DOI Artikel:
Hausladen, Armin: The charm of Reuss ceramics
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.7098#0067
Kunst und Handwerk
A.D. 1851
Phot. Reidt, München
• Specimens of Reuss-Ceramics, famed for their unique glaze and the inexhaustible variety of their colouring
▼ Reuß-Keramik ist berühmt durch eine ausgezeichnete Glasur und einen unerschöpflichen Farbenreichtum
THE CHARM OF REUSS CERAMICS
by DR. ARM l:N HAUSLADEN, Chief Conservator of the "Residenzmuseum" in Munich. Told by C. E. CARTER
Nestling on the edge of the beautiful Schöngeisinger forest,
about 20 miles from Munich, is the small pottery Workshop of
G. O. Reuss; small because he is not interested in mass pro-
duction. Quality, beauty, and individualism is his motto, so
that each piece with the stamp "Reuss" is a guarantee of
the most careful preparation and working, like the mark on
old porcelain.
To most people, when he gave his first exhibition, he was
something new, but to many others he was an event. One
saw form in his creations, each piece being of good Propor-
tion and serene noblesse, with a strong east Asiatic touch.
Mostly Single coloured glazes, they were carriers of exquisite-
ly soft, smooth surfaces expanding themselves in satiated
beauty.Since thattime the for ms have become nobler and purer,
and the quality of the glazes has risen to the highest level.
Each piece is pure handwork, freely turned up on the potter's
wheel. The hardness of the fired clay resounds upon being
Struck, and the homogeneous fine granules not only result in
almost absolute water-tightness after the firing, but they also
form an excellent base for the most subtle glaze, which is si-
milar to the Chinese ceramics of the Sung period and unlike
most present day pottery.
The forms are so faultless that the vessels with little or no con-
sideration can easily be placed in a most modern room and
will harmonize with the most modern furniture, just as each
China vase of the Sung period can also be placed in a room
of the most modern architecture.
The glaze, above all, is extraordinary. Reuss, after a long
period of practical experience as a chemist in the Silicate in-
dustry, possesses all the knowledge necessary for the pro-
cessing of the raw materials into a glaze of durabilty. He is
one of the first pioneers of glazing carried over into the pre-
sent day taste, but working independently, on the basis of
East Asiatic ceramics, and with complete personal modification
of the Chinese, the best masters in ceramics of every kind.
In many modifications we find glazes of ox-blood red, claire
de lune,- and smoke-quartz, and also, the most difficult to pro-
duce, of deep lustrous Persian blue, all Standing much above
the more common faience glazes. The wonder of the colours,
now severe and masterful, now delicate and now flaring, and
the seriousness of the glazes are deserving only of ornamental
vessels, consequently only a few, useful china forms, such as
vases, tea Services, etc. are produced.
The time and skill which the products of really artistic pottery
demand usually places the results beyond the reach of a
moderate purse, but in the case of Reuss' ceramics we find
(Continued on Page löj
A.D. 1851
Phot. Reidt, München
• Specimens of Reuss-Ceramics, famed for their unique glaze and the inexhaustible variety of their colouring
▼ Reuß-Keramik ist berühmt durch eine ausgezeichnete Glasur und einen unerschöpflichen Farbenreichtum
THE CHARM OF REUSS CERAMICS
by DR. ARM l:N HAUSLADEN, Chief Conservator of the "Residenzmuseum" in Munich. Told by C. E. CARTER
Nestling on the edge of the beautiful Schöngeisinger forest,
about 20 miles from Munich, is the small pottery Workshop of
G. O. Reuss; small because he is not interested in mass pro-
duction. Quality, beauty, and individualism is his motto, so
that each piece with the stamp "Reuss" is a guarantee of
the most careful preparation and working, like the mark on
old porcelain.
To most people, when he gave his first exhibition, he was
something new, but to many others he was an event. One
saw form in his creations, each piece being of good Propor-
tion and serene noblesse, with a strong east Asiatic touch.
Mostly Single coloured glazes, they were carriers of exquisite-
ly soft, smooth surfaces expanding themselves in satiated
beauty.Since thattime the for ms have become nobler and purer,
and the quality of the glazes has risen to the highest level.
Each piece is pure handwork, freely turned up on the potter's
wheel. The hardness of the fired clay resounds upon being
Struck, and the homogeneous fine granules not only result in
almost absolute water-tightness after the firing, but they also
form an excellent base for the most subtle glaze, which is si-
milar to the Chinese ceramics of the Sung period and unlike
most present day pottery.
The forms are so faultless that the vessels with little or no con-
sideration can easily be placed in a most modern room and
will harmonize with the most modern furniture, just as each
China vase of the Sung period can also be placed in a room
of the most modern architecture.
The glaze, above all, is extraordinary. Reuss, after a long
period of practical experience as a chemist in the Silicate in-
dustry, possesses all the knowledge necessary for the pro-
cessing of the raw materials into a glaze of durabilty. He is
one of the first pioneers of glazing carried over into the pre-
sent day taste, but working independently, on the basis of
East Asiatic ceramics, and with complete personal modification
of the Chinese, the best masters in ceramics of every kind.
In many modifications we find glazes of ox-blood red, claire
de lune,- and smoke-quartz, and also, the most difficult to pro-
duce, of deep lustrous Persian blue, all Standing much above
the more common faience glazes. The wonder of the colours,
now severe and masterful, now delicate and now flaring, and
the seriousness of the glazes are deserving only of ornamental
vessels, consequently only a few, useful china forms, such as
vases, tea Services, etc. are produced.
The time and skill which the products of really artistic pottery
demand usually places the results beyond the reach of a
moderate purse, but in the case of Reuss' ceramics we find
(Continued on Page löj