Eye candy

It's a bit of a blogging cliche, but I don't have a lot of time to write new posts at the moment. But I do have some eye candy to share! We have moved house this summer, and I now have an entire attic that I can fill with vases. I'm such a happy camper! 

And this is only the beginning. I'm still sorting through boxes that were stored at my parents house and deciding what may stay and what will be sold. So if you're interested in West-German pottery, keep an eye on the store. I've already added part of my Es-keramik collection, but there will be plenty more!

Teenie Weenie Polka Dots

West-German pottery is such a fun subject, as I'm always learning new things and making new discoveries. A while ago I encountered a factory that was unknown to me: Vereinigte Zeller Fabriken Georg Schmider. I know that's a whole mouth full, but their work is a lot more fun than the name.

The vase that started my new passion is this bad boy:

I love it. It just makes me happy looking at it. I can't imagine anything like that being made nowadays. It is just so mid century, so pop art. I do think it's the glaze that makes the vase, as the baluster inspired shape is actually really traditional.

Fast forward to two weeks ago: returning from their trip to the UK, my parents brought me this fantastic set of animals.

Doing some research, I found out these are also by Zeller! They are absolutely fantastic, so much fun. I specifically love that they are so humorous and colorful. Perfect example is the face of the fish:

So, what do we know about these, apart from how great they are?

There has been a pottery as early as 1794 in Zell am Harmersbach in Germany, in 1898 the factory that produced the wares above was taken over by Georg Schmider. In the early 20th century they produced a lot of traditional faiance, also some beautiful pieces in the Art Nouveau style.

In 1950 the factory hired Anneliese Beckh. A brilliant move as far as I'm concerned, as she designed all the pottery until 1983, including these lovely colorful bits.

Anneliese Beckh was also responsible for the cool Scoophead cats made by Zeller. I don't have any of them in my collection (yet!), so no pictures, but if you would like more information on them, there is a lovely Facebook group, which you can find here.

My First Fair!

Do you life in the Netherlands, and would you like to browse our items offline? You'll be able to see all the items in my Etsy shop and more on the 2nd and 3rd of November at the Collectors Fair in Nieuwegein (near Utrecht).

Hou je van vintage items en West-Germany vazen en wil je mijn vintage spulletjes liever in het echt bekijken? Op 2 & 3 november sta ik met een grote collectie Duits keramiek uit de jaren zeventig, Mid Century glas en andere items uit de jaren 50, 60 en 70 op de Grote Verzamel- en Curiosabeurs van Verzamelend Nederland in de Home Boxx in Nieuwegein!

Chariots of Fire

Remember the classic Egyptian inspiration for this Uebelacker vase that I wrote about a few weeks ago? Well, I have another German take on the classics for you today!

As we have had amazing autumn weather for the last two weeks, we decided to pick up my parents (who love a bit of antique-hunting themselves - I didn't get this passion from a stranger) and drive to Germany for the last few outdoor markets of this year.

These treasure hunts are what made me start collecting and selling vintage goodies in the first place. The thrill of the find, the feeling of anticipation and excitement on the way to the first market; you never know what you might find. We've had times when we came away with one small vase, but luckily we've also had trips were we returned with a car full of goodies.

This time we found some lovely items, the weather was good, it was great to spend time with my parents, people understood my German, and we had a Bratwurst. What more can one wish for?

One of the most enjoyable finds was this stunning baby blue vase with a décor of horse-drawn chariots, made by Jopeko. We found this beauty on the biggest market of the day, which mostly had people selling new items, and only a few sellers of used items. It is always difficult to predict if this will be the case in Germany, as both types of markets are called Trödelmarkt.

Jopeko 509-18, design from 1958

  

Even though this market didn't seem to be what we were looking for, we still decided to do a quick round, and at the last stand I spotted this vase, standing at the back of the stall. The lady who sold the vase told us that it was given to them by a Greek neighbor, and told them that it was a souvenir from Greece! At that time I couldn't read the markings on the vase, but I was still pretty sure that it was a fifties or sixties vase made by a West-German factory, so I bought it anyway.

