Posted 8 years ago
EmmaPeel
(10 items)
I bought these two vases, made by WMF aka Wuttembergische Metallwaren Fabrik, in Germany, separately this year, on eBay, and I think I got them at really good prices. The glass one was a total of $49.93 and the ceramic one was a total of $42.33. I don't know much, really, about them, except that I like them, and they are at home in my living room, which is mostly "watery" type colors. They "live" with my Rookwood, van Briggle, Murano, Fostoria, Haeger, Jasba, Nemadji, and 3 unidentified beauties in perfect harmony. (I previously sent my blue Rookwood in to the Show & Tell some months ago.) Any info, or correction of my misunderstanding, is welcome! The glass vase is 8" tall, and is a type called "Ikora". It is unmarked. It is from the '20s or '30s. It is largely clear, with sea green, mostly toward the top, and 8 radiating streaks of white and dark red going up the sides. Both the vases have a sort of "organic" appearance. I read somewhere that the Ikora glass could be made by machinery, but due to the method used, each piece of it is different. The Pottery one is 5" tall, and was designed by Gerda Conitz, and possibly made by her, too. She was director of WMF's pottery production, and has some connection to Bauhaus. WMF made pottery from 1936 to 1946. It is marked "V-24" on the bottom, which is probably the vase's shape, and has the WMF logo, too. Its glaze is called "frog skin". It has tiny pits on it, like pores. It is a deep aqua, or teal, with black in the "pits". After typing all this, I guess I DO know quite a bit about them! But I could be wrong on some points, and would always like to know more. I'm not relying on memory for all this, either. (I know better!) I put what I know about my pieces on notes and drop them down inside. This is for my own convenience, and for that of the charity I designated in my will.
I think the glass vase is in the 1939 catalogue with number 104/2.
It was available in two 'dekors':
104/1 - rot geadert.
104/2 - grün geadert.
I guess that's "red veined" and "green veined"? I wouldn't know which it is, since it has red AND green! How did you guess which? And thank you for the info!
Vet are these part of the Ikora range?
Great buy Emma!
Yes, both are. There was also an Ikora metal range.
Thank you ! Both of you! Can you explain why it's called a "range"? Is it just like the way we say "line"? As in "They have a lovely line of housewares."? If my glass vase is the "grun geadert dekor", would the "rot geadert dekor" one have only the red veins mine has, or would it have even more red than mine has? By the way, they are both in perfect condition, except the glass one has some scratches on the bottom, from scooting on surfaces. Here's something I've always wondered: how on earth did WMF continue making pottery during WWII? If they made pottery from 1936 to 1946, and the war, for Germany, was 1939 to 1945, how did they ever get to make much of anything? (Not to make light of WWII, but I have this vision, in my mind's eye, of Gerda Conitz trying to throw a pot while wearing a helmet and dodging falling plaster!)
Range is more Australian than line.
This is a good read, Ms. P !!!
How did they get through WWII ??? Well they probably knew what to do after having got through WWI and survived. They produced arms. Bullets etc. The firm was originally metals based but branched out into other homewares.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/württembergische-metallwarenfabrik-ag-wmf-history/