Romance, rosenthal, 1964. service in porcelain. The Magic Flute, 1968. service in porcelain. opposite page: top: Portrait of bjørn Wiinblad with the shah’s service, 1971. Wiinblad’s service for the iranian shah’s celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the birth of the Persian empire. in his hand Wiinblad holds a specially designed caviare bowl consisting of two parts – the top for caviare, the bottom for the ice that is to keep the caviare cold. bottom: the shah’s service, 1971. service in porcelain with gold-decorated plate borders.
Wiinblad’s works for Nymølle, and he asked Wiinblad to take a trip to Germany. This was the starting shot for an important and lucrative collaboration that lasted the rest of Wiinblad’s life. He made a large number of porcelain designs for the company, and for many years even worked as chief designer for the German porcelain giant. The services The Magic Flute, Romance and Lotus are just some of the classics that Wiinblad created in the Rosenthal context. The Magic Flute is in fact still in production today. The expression in these service designs appears more simple, pure and rigorous, and at first glance it may seem surprising that this is Wiinblad design. But when one looks more closely at the decor of the plate borders, Wiinblad’s line is clearly recognizable. Wiinblad was always able to remain true to his line. The Rosenthal collaboration contributed in earnest to Wiinblad’s great international impact and his designs are still the object of keen attention among collectors in Germany, Asia and the USA. And it was through the Rosenthal collaboration that Bjørn Wiinblad was commissioned to create the Shah’s service. 36
The Shah’s service In October 1971, when Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran was to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the foundation of the Persian Empire, Wiinblad received a prestigious royal commission – to design the dinner service for the great banquet. The commission came because the previous year the Empress Farah Diba had seen Wiinblad’s service The Magic Flute. She wanted Wiinblad to create a service in the same style, but even more exuberant. Formally the two services resembled each other, but the ornamentation on the golddecorated plate borders in the Shah’s service is inspired by ancient Persian decoration and motifs from the history of the Empire, and even today has a cool, contemporary look. The celebration of the Persian Empire consisted of a long succession of festivities that lasted several days in October 1971. The intention of the celebration was to mark the long history of Iran and demonstrate the modern progress of the country under Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. At the banquet there were six hundred guests, and the dinner lasted over five and a half hours, which made