Carstens-Hirschau: Rounding the curve

I HAVE BOUGHT ZEISEL pieces from all over the globe. It is often intriguing to speculate how they got to where they were. I once bought a Schramberg teapot from a lady in Argentina. When you think of the German diaspora before and after World War II, one could just imagine that  little teapot's journey. Schramberg is relatively easier to find than her designs for another German pottery, Carstens-Hirschau, where Eva may have worked for a year between 1931 and 1932 before she decamped for the Soviet Union.

Similarity in form between Schramberg (top, marmalade jar 3417 with attached underplate) and two Carstens butter dishes (below)

Many of Eva's designs at Carstens were a continuation of her experiments at Schramberg. The most intriguing development on this phase is the appearance of the curved handle on the T-series. I believe this is the first instance where Eva employed the curve ergonomically. When you hold the teapot, the thumb rests firmly on the flat handle, the index and middle fingers grasp the top loop, while the ring and pinky fingers are nestled in opposition on the outside curve. The act of pouring tea feels balanced and comfortable. We would see her explore this further in the S-1 series for Dulevo and the early down-turned teacup handles for Castleton.

The creamer and sugar bowl (both marked T-2) and teapot (marked T-3) are part of Eva's T-series for Carstens-Hirschau.

About Eva's work at Carstens

Eva designed 5 (maybe 6) different coffee and tea sets while at Carstens-Hirschau. They are labeled with C, R, S, and T.  Shapes numbered between 140 and 215/218 are acknowledged to be her designs and they include, among others, bowls, butter dishes, smoker's sets, eggcup trays, and vases.

Schramberg: Deco beginnings and Bauhaus blues

MY PARTNER, BRAD, does not want any Schramberg in the house. It's "too deco" for him.

This asymmetric vase is the only Schramberg piece that is allowed in the house. It stands over 8.25" high. To appreciate its monumental size, here it is with a ball jug (3366) which is reminiscent of designs by Bauhaus alumni, Marianne Brandt

Indeed, most people who associate Eva Zeisel with curves and playful shapes are utterly shocked when they see the work that she produced in Europe prior to coming to the United States before the war. Produced between 1929 and 1931, her pieces for Schramberger Majolika Fabrik (SMF) are art deco to the core, and foreshadow none of the curvelinear forms that she will eventually become famous for.

Ring-handled teapot (3249) and matching creamer (3250)

Some say that during this time, Eva designed with a ruler and a compass and not with her hands. One can see perfectly round teapot bodies and handles, flat trays and underplates, and stepped bases on vases and tea stands.

Stepped tea stand in the sought-after matte green glaze with a traditional Russian granyonyi tea glass.

But as she grew within Schramberg, we can see her start to explore economies in design and manufacturing. Teacup handles become finials for teapots and side handles for sugar bowls. Lids for various pieces become interchangeable.

Jug (3287), teapot (3211) and sugar bowl (3213). Note that the lid on the sugar bowl is actually a transposed teapot lid. Also note that the same shape is used for handles and finials.

She also starts to question established conventions—why not put the handle on the side so that the act of pouring tea consists of merely turning one's wrist? This is a concept that she would continue to explore for many years in her designs for Hall Kitchencraft and Monmouth Western Stoneware.

Side-handled teapots (3356) and creamers (3358). The polka dots may have been designed by Eva, but there are differing opinions on this matter

Although she was definitely aware of, and was influenced by, the teachings of the Bauhaus, Eva would eventually turn away from what she called their "soulless formalism". It is ironic, however, that her entire later work would essentially follow two of the movement's tenets: uniting creativity and manufacturing, and rejuvenating design for everyday life.

An ensemble of Schramberg pieces in the matte green glaze. It is said that the solid matte glazes were the ones that Eva wanted for her designs - but the prevailing taste at that time were for the more decorative airbrush and deco patterns. Hence, these pieces are very hard to find.

About Eva Zeisel's work at Schramberg

SMF produced over 200 of Eva's designs between 1929 and 1931. Most pieces numbered between 3195 and 3472 can be attributed to her. There are more than nine coffee and tea sets along with various other household items, from hanging baskets to cigarette paraphernalia. There is considerable debate on which decorations were designed or influenced by her. It is generally accepted that she advocated the use of the solid matte glazes on her pieces, while many of the airbrushed and hand-painted patterns were designed by other in-house artists.

Monmouth Western Stoneware: Adventures in Bird Hunting

I HAVE TO ADMIT that I was one of those who had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the San Francisco Bay Area during the height of the first dot-com boom. It’s not that I hated San Francisco (and there were certainly many reasons to hate it then) but it was because we really loved Chicago. We had a beautiful apartment in Oak Park near the Frank Lloyd Wright houses, and we spent almost every weekend in the city or out and about hunting for “our stuff”. Chicago, at that time, boasted some of the best flea markets every weekend— from the giant one in Kane County, to the smaller ones in Grays Lake and DuPage. Our favorite was the flea market set in the bucolic farmlands of Sandwich, Illinois. It was here on a cool autumn day, as we wandered through the rows of vintage country treasures, that we found our first set of Monmouth Western Stoneware plates. Cream glazed with blue stamped decorations and impossibly thin for stoneware, we were mesmerized. 

