Arabia Sotka Soup Plate 21 cm, Vintage

Sotka (bluebill, a bird) features a hand-painted feather-like decoration in beautiful cobalt blue against a pure white background.

The highlight of this design is the artful and calligraphic brush-strokes, which have required extreme skill. Arabia was indeed much admired for the talent of its ceramic painters. The hand-painted nature of the pattern makes each dish excitingly unique and the colours shift in tone from pale watercolour washes to deep and luxurious tones. This change in colours give the simple design an exciting illusion of three-dimensionality and depth.

According to Finnish mythology the world was created from six golden eggs and one iron egg laid by this waterbird for Ilmatar, goddess of the air. Likewise the deep blue pattern by Raija Uosikkinen feels elegant and richly mysterious.

A plate mainly for soup, that can also be used as a bowl for cereal or pasta.

These vintage plates are in good condition, there are no signs of wear. The hand-painting is in some cases a bit inaccurate, there might be some small drops of blue paint or a darker dot. There might also be a few tiny bubbles on the glazing. The additional photos show examples.