Sabena Airline Tableware - Cup & saucer

Tableware set used aboard aircraft of the Belgian airline Sabena (Société Anonyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne), now defunct.

Manufactured by the German porcelain maker Seltmann Weiden (Bavaria, Germany).

Description

White porcelain tableware set including cups, saucers, bowls, and plates, decorated with a stylized pattern composed of:

• blue birds in flight
• yellow stars

This design is directly inspired by the visual universe of the Belgian painter
René Magritte, particularly his iconic bird motif.

Design characteristics

The bird motif used here reflects a simplified and repetitive form typical of Magritte’s visual language:

• solid silhouette
• absence of naturalistic detail
• immediate graphic readability

This type of adaptation was used in Belgian institutional and design contexts in the late 20th century.

The bird is rendered in a deep blue tone, creating a strong contrast with the white porcelain and enhancing the clarity of the design.

Marks

The pieces bear various markings:

• Sabena logo (inflight use)
• Seltmann Weiden – Bavaria – Germany mark
• internal references (SAG…)
• some pieces also feature an embossed “SABENA” marking

Dating

Estimated production: late 1980s – 1990s
(period of Sabena’s visual identity modernization)

Condition

• Excellent condition
• Little to no signs of use

Possibly from unused stock or post-liquidation following Sabena’s bankruptcy in 2001.

Collectibility & significance

• European civil aviation object
• Example of applied Belgian design
• Connection to Magritte-inspired imagery

 HaruFuyu Spirit

Between sky and stillness, these pieces tell the story of a suspended journey.

The birds, inspired by the world of René Magritte, are neither fully real nor entirely abstract. They move across the porcelain as they would across the sky — weightless and silent.

The deep blue evokes infinity, while the golden accents recall subtle constellations.

Once used aboard aircraft of Sabena, these objects already carried the idea of travel.

Today, they invite a different kind of journey — slower, more introspective.

A tableware set that does not merely serve a function, but creates a moment.