Monmouth Western Stoneware had a line of bird-shaped serving pieces (above top: teapot, lidded sugar bowl, and creamer) as well as more traditional shapes (above bottom: sugar bowl, coffee pot, stick-handled creamer, and teapot)

Our fascination must have showed on our faces as the seller came forward and said, “They’re nice, huh? I just sold a huge set of these to a dealer in Nauvoo. Can’t remember the guy’s name, but he runs a hardware store there and sells antiques in the back.”

OK, if this happened today, I would whip out my iPhone, go to Google maps to find Nauvoo, and get the directions pronto. But this was 1997 and the fastest computer we had was at home with dial-up to AOL. Even there, we found nothing. I naturally turned to the Yellow Pages and started ringing up hardware stores in Nauvoo. With no clues other than the unusual hardware/antique store combo, I was able to track the dealer down. “Yup,” he said. He had a set for sale—plates, cups, and some weird duck-shaped bowls. $300 for all of them, he said, as I blanched on the other end of the line. Yes, he would hold them for us but we would have to come right away. I was able to convince Brad (my partner in crime) to come with me after teaching his class the next day, and off we went on a 270-mile trek to the Iowa border.

As luck would have it, we would pass through the town of Monmouth on the way to Nauvoo. It’s always a thrill to “go to the source”, and although the factory was long gone, we were able to hit a couple of antique stores, one of which yielded a beautiful duck-shaped covered dish with a hand-painted multi-color decoration. 

Bird-shaped casseroles, tureens, and shakers. The duck-headed ladle for the soup bowl was a lucky find.

By late afternoon, we reached Nauvoo and promptly found the hardware/antique store. The set was HUGE. Chop plates, luncheon/salad plates, cups, saucers, butter pats and serving pieces in the most charming decorations, from dots to scrolls, prancing horses and barnyard chickens. There were dinner plates with fishes, tadpoles, snowflakes and funny turnip-like creatures. 

Butter pats or coasters with whimsical motifs

Most fascinating were the bird-shaped bowls, covered casseroles, tea set, and cruets with bird heads for stoppers. There was also one odd piece that he brought up from the basement. “You can have this one for free,” he said. “I can’t figure out what it is.” (The odd piece turned out to be the main body of a soup bowl. We later bought the bird head-shaped ladle from none other than Schiffer Books author, Jo Cunningham.) (see photo 3 top center) With the loot stowed safely in the backseat, we started our journey back to Chicago as the evening was setting in.

Dinner plates with tadpoles, ponies, and polka dots

I need to be honest at this point and let you know that I am not the best car owner. It actually took me a year before I realized that I had to change the oil in my GMC Tracker. Even then, I had no idea where the oil dipstick was located. So my poor 10-year-old car, which had already endured several cross-continent treks and was now being used for impromptu weekend foraging trips to far flung Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis, was probably not in the best of shape. As we climbed a hill toward the town of Galesburg, the engine began to sputter. We slowed to a crawl as a couple of pick-up trucks full of teenagers passed and threw McDonald’s bags at us. We reached the top just as the engine died and, by pure luck, we rolled right into a gas station. Unfortunately, the shop was closed and we would have to spend the night at a nearby motel. The next day, the mechanics declared that they could not repair the car, so we had to arrange for a rental and a tow truck to take us back to Chicago. 

Salad plates with some very rare decorations

Our little adventure ended up costing us about $500 (dishes included). It was a lot of money back then for a young couple living on an associate professor’s salary—but it is a story that we have told time and time again with much laughter and love. These pieces of Monmouth Western Stoneware have now come to represent for us a time when we were happiest—when we were optimistic enough to follow a whispered lead and young enough to throw caution to the wind and just go.

Stoppered cruets with a bud vase that can also serve as a candleholder.

A bit about Eva Zeisel Fine Stoneware from Monmouth Pottery

I really can’t improve upon the scholarly work done by Scott Vermillion on this subject that is included in the book, “Eva Zeisel: Life, Design, and Beauty”. Designed in 1953, the stoneware line included conventional and unconventional shapes, the bird-shaped dishes being the most unconventional. Eva’s design was daringly modern because it pushed traditional stoneware into the realm of fine china, yet unabashedly sentimental in its use of folk decorations similar to those from her native Hungary. When production ceased at Monmouth, several molds were transferred to the Hollydale Factory in California, which introduced a short-lived line called Eva Zeisel Hi-Fi Stoneware in 1957. The next evolution of this design came from Schmid International in 1964. Although made from ironstone and a completely new set of molds, the Schmid line retained the playfulness and whimsy of the original Monmouth line, albeit more formal in silhouette and sophisticated in presentation. Some pieces from this line have recently been revived by World of Ceramics/Orange Chicken and Eva Zeisel Originals.