Glasfabriek Leerdam - A.D. Copier - Borcan (3) - Graniver - Cactuspots

Three Andries Copier Graniver Cactus Pots for Glasfabriek Leerdam, 1928–1929

A wonderfully decorative group of three yellow Graniver cactus pots designed by Andries Dirk Copier for Glasfabriek Leerdam, comprising an early round footed model and two of his celebrated square building bricks flower pots.

Designed in the 1920s, these objects capture a fascinating moment when the new Dutch enthusiasm for cacti and succulents met the increasingly functional and geometric language of modernism.

Cacti became remarkably fashionable in European interiors during the late 1920s. They particularly suited to the new modern interiors of the period, and Copier responded with flowerpots that were both practical and strikingly modern.

His first Graniver cactus pots were round, raised on small rectangular feet. In 1929 he developed the idea further with the square model, giving the sides a clever system of projecting ribs and corresponding recesses. Several pots could consequently be pushed together to form a continuous row across a windowsill.

The brochure introducing the design was rather confidently titled ''A Discovery!'' and praised the decorative effect created by combining several pots interlocking in a row.

The two square examples in this group beautifully demonstrate the idea. Although almost identical in footprint, one is taller than the other. Placed together with the smaller round pot, they form an unexpectedly architectural little composition with geometric relief.

The pots were also intended to simplify the conventional flowerpot. Rather than placing a terracotta pot inside a decorative cachepot, the cactus or succulent could be planted directly into the Graniver vessel, with drainage incorporated into the design.

Graniver

Perhaps most interestingly, these objects are made not from ceramic but from Graniver, an experimental form of pressed glass developed by Glasfabriek Leerdam in the early 1920s.

Also described as granite glass, stone glass or sand glass, Graniver contains a particularly high proportion of sand and could incorporate waste glass and other inexpensive materials available at the factory. Its granular, opaque appearance gives it an almost stone-like surface, very different from the transparent blown glass normally associated with Leerdam.

Originally developed as an economical architectural material for floor, wall and mosaic tiles, Copier recognised that this industrial material could also be transformed into objects for the modern interior.

Examples of Copier's square cactus pots are represented in important Dutch collections including the Rijksmuseum, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Nieuwe Instituut, where a yellow example is displayed in the reconstructed modernist interior of Huis Sonneveld.

This group consists of three yellow Graniver pots in subtly differing tones and textures: one round footed example and two square architectural models in different heights.

Andries Dirk Copier (1901–1991)
Glasfabriek Leerdam, Netherlands

Dimensions

*Round pot:* H 8.5 × Ø 9 cm
H 3.3 × Ø 3.5 in

*Low square pot:* H 10 × W 11 × D 11 cm
H 3.9 × W 4.3 × D 4.3 in

*Tall square pot:* H 12.5 × W 11 × D 11 cm
H 4.9 × W 4.3 × D 4.3 in

Condition

The pots are in vintage condition, with visible age-related wear and several hairlines and small damages. Some lines may be old stabilised or glued repairs, although this is difficult to determine with complete certainty. The tallest of the three is in the best condition. Please refer closely to the photographs.

Literature / Collections

Comparable square Graniver cactus pots are held by the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Nieuwe Instituut. The design is also illustrated in Leerdam Glas 1878–2003 by A. van der Kley-Blekxtoon.