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Plate
Unknown - Enlarge image
Plate
- Place of origin:
Heimberg (made)
- Date:
ca. 1877 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Earthenware with slip decoration and incised
- Credit Line:
Bought
- Museum number:
712-1878
- Gallery location:
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery, case K2, shelf 1
Heimberg is a village near Thun in the Simmenthal area of the Canton of Berne, Switzerland. The names of some potters are known from 1730 and a recognisable local decorative style had developed by 1775. Typical ground colours used were reddish-brown, light brown, and later chocolate brown and black. Brightly coloured motifs showed up well in contrast. About eighty potteries were by 1850 meeting increased tourist demand for traditional souvenirs. The retailer Schoch-Läderich commissioned five Heimberg potters to produce wares for display at the Paris International Exhibition of 1878. Wares in this distinct art pottery style became known as 'Paris Ware' or 'Paris Majolika' in reference to the 1878 Exhibition. After the Exhibition, potteries throughout the Thun district produced wares in this style, many featuring the pansy and edelweiss and these became known generically as 'Thuner Majolika'.