Deep red glaze pools inside this Gloria bowl, model 6022, designed by Mari Simmulson for the Swedish ceramics factory Upsala-Ekeby in the late 1960s. The underside carries the impressed UE Sweden mark, the model number and Simmulson's monogram, making the piece easy to identify for collectors of Swedish mid-century ceramics.
Born in St Petersburg to an Estonian family, Simmulson spent more than two decades at Upsala-Ekeby, from 1949 until 1972, and became one of the factory's most recognisable designers, known for confident colour and inventive surface treatments. The Gloria series comes from the later part of that tenure, around 1966 to 1970.
Contrast defines the piece. The outside is covered in a crusty white glaze broken up by dark brown speckles and finished with a smooth brown band at the foot, while the inside is a glossy, saturated red. The compact, low form works as a small catch-all on a shelf or side table, or simply as a colour accent among other ceramics.
Minor signs of use are visible on the underside, consistent with the bowl's age. Natural variations in the glaze mean no two Gloria bowls look quite the same.
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