The Bank of Latvia has released a silver commemorative coin to celebrate the work of “Baltars”, a society that produced artistic porcelain at their workshop in Latvia in the 1920s.

According to the Bank of Latvia website, “Baltars” (the name was taken from the Latvian ars Baltica – or Baltic art), founded in 1925, was inspired by Latvian painter Romans Suta, and, at their workshop, the creative core of the group was Suta, his wife -painter Aleksandra Beļcova, Latvian graphic art virtuoso Sigismunds Vidbergs, as well as painters Erasts Šveics and Lūcija Kuršinska.

Their work was recognized internationally, and won three medals at the International Decorative Arts Exhibition in Paris in 1925. However, due to the high costs of creating these works of art, and low sales, “Baltars” had a very brief period of operation, and ended their work in 1928.

The proof-quality coin, struck in the form of a plate, has a nominal face value of 5 Euro, and was minted at UAB Lietuvos monetų Kalykla in Lithuania, and has a mintage of 5000. The graphic design was created by artist Frančeska Kirke. One side of the coin has the “Baltars” logo, the other side has a reproduction of Suta’s art from the plate called “Dance”.

For further information, please visit the Bank of Latvia collectors’ coin page.