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Van Eyk number two!
I started this blog with a post on Atelier Van Eyk. The little ashtray I featured was my only item by potters and artists couple Anton and Dorothea van Eyk so far. Now I have a second one! In a...
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Cityscapes of the 1950s
While the 1950s were, among other things, marked for a flight from the cities to the suburbs, cityscapes were a fairly popular theme in the decorative arts. You can find it on wallpaper, textiles,...
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Patterns, patterns, patterns
In the 1950s people were leaving the dark days of war and shortage behind. In the recovering cities, architects and city planners were building a new future for a baby booming population. This meant...
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The Colorful World of Jasba
Jasba is one of the companies I actively look for when searching for interesting vases to add to my collection. Founded in 1926 by Jakob Schwaderlapp (the same man who founded Ceramano in 1959) it...
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Scheurich vases to fit anybody’s taste
Scheurich (founded in 1928) was one of the largest (maybe even the largest) West German pottery manufacturers. Their marketing strategy was to have a fair amount of shapes, cover these with an endless...
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Fratelli Fanciullacci, Made in Italy
I turned out collecting some Italian pottery next to my German collection, because when looking for German pottery I noticed these vases that looked German, but where somehow a bit odd. These turned...
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The Fatter the Better
It has been a while since my last post. I have to admit that from early April till about October vases have to take a backseat to my other passion, which is gardening. Now that the garden is well on...
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Schmider for Schmokers
A slightly wet gardening season is coming to an end and again it was not much of a tomato year I am afraid. Well, all I have to do now is watch the garden die gracefully in a blazing explosion of color...
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Filigran by Adele Bolz
The Filigran decor by Ruscha is probably one of the most desirable decors in West German pottery. From a picture it is not always easy to spot that this is actually an early (and very pretty) example...
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World’s largest collection Atelier Van Eyk online
My Atelier Van Eyk collection has been substantially enlarged with a recent find of a 27 piece service. For sure I now have the largest online collection by this potters duo. Hardly anything ever comes...
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Petra on Pottery on Pinterest
Of course I have been busy collecting the past two years, but I have not had much time to write about it. Hence no new posts appeared for quite a while. Also my little ‘photo studio’ setup had been...
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Update Picture Gallery
Lots of new items to see in the Picture Gallery! Here are a few to get the idea.
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Exhibition 20th Century in Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics in...
Photography and concept Heleen Haijtema. Dorothea Roth, vase, 1970-1975, Roth Eberhahn West Germany. Collection Petra Mesken In September 2015 a new exhibition will open in the renowned Princessehof...
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New in the Picture Gallery
Left to right: plate by Anna-Lisa Thomson for Upsala Ekeby Havsflora series 1951-60 (Sweden), plate signed Venezia Italy, plate signed 364 Italy, vase by Steuler marked 315/35. Left to right:...
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Schmider Full House?
Figurines by Schmider, design by Anneliese Beckh (1956) With the acquisition of the elephant dish (below right), my Schmider figurines collection must now be pretty much complete. That is to say, I am...
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New in the Picture Gallery
Top left to right: Large vase by Dümler & Breiden form number 493-35, small vase by Oberhessische keramik form number WB 145/15, large vase by Scheurich 420-38, small vase by Schlossberg decor...
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A Chess set made at Bay Keramik
The ceramic chess game in this post was made by a young Dutch man called Nico Bongers in the mid 60s, while he worked as an intern at Bay Keramik in Ransbach-Baumbach. I acquired it in 2014 from his...
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Update: A chess set made at Bay Keramik
I got a reaction from Ralf J. Schumann on my previous post about the chess set made at the Bay Keramik factory. Ralf contacted a former manager from Bay and this manager still remembered Nico Bongers,...
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From a handle to a hole
Handles have always been used in creative ways in the design of pots. Especially in flower vases, where the practical need of the handle is limited, there has always been ample room to design the...
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A pumpkin by Atelier Van Eyk
Since I do not find their pieces very often and having a soft spot for Atelier Van Eyk, I feel every piece by Anton and Dorothea Van Eyk deserves a post. So here it is, my latest, a globular vase...
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