1970s Swiss Folk Art Pottery Wall Plates With Hot Air Balloons Heimberg-Steffisburg- a Pair

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Pair of vintage 1970s, Swiss folk art ceramic wall Plates with 2 different, hand painted Hot Air Balloon motifs, one … Read more Pair of vintage 1970s, Swiss folk art ceramic wall Plates with 2 different, hand painted Hot Air Balloon motifs, one in a golden yellow and blue colorway and the other in the same golden yellow but with green accents. These lovely traditional Swiss style plates were made in the Heimberg-Steffisberg ceramic producing region near the country's capital of Bern and are attributed to the ceramic firm there under the hand of Hans Schneider - see notes below. This pair of plates from the well-regarded region are thrown from terracotta then glazed and hand painted and glazed again to show the charming scenes on in the top center but also the hand decorated raised rims and the typical speckled brown / white swirled backgrounds. These plates reflect a festive mood with jolly performers or gypsy characters enjoying the float of a hot air balloon ride. They measure 10 7/8" diameter and 3/4" inch high (at the top of the rims) and weigh a hefty 2lbs 3.5 oz and 2 lbs 5 oz each. Each plate is incised with the in-house artist's signature and has a hole with a chord hanger on one edge for easy display. A fun and charming pair of decorative plates to enliven a wall or complete a gallery wall display.

Notes:
Hans Schneider (1923-2006), a master potter from nearby Sepftigen (canton of Bern, Switzerland), where he had an established pottery studio with his wife, purchased the extensive ceramics operation of the Wanzenreid Manufactury in Stiffisberg (by Bern) in 1961. The company's original pottery facility was built in 1820 and taken over by Johann Wanzenreid Jr from his father in 1878 who had expanded the facility to include production of other items such as glass. A private investor purchased the operations in 1912, failing to be able to successfully run the business. Wanzenreid's widow bought the company back two years later and proceeded to return it to profitability before she retired and sought out local businessman Adolf Schweizer (1893-1967) and his partner to take over the business. He ran the company until 1961, selling an extensive operation to Schneider, who produced pottery there through 2006, including working on his own art pottery as well. It is unknown when the operations of Wanzenreid were discontinued but the Heimberg-Stiffisberg region has continued to produce traditional hand crafted pottery. See less