D 28.5 cm
• Material: Porcelaine Noire with hand-painted lustre rim
• Brand: Rosenthal
• Designer: Jan van der Vaart (form), Helmut Drexler (decoration)
• Color: Black with metallic rim
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition; no chips, cracks or repairs, minimal signs of age
• Era: c. 1990
• Origin: Germany
  

Ideal as a low centrepiece on a dining or coffee table, where the black porcelain and fine metallic edge can catch candlelight or daylight without visual noise around it. 

Jan van der Vaart (1931–2000) was a leading Dutch ceramist, known for his strictly geometric, modular vessel forms and for elevating serial, cast pieces to collectible design. As professor at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam he shaped a generation of ceramic artists, and his works are held in major museum collections such as the Stedelijk Museum and Princessehof. 

Helmut Drexler (1927–2016) was a German porcelain painter and designer who rose from apprentice at Rosenthal in Selb to master painter, then head of the decoration department. From the 1970s onwards he developed experimental surface treatments that transformed porcelain with complex metallic and marbled effects; Goldfeuer was one of his breakthrough décors, first shown at Rosenthal’s 8th Artists’ Days in 1985. By etching the glaze, applying gold in varying thicknesses and firing it under a marbling lacquer, Drexler achieved a controlled play of lilac tones and dense gold veins that has never been convincingly imitated, cementing his reputation as a technical and artistic innovator.

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.