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West German Pottery News and Updates
July 9, 2012      Designer Cari Zalloni died July 3, 2012.  Best known to pottery collectors for his designs for Steuler, Zalloni went on to found Carzal for designer eyeglasses.

August, 2010  The W. German pottery exhibition at the Canadian Clay and Glass Museum, Waterloo, Ontario has been canceled. (Reason seems to depend on who you ask.)

February, 2010  There's a Scheurich 426 floor vase in Cameron and Mitchell's house in one episode of "Modern Family".

January, 2010
 WGP on the Screen:  In The Hoax (2006, Richard Gere), one of the vases in a conference room scene sure looks like the Polar glaze by Dümler & Breiden.  I've also heard that some Scheurich is showing up in episodes of Mad Men, but since we're currently sans cable, I can't confirm it.

November, 2009
Early copies of Kevin Graham's book had problems with the binding, so additional copies are being delayed until the matter can be settled with the printer.  Yeah, if not one thing, it's another, or two, or three...

July, 2009
  We now have a Facebook group for West German pottery.  To join, go here.

The special edition of Kevin Graham's book is ready.  For more information, go here.

June, 2009
  View our series of videos about W. German pottery without leaving our site: Video page.

The revised version of Fat Lava is now available.  Go to: Mark Hill Publishing.

Kevin Graham's two-volume set is now at the printers.  Volume one contains 262 pages with 568 color photos, 282 company marks.  Included are 108 companies with information about designers, decors and dates.  Volume two is 174 pages with form/size numbers for over 200 companies.  Also included are 300 photographs of marks and information about designers, dates of manufacture and additional details to help identify items.

April, 2009 
          We've started producing a series of videos, and the first one is now on YouTube. Identifying West German Pottery: Reading the Base

March, 2009

          With a little luck Kevin Graham's first book on West German pottery will  be out this summer.

January, 2009
Kevin Graham is talking with a different publisher and hopes to get by assorted problems that have held up the book.

The last word I has was that there will be an exhibition of WGP at the Canadian Clay and Glass Museum, Waterloo, Ontario September 26 , 2010-January 7, 2011.

The Fat Lava Collectors Club located in Toronto remains on hiatus until the exhibition.  To me, that means there is no actual club. Sorry, but it's not my doing.

Patrick and Petra Folksema are working on an online exhibition beginning at the end of May, 2009 and lasting 4 weeks.  The plan is to have webcams at several different locations around the world and broadcasting through a central hub so people can take a virtual tour of several collections.

The January issue of Antiques Roadshow Insider magazine includes a two-page story about WGP written by Pete Prunkl.  Check it out if you can.  Along with smaller mentions in Country Living, Metropolitan Home, and House Beautiful, it's been a great stretch for publicity.  Unfortunately, the economy has not been kind to collectors.  eBay listings of WGP are way down.

November, 2008

You can now purchase a 16 minute documentary about Fat Lava/West German pottery featuring shots of the Fat Lava exhibit in England in 2006 plus interviews with Dr. Graham Cooley and others.  You can purchase a copy from Mark Hill Publishing or get more information by going:

You can also see a 4 minute excerpt on YouTube (note that the timer on YouTube says the video is over 9:00 long, but it actually finishes after about 4.):

July, 2008  

Michael and Lori Palmer have found evidence that Abels, Wasserberg & Co. of New York imported several shapes from Carstens in the late 1950's and early 60's.  Items identitied so far are small and feature brown glazes with gold rims.  This is the first evidence that West German pottery was directly imported into the US.

On the publicity front, the July issue of House Beautiful includes a story about the Brooklyn Flea, and one of the items pictured is a Steuler candle holder from the Continua series designed by Cari Zalloni.  There should also be a similar story in Country Living in August or October that may have some WG pottery pictured.  A 100 word blurb on fat lava should be coming in Metropolitan Home, and the August or October issue of Antiques Roadshow Insider magazine should have a story by Pete Prunkl about West German pottery.

The Fat Lava Collectors Club is on hiatus while Conrad works on a West German pottery exhibition.  More information about the exhibition as it becomes available.

March, 2008

Publication for Kevin Graham's book "West German Ceramics From Spritzdecor to Fat Lava, Vol. 1" is set for April 15. Full information on price and ordering should be available soon.  (Publication delayed while Kevin sorts out some issues with the printing company.)

February, 2008

A group of lava glaze vases whose attribution was not widely known turn out to be Dutch, not W. German:
Van Woerden vases

April, 2007

Largest currently known piece of W. German commercial art pottery, 65cm Scheurich vase.

Kevin Graham's book is almost ready. We now have a few advance pages: Collecting German-Ceramics: 40s, 50's, 60's, 70s, 80s, 90s
Vol. One. Preview

The Fat Lava Collectors Club is now up to 63 members.

The 2008 edition of Miller's Collectibles will include a section on W. German pottery for the first time, including several items from this site.

The 2008 edition of Judith Miller's Collectibles will also have a section as they did in 2007, with all different items this year.

Still waiting for a design magazine or show to open their eyes.

February, 2007

Once thought to by Ü or ES, this particular line of sculptural vases turned out to be Roth:
Story and comparison

January, 2007

    Kevin Graham is moving closer to publishing the first full-scale English language book on West German Pottery. He has found a publisher. Hopefully, a publication date will be coming soon.

     The Discovering Tomorrow's Retro Treasures exhibition will include W. German pottery. The exhibition will be in Toronto, Canada, October, 2007. The exhibition will be in two locations: Rogue Gallery, and Twice Found. There may be a third location at the Toronto Metropoltian Library. For more information, contact the Fat Lava Collector's Club at marias@rom.on.ca.

     The first known collector's club for WGP has formed, known as the Fat Lava Collector's Club. Meetings are in Toronto, Canada, but through the internet, the membership is already international. So far, the club has proven quite active. Contact: marias@rom.on.ca

     The 2007 edition of Judith Miller's Collectibles includes a section on WGP. Although I have some quibbles with the section, it's a start.

(The term Fat Lava has become quite popular and also problematic. It actually refers to certain thick, lava or volcanic glazes with the word Fat actually being a poor translation for "thick". Unfortunately, the phrase is getting used as almost synonymous with West German pottery, and that is far from true. There are many other glaze and decoration types in WGP, and they are often as interesting and popular as the fat lava glazes.)

Other West German Pottery Pages:

West German Pottery News and Updates

Essay: An Introduction to West German Pottery Lava and Volcanic Glazes

Essay: Collecting West German Pottery: Thoughts, Philosophy, and History

A Sneak Peek at Kevin Graham's Upcoming Book

Essay: Reputation, Reality, and Respect: Sorting Out West German Pottery

Essay : A Divine and Delightful Madness: An Introduction to W. German Pottery

Identification: West German Pottery Marks (Pictures of various marks, bases, and labels)

Photo Gallery of West German items (pictures of items we've had in the past few years, divided by company when possible).

Companies, Potters, Designers (Information about some of the particular companies, studio potters, and designers active during the West German era.)