Raahe Dogs

The Raahe porcelain dogs, also known as “ship dogs”, are a modern reproduction inspired by the Staffordshire dogs brought to Finland from England by sailors. The idea for the Raahe dogs was created in the early 1980s by Kirsti Niemelä, a porcelain artist from Raahe. Initially, Eeva-Liisa and Susanna Nissinen cast the dogs, and later Kirsti cast them herself. Raahe Dogs do not represent any specific dog breed, unlike their English counterparts.

Since 2010, Raahen Taitopaja has continued porcelain artist Kirsti Niemelä’s legacy by producing these iconic dogs. The dogs are entirely handcrafted, starting right from the mold-making stage, making each Raahe dog a truly unique piece. The dogs can be purchased either individually or as a pair.

n the 1860s, Raahe was the largest sailing ship city in Finland, and consequently, a major part of the local men were sailors. They brough home porcelain ship dogs as souvenirs. The sailors’ wives placed the dogs on windowsills, and the dogs adopted a unique sign language of their own: their positioning signaled to the townspeople whether the master of the house was home or not. When the dogs looked out the window, the master was away at sea. When he returned from the sea, the dogs were turned to face inside the house.

Today, the people of Raahe honor their maritime past by decorating their homes with these ship dogs. Raahe dogs have also found their way into homes around the world as souvenirs and gifts.

Original Porcelain Dogs
Staffordshire dogs from England are named after the region where they were manufactured. Their model was Queen Victoria’s favorite breed, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Staffordshire dogs were typically white with brown or black patches and wore a golden collar around their necks. They were produced in a wide range of sizes, from small ornaments measuring just 6–7 centimeters to statues nearly one meter tall. The backs of Staffordshire dogs were flat and undecorated, as these figures were intended to be viewed only from the front. Unlike today’s Raahe dogs.

The Staffordshire dogs themselves were inspired by Chinese Foo Dogs, which traveled to Europe via East India Company ships as ornaments for bourgeois and noble homes. The Staffordshire dogs then spread worldwide with sailors. The Raahe Museum has five authentic Staffordshire dogs.