Rörstrand Christmas Plates with Swedish History and Christmas Tradition
The Swedish porcelain factory Rörstrand began producing Christmas plates already in 1904 and has since released several different series. The motifs range from traditional Christmas and winter scenes to Swedish landscapes and the story of Nils Holgersson. The expression has also changed over the years, from the early blue-and-white plates to Gunnar Nylund's square models and the colorful Christmas Poetry plates.
Rörstrand's First Christmas Plates from 1904 to 1925
Rörstrand was the first Swedish porcelain factory to start issuing annual Christmas plates. This began in 1904 and the series continued until 1925.
The old Christmas plates are made in blue-and-white porcelain with various Christmas and winter motifs. They belong to the earliest Swedish Christmas plates and give a good insight into the motifs used at the beginning of the 20th century.
For collectors, it is especially the early editions that can be interesting. They are now more than 100 years old, and it can be an exciting task to find the missing editions for a collection.
Gunnar Nylund's Christmas Plates from 1968 to 1999
In 1968, Rörstrand introduced a new series of Christmas plates, designed by the Swedish-Danish ceramic artist Gunnar Nylund. The plates are square with rounded corners and blue motifs on a white background, and the series continued until 1999.
The first two editions from 1968 and 1969 had traditional Christmas motifs, but from 1970 the series took a new direction. Now the motifs were taken from Selma Lagerlöf's story about Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey through Sweden.
In the story, Nils Holgersson travels through Sweden on the back of a goose, and on the plates we encounter different places and landscapes from his journey. This makes the series a bit different from many other Christmas plates, because the motifs are connected and tell a story across the editions.
Rörstrand Christmas Poetry with Colorful Motifs
Rörstrand also released a series of Christmas plates called Christmas Poetry, introduced in 1979. The motifs were created by designer Jackie Lynd and clearly differ from Gunnar Nylund's blue-and-white plates.
The Christmas Poetry plates are round and decorated with colorful Christmas motifs and gold details. The inspiration comes among other things from well-known Christmas songs, and the first edition from 1979 features the motif "Silent Night, Holy Night." The 1980 edition shows the three wise men.
The Christmas Poetry series also includes Rörstrand mugs and Christmas bells with matching motifs. The mugs can be used for Christmas coffee, while the Christmas bells are nice to display together with the plates or hang on the Christmas tree.
It is precisely the combination of Christmas plates, mugs, and Christmas bells that makes Christmas Poetry interesting to collect. You can choose individual pieces with a motif you like or collect several editions and display the different pieces together at Christmas.
How Can You Use Rörstrand Christmas Plates?
Although Rörstrand Christmas plates are made with Christmas in mind, there is no reason to put them away for the rest of the year. Some motifs fit well into the decor year-round, while others are cozy to bring out with the Christmas decorations. Here you get some inspiration on how to use the plates.
Create a Wall with Swedish Christmas Plates
Rörstrand Christmas plates can look really beautiful collected on a wall, and the different shapes and colors offer many possibilities. For example, you can hang Gunnar Nylund's square plates in neat rows, collect the old blue-and-white Christmas plates, or give the colorful motifs from the Christmas Poetry series their own space.
You can also mix plates from different series and editions if you want a bit more variation. The blue-and-white motifs go well with other porcelain, while the colorful Christmas Poetry plates can add some extra life to the wall. And even though they are Christmas plates, there is certainly nothing wrong with letting them hang out all year round.
Display Plates on a Shelf or Sideboard
If you do not want to hang the plates on the wall, you can place them in a plate holder on a shelf, in a bookcase, or on a sideboard. This works both with a single Christmas plate and with several different motifs collected together.
Also try combining the old blue-and-white Rörstrand Christmas plates with vases, candlesticks, or other porcelain you already have. At Christmas, you can supplement with some spruce and Christmas figures, while the plates can easily remain displayed without Christmas decorations for the rest of the year.
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