Some of
the Primary Companies, Designers, and Other People in West German
Pottery
(This listing represents only a small fraction of the companies and
studios that produced collectible work during the WG era.)
Bay Keramik
(1933-1971)
Started by Eduard Bay in 1933; stopped major art pottery production in
1971; best known for rumtöpfs and rumertopfs afterwards;
Best known designer was Bodo Mans; Bay was one of the top early
companies with decors such as Florenz (1955), Zurich(1958), Rheims
(1960), Istanbul (1961) and Ravenna (1961); Bay continued to make some
excellent items through the 1960s as well as some lesser lines, but
slipping demand for art pottery forced a change to kitchen items.
Bückeberg
(1912-1971)
Quality of items is generally above average.
Carstens
Tönnieshof (1945-1984)
This was simply one of many pottery factories owned by members of the
Carstens factory, but it's the primary one for art pottery during this
era. Primary designers included Trude Carstens, Gerda
Heuckenroth, and A. Seide; quality is generally above average.
Ceramano
(1959-1984)
Ceramano was specifically started in order to produce a higher quality
ceramics, more like studio pottery; they generally succeded in this
goal quite well; designers included Gerda Heuckenroth and Hanns Welling.
Cortendorf
(1890-1973)
Best known for wall masks, but they did produce some interesting vases.
Dümler & Breiden
(1883-1992)
D&B was one of the many companies in the Höhr-Grenzhausen
region, and they produced an enormous range of styles over the years,
from very traditional to strong Pop Art.
ES Keramik (Emons
& Sohne, 1921-1974)
Quality of forms and decorations covered a broad range, but the good
items are very good; one of the best is pitcher form 683, later
released with shape number 883.
Eiwa (1956-1993)
One of several companies in the Ransbach-Baumbach area; items were made
with red clay and usually featured incised designs with earthtone
colors, similar to Wekara and Sawa.
Fohr Keramik
(1859-current)
Best known for the green and gold Patina decor; items are often
difficult to attribute.
Gräfl Ortenburg (1946-1968)
Grootenburg
(1913-?)
Best known designs are by Paul Dresler, produced shortly before and
shortly after WWII; Richard Uhlemeyer worked at Grootenburg before
opening his own studio.
Hameln Töperei
(1933-1966)
High quality studio best known for work by founder Gertrud Kraut's;
later owned by Klaus & Peter Delius.
Hutschenruether
(1857-)
Although best known for high quality porcelain dinnerware and
figurines, Hutschenreuther also produced some of the most striking Pop
Art vases and bowls; primary designer for these items was Renee
Neue; also produced some of the most collectible white OpArt items,
most designed by H. Fuchs.
Ilkra Keramik
(1892-?)
Best known for the design Kairo.
Jasba
(1926-current)
Started by Jakob Schwaderlapp and located in Baumbach.
Otto Keramik
(1964-current)
Studio with Otto Gerharz doing glazes and Kurt Tschörner doing
most of the early shape designs; both men had previously worked with
Ruscha; later taken over by Otto Jr. and still in operation, but glazes
are generally less refined and less complex.
Roth Keramik
(unknown)
Roth seemed to be one of the lesser or mid-range companies at first,
but as more attributions got correctly shifted to them, it became clear
that they did some excellent work, including some weirdly fascinating
glazes. Sadly, the member of the Roth family availble to supply
information has been less than forthcoming when contacted by
researchers. He swears and hangs up. No one is even sure
why.
Ruscha
(1948-1996, name now owned by Scheurich)
Most of the best designers worked at Ruscha at one time or another,
including Kurt Tschörner, Otto Gerharz, Hanns Welling, and Adele
Bölz. They were among the top producers for both vases and
wall items, although they did produce some mediocre work as well,
particularly some of the later wall plaques.
Scheurich Keramik
(1954-current)
Although the started late, Scheurich produced more items from the 1960s
through the 1980s than any of the other art pottery companies. As
usual, high production numbers means a wide range of quality and
quality control, but some items, especially glazes are major
achievements.
Note: the embossed three circle mark was used 1990-2004, so such items
are not from the most collectible era.
Schlossberg
(1946-1975)
These items are generally higher quality and harder to find, often
difficult to attribute.
Silberdistel
(1947-2004)
Items are hard to find and sometime even harder to attribute, but the
quality is high. They did a lava glaze that was particularly thick.
Steuler
(1917-1996)
Good to excellent quality. Best known designers are Cari Zalloni
and Heiner Balzaar.
Ü Keramik
(Übelacker)
(1909-1990)
Quality ranges from mediocre to very good.
View
the Videos (free informational videos about W. German
pottery)
Understanding
the Numbers:
Most W. German items have one set of numbers then a slash or hyphen and
a second set of numbers. Usually, the first set is the shape number,
and the second set is the approximate height in centimeters. It's
sometimes possible to identify an item by just the numbers, but the
companies used very similar systems, and some companies re-used shape
numbers over the years.
Take note that the number 1 will often have a strong serif, making it
look like a 7. However, the European 7 usually has a bar across the
middle (example visible in the first Carstens picture.)
|
Bay
Keramik
 