When we came home, and it was time to do a bit of research, I found out that the vase is actually marked Foreign on the bottom, and not the usual West-Germany. I'm still wondering if the neighbor did actually buy the vase in Greece and brought it back to Germany, or if he bought it in Germany and didn't tell them or the story was remembered incorrectly.

Greek Amphora, British Museum

My first hunch, based on the shape of the vase, was that it was made by Kreutz or possibly by Jopeko. The sweet folks on the Pottery and Glass forum helped me out again, and they confirmed that it was indeed made by Jopeko. The shape of the vase was designed in 1958. This décor can also be found in black on red, and black on brown, even though in that case the chariots are in relief, and not impressed, as is the case with this example.

The image of horse-drawn chariots was of course based on decorations on ancient Greek and Roman vases, and this masculine, powerful image  was often used on West-German pottery, for example by Ruscha on wall-plaques and by Scheurich on floor vases.

The black on the light blue background works extremely well, and the slender handle make this a very elegant vase. Although the decoration is clearly inspired by the classics, the shape is quite innovative, and very Mid Century Modern.

I would love to hear if you have any clues if the vase might actually have come from Greece, if you have similar stories, please leave a comment!

Mid Century Modern Times

Ever since I heard that some of the West-Germany pottery factories were involved in making clocks, I've been hoping to find one. During my 8+ years of collecting I had never been so lucky, although I saw on the internet forums that there were plenty of fellow collectors who managed to find lovely examples.

That was until a few weekends ago when I biked to one of the neighboring villages to visit a  fair. There were a lot of clothes  and some antiques on sale, but I couldn't see anything remotely resembling a piece of West-German ceramics. I was already starting to wonder why I biked the whole way down here (it was quite a windy day). And then I saw it! Tucked away behind some spice jars and oven dishes stood this beautiful slate gray seventies clock! Could it be that I was super lucky and this was not just a seventies clock, but a GERMAN seventies clock as well?

Kienzle Boutique clock, body made by Carstens Tönnieshof

The first thing I noticed after the vendor passed it to me was the name Kienzle Boutique, confirming that it must indeed be a German clock! Kienzle is one of the oldest clock and watch making factories in Germany, they started manufacturing in 1822, and are still in existence today. The Boutique line was launched in the seventies, and targeted young, hip buyers that loved design. This line included metal, plastic, and ceramic items. Most items in this boutique line were colorful, and typically seventies in design and décor.

  

So far, so good. But when looking for vintage items, there is always the question of condition. You sometimes encounter the most amazing pieces, and it is such a turn-off when you spot that large chip or crack three seconds later, after the initial shock of finding the item cooled down a bit. (I'm ashamed to admit that there have been occasions when I was SO happy about I find that I became blind for damages to items, and didn't notice them until unpacking the item at home.) But in this case the face of the clock is in perfect vintage condition! Obviously I couldn't leave it, so I purchased the item and happily took it home. For now it is happily ticking away the time in my kitchen.

There still was a bit of research left to do (my favorite part), as I would love to know who actually made the clock. I had read that both Herbolzheim Keramik - a company that also made kitchen ware and wall plates - and Carstens Tönnieshof  made ceramic bodies for Kienzle. Based on that info and comparable examples I figured this one was probably made by Carstens, but I wasn't sure. Luckily the lovely folks on the pottery and glassforum were able to confirm for me that this item is indeed made by Carstens Tönnieshof voor Kienzle.

So there you have it! My first West-Germany pottery wall clock. I love the Mid Century Modern look of this clock, with its simple square shape, nice clean lines and well placed red and blue color accents. The thick metal hanging chain gives it that characteristic seventies feel. Carstens and Kienzle have produced a great piece of art in this collaboration!