I'm in the 313

The longer I've been collecting, the more I'm drawn to the ceramics made by Ruscha. Something in their designs is so elegant, especially those from the sixties. And where I loved bright colors and thick, runny fat lava when I started my collection, I now enjoy the slightly more subdued, earthy tones used by this factory.

In an earlier post I already showed my own collection of vases with the Vulkano glaze, in this post I want to highlight the 313. I think it is rightfully the most famous shape by Ruscha.

I mean, look at it! It's so elegant!

The vase was designed by Kurt Tschörner in 1954. The 313 went through a lot of transformations.

Somewhere in the 1960s, Ruscha decided that the model needed to be changed. The handle got thicker. I suspect this made the jug easier and cheaper to produce, maybe it also prevented that a lot of the vases from failing in the production process.

Later in it's history both the handle and the spout got bigger, which distinctly changed the form of the vase.

The 313 comes in many glazes, well over a hundred I believe. There is a great Facebook page displaying these wonderful glazes. These were produced until quite late, possibly as late as the 1990s (I think this brown/gray version might well be from that age).

Forrest Poston wrote a great article about the 313, where he discusses the changes in shape in more detail. You can find it here.

I would love to own a 313 with the original shape one day, with Vulkano glaze. Decor Filigrain would be fine as well... a girl has gotta dream, right?

Ceramic Lava

A while ago I showed you two of my favorite pieces from my own collection, two beautiful Ruscha bulls. The bull with the amazing blue/purple glaze was a gift from my parents, the other orange glazed one was actually the first bull in my collection, which I bought in a local auction. This orange glaze is one of my all time favorite glazes ever produced on West-German pottery.

The glaze was produced by Ruscha, designed by Otto Gerharz in 1959. Ruscha called the decor Vulcano; a very apt name indeed, as it reminds me of real lava and vulcanoes, especially because of the fiery orange glaze that is divided by rivers of darker greens. Most examples of this glaze have a lovely organic look and feel, as this isn't a smooth glaze, which contributes even more to the idea of lava.

The "West-Germany historians" often see this glaze as the turning point for West-German pottery. The pre-volcano glazes were typical of the fifties, mostly with pastel colored decorations. They were very pretty, but also a bit meek. 

Vulcano was one of the first daring glazes, which would be the start of two decades of innovative and experimental glazes and forms. Many people say that the dripping of the Vulcano glaze is the first step onto the road of the real Fat Lava glazes that marked the 1970s.

In addition to being the first step on the road to the future, I also feel that the glaze has roots in a long tradition of pottery. The glaze reminds me of the Japanese Raku wares, but also of Chinese oxide glazes.

The glaze isn't in production anymore, as heavy metals were added to make it. I do think that is a good thing, and I hope it will stay that way, because it makes the life of collectors so much easier!

Personally, the thing that draws me to this glaze is the diversity. Every single piece of Vulcano in my collection is different, and all are beautiful. The glaze is so tactile, and organic. The pieces that have a lot of green are stunning, they look like something that could have come from nature. 

Over the years, I was lucky enough to encounter several pieces of Vulcano glaze, and although they are getting more difficult to find, I managed to pick up this great pocket vase this winter. My other current favorite items are the extremely elegant 339 shape, the large 315 and, of course, the bull.

Although I love my collection, there are still two pieces on my wishlist that I hope to add in the coming years: a deer, and the classic 313 pitcher. A girl can hope, right?