The Countess Lene
A History shaped by the angels
The sentence «Bring happiness to yourself and others» became soon the distinctive motto of the Countess Lene Thun (1926-2004) which, since childhood, captured the hearts of those who surrounded her with the lovely figurines shaped with clay. She was a very happy child, with a great charisma and able to feel real affection for others. Since childhood, Lene revealed her gifted abilities , she grew surrounded by a family environment mainly composed by women and enriched by intellectual stimuli. During that period, the family hotel was the cultural point of reference for many local well-known personalities, such as Luis Trenkel or Josef Kienlechner. Her parents and aunts transmit her the passion for the mauntains and culture in general, while helping her to develop her own personality. Her passion for nature and travels is clearly visible in her most important creations in ceramic. The angels were on one hand, inspired by her sons; on the other, the draperies and facial traits recolled of the Alto Adice mountains and valleys. The clothes inspired by the traditions from the South of Italy, as well as, the allegorical elements scattered through her entire collentions made them real iconic pieces.
The pomegranate, symbol of fertililty,inspired her for the reaization of the anctient potteries and the THUN Club limited editions: the butterfly and tulips, which Lene was used to find during her walks around the mountains. They became the patterns for the Everyday and Prestige collections , the hearts, the angelshaped faces and much more.
Lene was able to leave a remarkable sign in the history of South Tyrol and of the Italian design. With her passion, she was able to bring joy inside the houses of many consumers. At the same time, her artistic traces found their final concretisation in the Lene Thun ONLUS Foundation, which brings blitheness to all the little patients recovered at the pediatric hospitals.