Schlossberg Ewer Vase 132/20, Ochre with Black Studs, West Germany 1960s/70s

This ewer vase was made by Schlossberg Keramik, the pottery founded in 1946 by Theodor and Ilse Stephan in Langenaubach, Hesse, which remained in operation until 1975. After Liesel Spornhauer left in 1959, Ilse Stephan shaped most of the company's designs, and from the mid-1960s production increasingly shifted towards the experimental, relief-like glazes that collectors now know as Fat Lava and West German Pottery. Typical of Schlossberg are the pale white clay body and the impressed base mark of form number and height, often arranged on two lines; this piece carries exactly that, with the numbers 132 and 20 impressed in the glazed base. Form 132/20 is a documented Schlossberg model, and the vase dates from the late 1960s or early 1970s.

From a flat, lens-shaped body resting broadly on its base rises a slender, gently flaring neck that ends in an angled, pointed spout. A narrow strap handle sweeps in an elegant arc from the rim to the edge of the shoulder, giving the form the silhouette of a stylised jug. The glossy, honey-toned ochre glaze darkens softly to blackish brown on the neck and handle, while concentric rows of raised, black-glazed studs sit on the shoulder, a decor characteristic of Schlossberg. In raking light the ochre glaze reveals a fine crackle, and the underside is glazed dark brown, leaving the pale clay visible at the foot ring.

On a sideboard, shelf or windowsill, the ewer reads more like a small ceramic sculpture than a vase, sitting just as comfortably in a collection of West German ceramics as in a mid-century interior with warm wood tones; it also works well for a few grasses or dried flowers. The fine crackle and a few small glaze dots are inherent to the firing and are not damage. It measures 20 cm in height and 19 cm in diameter and is in very good condition.