Two Vases from the Bürgeler Kunstkeramische Werkstätten (Germany), ca. 1920

There seems to have been a number of interesting potteries operating in pre-WWII Germany, and these vases come from one of them! They were made in Bürgel (known as a pottery centre from early times), a town near Jena in Germany, at the Bürgeler Kunstkeramische Werkstätten (BKW).

The Pottery was founded in 1919 by Carl Fischer who was trained as a potter at the pottery school (Fachschule) in Bunzlau, another well-known pottery centre (now Boleslawiec in Poland) - I have previously posted a vase from one of these potteries (Reinhold & Co.) - and it seems to have closed in 1959. The early works produced at the pottery are clearly inspired by art nouveau / Jugendstil. These two vases are presumably from the early 1920's.

The mark is 'BKW' for 'Bürgeler Kunstkeramische Werkstätten' in a triangular shield-like shape and the location 'Bürgel' below. Moreover, a shape number (here 539 and 636, respectively). The height of the green vase is 13.5 cm and the blue one is 9.5 cm tall. The cream and green vase is a little unusual with its two-tone drip glaze - the blue one, however is a very typical example with its monochrome blue glaze and a drip glaze in another blue colour. I have two other (rather large) vases which are brown with a lighter brown drip glaze - I will post them some time when I have a photo!