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Margrethe Bowls
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Margrethe Bowls

Author: 
Carroll Gantz
Designer: 
Bernadotte, Sigvard
Date: 
1950
Margrethe Bowls

This nesting set of five melamine mixing bowls in various sizes and colors were designed by Swedish designer Sigvard Bernadotte (1907-2002) and Danish architect Acton BjØrn (1910-1992). They were manufactured by Rosti of Denmark, a manufacturer of plastic products since 1944. Bernadotte & BjØrn was Scandinavia’s first industrial design firm, founded in 1950. Bernadotte was born in a Swedish royal household, and the design was named after Margrethe, born in 1940 as the daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and Queen Ingred, born Princess of Sweden. A talented and artistic person, Margrethe became Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 1972 when her father died, the first female Danish Sovereign. Bernadotte began his career in film as a background builder, and worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood as well as Sweden. Beginning in 1930, he designed over 150 elegant and modern silver pieces for the Georg Jensen workshop in Denmark. During a trip to America in the late 1930s, he met Raymond Loewy and Henry Dreyfuss and was inspired by industrial design. Bernadotte later became president of Icsid and was internationally known. In 1960, Copco Inc. was established in the U.S. by Sam Farber, and among the first products he had manufactured and distributed were the Margrethe bowls by Bernadotte & BjØrn. Similar versions of this classic design are still being produced.

Sources: 
100 Years of Design consists of excerpts from a book by Carroll M. Gantz, FIDSA, entitled, Design Chronicles: Significant Mass-produced Designs of the 20th Century, published August 2005 by Schiffer Publications, Ltd.
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