Beautiful Art Deco majolika vase by Martha Krause

Beautiful Art Deco majolika vase by Martha Krause
Details:
Height: 23cm, Width: 10cm
Logo on the bottom.
The terracotta, majolica and faience factory was established in Świdnica (currently ul. Ofiar Oświęcimskich 15) in 1882. It existed for less than 50 years. It was founded by Richard Max Krause, a ceramist by profession. The first name of the factory was “Kunst Terrakotta Waren Fabrik RM Krause”. The factory was advertised as a modern plant producing ceramics, mainly decorative, but also functional, in line with contemporary tastes. The first products of RM Krause referred to historicizing styles. These were plaques, jardinieres, vases, figures and busts in the neo-rococo and neo-baroque style. After only a few years of operation, terracotta products were abandoned in favor of objects made of delicate faience. This type of faience was created in England in the mid-18th century as a result of experiments conducted on stoneware. It is a type of hard ceramic fired at a temperature slightly below 1000 degrees. Fine-grained whitish clay with the addition of kaolin and fluxes is used for production. The fragments of the obtained vessels, quite thin-walled, light and hard, are covered with alkaline glaze. Overglaze paints are used for decoration. In today’s Polish lands, the first delicate faience factories appeared already at the end of the 18th century. These were factories in Lubartów, Tomaszów, Glinica, Prószków and Racibórz in Silesia, and already in the 19th century delicate faience vessels were produced in Ćmielów.
Products from the RM Krause factory were awarded medals and diplomas at international fairs in Wrocław, Prague, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Madrid and London. At the beginning of the 20th century, the factory employed 130 people. At that time, a significant change in the style of the products offered took place. Numerous patterns referring to the plant-based, French variety of Art Nouveau were introduced to production. Vases and jardinieres decorated with stylized daffodils, lilies or orchids appeared. The dominant colors used in the painting decoration were muted green, black, pink and the characteristic color of celadon for the factory. Around 1915, however, influences of Viennese linear, geometric Art Nouveau appeared. Some of the ceramicists employed in the Krause factory were educated at the Ceramics School in Bolesławiec. The influence of the Bolesławiec school is visible in Krause’s minimalistic works, rarely seen today, where simplified vase designs, referring in their shape to ancient vessels, are decorated only with artistic drip glazes. In the 1920s, objects referring to the Art Deco style appear. These include bird figures.
In 1902, the founder of the factory died, and his widow, Marta Krause, became the new owner. The factory belonged to the German Ceramics Association, which gave it easier access to modern technologies, raw materials and markets. In 1908, the name of the factory was changed to the “Fabryka Majoliki i Fajansu Delikatnego RM Krause”. The clay used for production was imported from Ujazd Górne, near Środa Śląska. In the interwar period, the factory employed 150 people. Serious problems began during the Great Depression in 1929. Despite taking immediate action to improve its financial condition, the plant could not be saved. Its bankruptcy was announced in May 1930.
Krause products are marked with a mass-pressed coat of arms with the letters “MK” (1882-1930), the same printed mark (used from 1908 to 1930) and a printed mark with the letter “M” and the inscription “Krause” (1920-1930). Additionally, the dating of items is facilitated by the internal digital system. These are most likely mold numbers. Each product has a three- or four-digit impression. Items from the first twenty years of the factory’s operation have numbers up to approx. 1500. The years 1900-1905 are impressions from approx. 1500 to 3000/3100. The period until the end of World War I is closed in the numbering of approx. 5000. Numbering above 5000 is the last years of the factory’s operation, i.e. the period 1920-1930. Currently, several dozen items from the RM Krause factory are in the collections of the National Museum in Wrocław, and a dozen or so in the collections of the Museum of Old Commerce in Świdnica. The largest collection is in the private hands of Dariusz Sienka from Świdnica. It can be viewed during temporary exhibitions in the Świdnica museum. The last such exhibition took place in March 2019 (photos below).
Based on:
Sozańska J. 2003, The Majolica and Delicate Faience Factory of Richard Max Krause in Świdnica , (in:) Czechowicz B. (ed.), Artistic heritage of Świdnica , Wrocław-Świdnica, 197-211.

Fabryka Ceramiki R.M. Krause w Świdnicy

Price: 200 NZD