RIESSNER, STELLMACHER & KESSEL. A vase, Amphora pottery, “Gres-Bijou series”, earthenware, relief structure with polychrome glaze, applied glass details, stamped and numbered 8785 45.

Height approx. 32 cm.

HISTORIAN:

On 11 October 1837 Alfred Stellmacher was born in the small town of Steinheid, Thuringia. He worked in pottery factories in the area and mastered his craft.

He founded his first porcelain factory in Turn in 1876. The factory produced porcelain flowers that surpassed French pieces for quality. During the 1870s, Stellmacher developed a new ceramic material that became known as ivory porcelain because of its soft yellowish hue and matte finish. The new material allowed the ceramist to create more complex modeling and detailing of shapes and applied patterns.

Stellmacher's factory broadened production from flowers to decorative pottery pieces in Orientalism and Neo-Baroque style. Neo-Baroque forms allowed for greater innovations in design with handles shaped like monsters and pierced or daring bases and rims.

At the 1889 Paris World's Fair, Stellmacher received the gold medal and he achieved his greatest success at the end of the 19th century.

In 1892, the Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel (RStK) porcelain factory started production in Turn. Alfred Stellmacher co-founded the new company. All the owners were related to Alfred. Karl and Hans Riessner and Rudolf Kessel were his sons-in-law and Eduard Stellmacher was his son. Karl Riessner, who attended the Academy of Arts in Prague, handled the finances, Hans Riessner, who attended the Vienna College of Arts and Crafts at the same time as Gustav Klimt, was technical director and Rudolf Kessel handled trade affairs. Eduard Stellmacher, who attended the Arts and Crafts Academy in Dresden, was the artistic director. Eduard's brother-in-law and classmate from the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Dresden, Paul Dachsel, was also a creative designer for Amphora. The new company was known as Amphora I.

Amphora's goal was to create luxurious porcelain objects. A collection from the company received the highest award at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and in the same year received the Gold Medal at the San Francisco Exhibition. This led to increased sales in the United States and in 1894 Amphora opened a second factory that manufactured terracotta items. Amphora sales also grew in Europe and England. In 1895 they opened a third factory which made faience, decorated earthenware vases, jars and earthenware figurines, and vases with animals. From the late 1890s, the Art Nouveau style was evident in the designs of Eduard Stellmacher and Paul Dachsel. Amphora collections received countless awards from 1893 to 1904.

After 1904, the principal artistic designers, Paul Dachsel and Eduard Stellmacher left the company to start their own separate companies. Hans Riessner was left as head of artistic design and developed the GRES-Bijou series, but the company would never produce the high-quality ceramics it had from 1895 to 1904; however, the company continued to be run by Alfred Stellmacher's progeny until it was nationalized by the Czechoslovak government in 1945.