Dümler & Breiden vase 1056/26, black-grey with copper medallions, West Germany 1960s/70s

This bottle vase comes from the Dümler & Breiden manufactory in Höhr-Grenzhausen, one of the most traditional ceramic workshops of the Westerwald region. Peter Dümler and his brother-in-law Albert Breiden founded the company in 1883, and from the 1950s to the 1970s it was among the leading makers of West German art pottery, known for its light-coloured body and unusual, often experimental glazes. The unglazed foot ring bears the impressed D&B factory mark, the form number 1056/26 and the word GERMANY; in Westerwald tradition, the number after the slash indicates the approximate height in centimetres. The vase was made in the 1960s or 1970s, the heyday of what collectors today know internationally as West German Pottery.

Above a spherical body resting firmly on its base rises a slender neck, finished with a strong, matt black collar rim that gives the form a clear, almost sculptural silhouette. Its effect comes from the contrast of the glazes: a matt, smoky black-grey with fine light speckles covers the body, from which large, metallic copper medallions emerge all around. Each medallion is surrounded by a halo of ochre, sand beige and dark, crater-like pores, from which the glaze runs down in fine drips, while a wave-shaped band in grey, ochre and brown on the neck picks up the motif again. Because the flow of the glaze turns out differently in every firing, the vase presents a new picture from every angle, and depending on the light the copper surfaces glow warmly.

Displayed on its own on a sideboard, mantelpiece or windowsill, the vase reads like a small ceramic sculpture and fits as well into a collection of Fat Lava and Westerwald pottery as into a mid-century interior with warm wood and brass tones. The light, unglazed foot ring shows slight marks from production and age, which are not damage. It measures approximately 25.5 cm in height and 20 cm in diameter and is in very good condition with no chips, cracks or restorations.