Many Bay items aren't marked, but when they are, this is
what it looks like. |
Bückberg
  |
Carstens
(Tönnieshof)
 
Carstens was among the best when it came to marking items, but there
are still numerous unmarked Carstens pieces. |
Carstens
(Tönnieshof)
 
Carstens Tönnieshof items made in Germany have red clay, however,
they did have some items made in Austria and Australia (by Braemore
Pottery in Australia). |
Ceramano
 
Most Ceramano pieces are marked. They most often include the
company name, the decor name, artist's initials, and the shape number. |
Dümler
& Breiden
 
Almost all Dümler & Breiden pieces are marked up until
late in
the
company's history. However, I don't think they ever used a W.
or
West,
so it can be difficult to date more traditional styles. The location of
Höhr-Grenzhausen (or just Höhr) is often included. |
Dümler
& Breiden
The "studio" mark shows up with different numbers, but little is known
about this uncommon D & B mark. |
ES
Keramik (Emmons & Sohn)
 
As far as I've seen, ES never marked items except with a label. This
shows a fairly typical ES bottom, but it looks a lot like other WG
pottery bottoms. |
ES
Keramik
 
This base is less refined but still ES. |
Gramann (Töpferei Römhild)
 
This mark is incised or impressed, most often along the edge of the
base. It consists of a T over an R with a horizontal line in between.
The mark is often rather sloppy and hard to identify. |
Hutschenreuther
The great majority of Hutschenreuther items are marked (not quite all),
usually with a wafer of some type.
Jasba
 
The Cortina glaze makes this one easy to identify, and Jasba is the
only company so far confirmed with this rectangular embossed
West-Germany mark.
Karlsruhe
Most Karlsruhe pottery is marked (not all), and in addition to the
company mark, there is usually a form number.
Royal
Porzellan, also known as Kerafina
There are many "KPM" marks out there, and most are not the company best
known by that abbreviation. Since the P stands for Porzellan
and
the M for Manufactory, all you need is a word starting with K, and your
company becomes KPM.
Marzi
& Remy
 
Roth
Keramik
Roth didn't mark items except with a label, and many Roth items have
typically been attributed to other companies until recently.
Ruscha
 
Early Ruscha marks were hand done, like the glazes. Artist's
intiatls and decor names were sometimes included, along with the word
handgemalt (for hand decorated). Not all items were marked,
and
silver foil label was also used.
Scheurich
 
Most Scheurich has no company mark, just numbers and W. or West
Germany. Later, they used an embossed Scheurich-Keramik. Even
later, they introduced the label with the three circle mark.
Around 1990, they introduced an embossed version of the three
circle mark in the center of the base. The W. Germany
remained
until new molds were made.
Steuler
 
Most Steuler is marked. This is the earlier mark.
Steuler
This is the later ('60s and '70s) Steuler mark.
Strehla
Strehla is actually an East German company, but their work closely
resembles W. German style. The marks are often hard to read, but inside
that geometric shape, it says Strehla.
|
Hutschenreuther
Jasba
 
Jasba didn't actually use a company mark all that often, but this is
the most common when they did mark items.
Kiechle
Now this is a distinctive mark. It's not clear if all Kiechle was
marked but certainly most.
Marzi & Remy
Most Marzi & Remy has no company mark, but here is one of the
more esoteric marks you'll find.
Otto
Keramik
 
Otto Keramik is never marked except with a label. This simple label was
the early version but rarely survives. More recent work has a foil
label. Bottoms are covered with felt (various colors used). When the
felt is gone, there's a flat,white bottom, often with some glaze in the
center.
Ruscha
 
Ruscha
 
This embossed mark and Ruscha Art label both came in later years.
Scheurich
The simple paper "Scheurich" label is the one most found when a label
survives.
Special Note on a Late Scheurich
Mark
This embossed three-circle mark was used from roughly 1990-2004.
While Scheurich did do some interesting glazes during that time period,
much of the work is of lesser interest compared to the previous
decades. Since they are more recent, I suggest being especially
picky even with the nicer glazes. Most of the work from this era
should be priced strictly for its utilitarian value with no expectation
that it will ever become collectible.
Wächtersbach
(Waechtersbach)
 
This vase has both the most common Waechtersbach marks, a crown over a
shield and the shield mark often called a beehive mark. The "beehive"
has been used by many companies for a long time, so it can often be
hard to attribute. The crown and shield marks are also fairly common,
but it's easier to tell one from another. The company name (which is
also the town) sometimes appears with the mark.
|
West German
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