Paul Wynand for Reinhold Merkelbach Secessionist Stoneware Pewter-Lidded Pitcher, C. 1910

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An exceptional early 20th-century German stoneware pitcher designed by Paul Wynand in 1910 and executed by the celebrated Reinhold Merkelbach … Read more An exceptional early 20th-century German stoneware pitcher designed by Paul Wynand in 1910 and executed by the celebrated Reinhold Merkelbach manufactory of Grenzhausen, Germany. Identified as Merkelbach model 2179, the design is documented in period and later reference literature and exemplifies the increasingly geometric direction of German Jugendstil and Secessionist decorative arts at the opening of the 20th century.

The substantial stoneware body is finished in a rich “Kölnisch-braun” brown salt glaze, its warm amber and chestnut tones accentuating an extraordinary architectural relief. Repeating circular medallions of graduated scale are delineated by minute raised beading and joined by sharply modeled pointed and angular elements. The interplay of circles, lines and projecting geometry creates a disciplined ornamental rhythm that is at once sculptural and remarkably modern for its 1910 design date.

The restrained geometry is beautifully contrasted by the vessel's traditional German metalwork. A domed metal lid is mounted to the handle with a pewter clasp and articulated thumb lever, allowing the lid to be raised in the traditional manner of German lidded drinking and serving vessels. The reference documentation specifically identifies the fitting as a “Zinndeckel,” or pewter lid. The highly reflective dome appears to have a bright plated finish, possibly nickel or nickel-chrome; we have left the precise plating unattributed.

The underside bears the impressed REINHOLD / GRENZHAUSEN factory mark and model number 2179. Accompanying historical collection documentation identifies the form as No. 177, records its height as 23 cm, attributes the design to Paul Wynand in 1910 and the execution to Reinhold Merkelbach, and identifies the original brown salt-glazed finish and pewter lid.

A particularly handsome and remarkably well-preserved example of German art pottery from the transition between Jugendstil and the more geometric language of early 20th-century modernism. The sculptural relief, rich salt glaze and gleaming domed lid give the vessel a commanding presence well beyond its utilitarian origins. See less