You will also find other items for sale on our eBay shop at fatlava-shop
For more items of German ceramics and more also try
20thcenturygeometrics*******NEW ITEMS LISTED SEE PAGE 1 FOR VERY LARGE ROTH COLLECTION *******
West & East German Ceramics online shop
This site is owned and run by Martin and Karen Rosam
All images and text copyright of Martin Rosam
We are West German modern ceramics dealers based in the UK but sell worldwide.
AN INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN CERAMICS, OR AS THEY HAVE RECENTLY COME TO BE KNOWN AS
FAT LAVAThey are ceramic vases, flower pots, candle holders, and lamp bases made in East and West Germany between the end of the second world war and the fall of the Berlin wall. Primarily the 1950s 60s AND 70s
A narrow window of time when Germany was divided in two.
During this time many of the companies employed glass and ceramic designers from around the world to create exciting, vibrant forms and glazes, many of which you will find for sale on this website.
Our interest in German ceramics started very recently in comparison to some of the other collectors. It all started when on one of those rainy days between Christmas and New Year, when you are stuffed with Turkey and mince pies - you just have to get out of the house and do something. So we did, we drove to Herne Bay in Kent and spent the day wandering around Charity shops and whatever else was open, until we walked past a house clearance warehouse, Karen spotted a brown vase that took her eye, thinking it was a little different she picked it up and looked on the base to see a a 4 and 2 digit number, a funny little logo, and W.-Germany. We paid for the vase and off home we went.
After several hours of trawling through the internet we discovered that it was Made by Carstens Tonneshof, and belonged to an exciting new collecting craze called FAT LAVA. From there on we bought odd pieces from all around the world even as far as Australia and the USA. These were the days when you typed FAT LAVA in eBay you would only get 20-30 hits and most of them were for Mark Hill's book! Over the past years we have honed our collecting and buying to a point that has now exceeded 1,000 items, a drop in a very large ocean in comparison to some of the other major collectors out there.
In December 2007, we appeared on the Antiques Roadshow future collectables, at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. Although we were nervous about it, the filming and time went by very quickly, the BBC production team were very professional and made us feel at ease. The interview was conducted by Mark Hill, and since that day we have stayed in contact and shared our increasing interest for German ceramics with him. Mark Hill, is the Author of the book-a-log FAT LAVA. That was written for the Kings Lynn Exhibition of Dr Graham Cooley in 2005.
Copies of the book are available from
MarkHillpublishing
The term FAT LAVA was adopted by Dr Graham Cooley the organiser of the Kings Lynn exhibition held in 2006. Although the term FAT LAVA describes the rough texture that is found on many items of German Ceramics, it is only part of the massive range of items that come from the area of that era. A lot of the more interesting ceramics have no ‘LAVA’ glazes on them at all but were more geometrical and radical in design and with plain flat single colour glazes.
For example Cari Zalloni designs for Steuler. See above. Many of the companies from this time produced a wide variety of shapes or forms, some with wild glazes and some more reserved. One of the biggest companies such as Scheurich, were allegedly producing in excess of 100,000 items per week, with this amount of items being produced it came with a price, and towards the end of their production their quality control was to say the least, a little meagre. Many items left the factory in a less than satisfactory condition, and yet still found their way on to the store shelf and eventually into peoples' homes, these can still be found today. Other companies ceased trading before they went the same way and production quantities were lower and quality was far higher. Amongst this there were also many, many, smaller Topferei or studio companies whose names and production runs are still unknown.
One of the aims of this site is to help with identification of both East and West German ceramics from the 50’s to the 80’s. If you have a piece of ceramic that you believe to be from this period feel free to send us and e-mail and we will try and give some identification of manufacturer.
You can also find an extensive amount of information and advice on
Potteryandglassforum
West German modern ceramics dealer based in the UK
We are selling at
Brighton and Hove Art Deco Fair, Hove Town Hall December 20th 10-4
2010 Dates
Dulwich Glass and Ceramic Fair, Dulwich College Sunday 28th March 2010
Dulwich Glass and Ceramic Fair
Bournemouth Art Deco and 20th Century Collectable Fair, The Cumberland Hotel Bournemouth 23rd May 2010 10-4
More dates to follow.
