Wick-Werke German Jugendstil Salt-Glazed Stoneware 2½-Liter Lidded Pitcher, C. 1920s

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Description

A striking early 20th-century German Jugendstil stoneware pitcher by Wick-Werke, produced in the Westerwald ceramic tradition and impressed on the … Read more A striking early 20th-century German Jugendstil stoneware pitcher by Wick-Werke, produced in the Westerwald ceramic tradition and impressed on the underside “Wick-Werke 1689.”

Standing approximately 12.25 inches tall by 6.5 inches wide, this substantial 2½-liter pitcher combines traditional German salt-glazed stoneware craftsmanship with the increasingly modern decorative vocabulary of the Jugendstil period.

The body is finished in a beautiful soft blue-gray salt glaze, dramatically contrasted by deep cobalt-blue decoration. Elaborate raised scrollwork, beaded borders and repeating circular motifs frame a series of elongated oval reserves around the body. The decoration is remarkably intricate yet highly ordered, combining the curvilinear vocabulary of Art Nouveau with the symmetry, repetition and geometric abstraction increasingly associated with progressive German and Central European design of the early 20th century.

Particularly beautiful is the transition between the densely ornamented lower body and the relatively restrained upper neck. Small pointed architectural flourishes rise from the cobalt decorative band into the pale blue-gray field, giving the design a distinctly vertical quality.

The pitcher retains its original hinged pewter lid and thumb lever. The lid is especially sculptural, formed as a beautifully proportioned double-stepped rounded cone that gives the vessel an unusually strong architectural silhouette. The thumb lever is itself noteworthy, terminating in a stylized spreading palmette or fan-shaped motif characteristic of the period's tendency to transform traditional naturalistic ornament into simplified Art Nouveau/Jugendstil forms.

The ceramic handle is similarly integrated into the overall composition, with cobalt accenting and fine linear detailing visually connecting it to the elaborate decoration of the body.

The underside bears the impressed Wick-Werke factory mark together with 1689, believed to represent the model or form number. A separate painted 2½ L. capacity designation appears at the upper body.

Although rooted in the centuries-old Westerwald tradition of cobalt-decorated salt-glazed stoneware, this pitcher is unmistakably a product of a much more modern design sensibility. Its combination of historic craftsmanship, highly stylized ornament and disciplined geometric organization places it comfortably within the German Jugendstil tradition and the transition toward Art Deco.

Its large scale and exceptionally elaborate decoration make it a particularly impressive decorative object, whether displayed as German ceramic art or incorporated into a contemporary interior. See less