Rosewood Coffee Table with Tue Poulsen Tiles, Denmark, 1960s
Rosewood and relief-glazed stoneware tiles, signed “tue”
A long Danish coffee table whose tiled top is the work of ceramicist Tue Poulsen. One tile carries his signature, “tue”, brushed in oxide.
The tiles are the story: pale stoneware in mixed formats, carved with relief diamonds, rosettes and starbursts, beneath deep oxide glazes that pool and vary from tile to tile, so no two are alike. A fine rosewood frame with mitred corners sets the composition off like a picture.
Below it, the legs meet the frame with a softly radiused shoulder, and a slim rail runs around all four sides just beneath the top, a quiet second frame that echoes the one above.
At over a metre and a half long, it anchors a sofa arrangement with ease. The surface is durable and characterful, and reads as much as a piece of studio ceramics as a table.
Imported directly from Denmark. Frame restored and refinished in-house; tiles cleaned.
About the ceramicist
Tue Poulsen (b. 1939) is a Danish sculptor and ceramicist known for richly textured, relief-glazed stoneware tiles. In the 1960s his tiles were set into a series of coffee tables produced by Haslev Møbelsnedkeri. Each tile was made by hand, and his tile-topped tables are now sought after for their sculptural, studio-pottery quality.
All Vintage Club pieces are carefully considered for authenticity, provenance and condition before acquisition. Restoration is undertaken in-house to the highest standard.
Maker: Unattributed; tiles by Tue Poulsen (signed “tue”)
Country: Denmark
Period: 1960s
Materials: Rosewood, glazed stoneware tiles
Dimensions: W 153.5 × D 73 × H 50 cm
Condition Report
Very good. The frame has been restored and refinished in-house. The tiles are intact, with one signed “tue” in oxide at its corner. The glaze shows fine crazing throughout, in keeping with handmade stoneware of this age, and variation in glaze is inherent to the making. As with all authentic mid-century pieces, gentle signs of age remain and are considered part of their character.
Rosewood is a CITES-listed timber. This piece is offered for sale within South Africa; export may require CITES documentation, which remains the buyer’s responsibility.
