Ilse Ludwig-Korbel Narrow-Necked Vase · Studio Pottery, Tittmoning · 1980s, signed

Ilse Ludwig-Korbel (born 1925 in Wetzlar) is one of the internationally recognized voices in German studio ceramics. After graduating from the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden in 1948, she deepened her education from 1956 to 1957 in Darmstadt – as a student of Ida Erdös Meisinger and Hentschel – and passed her master examination in Kassel in 1957. In the same year, she opened her own workshop in Tittmoning, Upper Bavaria, where she developed an independent, award-winning body of work over decades.

This narrow-necked vase from the 1980s exemplifies the artist's mature creative phase. Its form follows the classic bottle vase: a soft, balanced body, a slender neck, and a precisely drawn shoulder line. For Ludwig-Korbel, this clarity is not an end in itself, but a stage – the entire statement lies in the glaze.

The iridescent flowing glaze runs over the body in fine gradations, alternating between matte and glossy crystallizing zones and showing speckled areas in places. The interplay between depth and surface, between controlled application and firing chance, is the hallmark of her workshop. Each vase is therefore unique – the combination of form, firing, and glaze cannot be reproduced exactly twice.

The vase bears the artist's typical signature on the bottom, making its attribution unquestionable. An authentic collector's item of German studio ceramics from the 1980s, suitable for display in a showcase as well as for free placement – wherever a work deserves time and attention.

Dimensions: Height 14 cm · Body diameter 15 cm