Top result for Birger Kaipiainen’s Pearl Bird

Sunday’s result means that Stockholms Auktionsverk in Helsinki now accounts for two of the three highest prices ever achieved for Kaipiainen’s beaded birds – all recorded during the 2020s.

“It’s fantastic to see how Kaipiainen’s finest works continue to grow in popularity with each passing year. His beaded birds rarely come onto the market, so interest during the viewing was very strong, but the intense bidding over the weekend still managed to exceed all our high expectations,” says Dan von Koskull, branch manager and design specialist at Stockholms Auktionsverk in Helsinki.

Birger Kaipiainen was one of Finland’s leading ceramic artists, and in 1960 he won the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale with his beaded birds – an award that also marked his international breakthrough. The birds, especially the curlews, have become a signature motif and recur in several variations, often richly decorated with ceramic beads.

During the weekend’s Modern Art & Design auction in Helsinki, several other items also achieved high final prices. Among them, a ceiling lamp, PH 5/5, designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen in the 1940s–50s, sold for SEK 305,000. A table lamp, model 9208 from the 1940s by Paavo Tynell for Taito Oy, fetched over SEK 202,000. A floor lamp, model 100F from the 1960s by Yrjö Kukkapuro for Haimi, reached SEK 197,000 – more than three times its estimate. In addition, a café chair, no. 10/68 from 1954, designed by Alvar Aalto for Rautatalo Café in Helsinki, sold for SEK 111,000, nearly three times the starting price.