Cologne pots

German stoneware from the Westerwald and elsewhere 1800-1900

Stoneware in the nineteenth century

German stoneware from Siegburg, Raeren, Frechen and the Westerwald formed a welcome addition to the Dutch pottery for centuries because of its special suitability as pouring and drinking vessels. Until around 1750 it was also of high artistic quality, but partly due to the arrival of new types of ceramics, such as English creamware, the public's interest in the more luxurious varieties of stoneware, which was now mainly obtained from the Westerwald under the collective name 'Cologne pots', declined. Other production centres such as Vreden-Stadtlohn and Alsace are of lesser importance to the Netherlands.

The aim of this publication is to draw attention to a large number of objects, mostly from our own collections, made in the nineteenth century when the jug makers made a transition to simpler utensils, mostly intended for preserving, packaging and sending food and drinks. Although much has been preserved, both in Germany and the Netherlands, it concerns pottery from a somewhat forgotten, but no less interesting period.

The use of stoneware in the Netherlands

The Dutch market has its own assortment, which is visible in the many pots that manufacturers and shopkeepers had provided with their company name. In anticipation of this, the first part of our report shows the most important forms of pots intended for fish, in particular anchovies, preserves, mustard, alcoholic beverages and butter and margarine. A few finds from the soil from Arnhem and Amsterdam, among others, have been included in the research as reference material in order to arrive at a more accurate dating.

Pots with attractive images

Objects with carved or painted animals and plants from the period 1800-1860 form the most attractive part of the production. Pots with images of deer, birds, horses, lions and even women, applied in numerous variations and combinations, with or without a symbolic charge, were a showpiece in the farms in the Northern Netherlands in particular. We know interesting examples from the province of Groningen, such as the pots for the Elema couple from Usquert with the year 1845. Attention is also paid to other decorative motifs, because this has not been done much up to now.

The stoneware trade

Our second theme is trade, in particular the role played by merchants from the Westerwald. From around 1800, they came to our country in large numbers to sell their Cologne pots as travelling peddlers, others had the ambition to settle permanently with a shop or even wholesale. We followed representatives of this second group where possible: where were they located, what did their trade consist of and how successful were they?

Early in the century it is noticeable that their trade was not limited to Cologne pots. For example, there are many demonstrable contacts with Dutch potters, and they bought a lot in Friesland, Bergen op Zoom and Gouda. In addition, the wholesalers Matthias and Herman Zervaas in Zwolle and Groningen respectively filled their warehouses with the finer earthenware from home and abroad. Nevertheless, both went bankrupt in 1841. Even somewhat more modest shopkeepers such as the members of the Mohr family and Johann Fuchs in Amsterdam were richly assorted in many areas outside of stoneware.

It seems that many Westerwald shopkeepers, located in many places throughout the country, are increasingly straying from their original trade item. The bankruptcy files of four small entrepreneurs from Zierikzee describe the shop offering with numerous trinkets such as gilded vases, statues and lacquered boxes in addition to many cups and saucers from Maastricht. This business concept was clearly not future-proof.

Better prospects were there for a few skippers who concentrated on Cologne goods in the broadest sense. For example, the Keulsche Schip of Girmscheid served the cities of Zwolle and Leeuwarden for many years and August Fuchs was able to supply Amsterdam with De Rijn and Amstel and later settle in the capital with a wholesale business. The Krummeich skipper family was also successful in Rotterdam for many years, but was far surpassed by the firm Gebr. Haubrich, present on the ceramics market between 1855 and 1982. The wholesale business of Johann and Peter Modest Fein, not yet mentioned, which had been seen in Rotterdam since 1845 and also specialised in the coarser segment, was also able to maintain itself for a long time thanks to a capable successor: De Pottenkelder was also only closed in 1982.

Company names on stoneware

We already mentioned the jars with company names, the third theme, with approximately 150 objects represented and roughly datable between 1860 and 1925. The fish trade, especially anchovies, preserves, mustard, spirits and butter/margarine are the five main groups. Among the items discussed are renowned fishmongers in Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam, traders from the Zuiderzee area and Bergen op Zoom, the Rotterdam mustard factories of Schilders, Vissers and Breder, distillers, liqueur distillers and liquor stores and modern entrepreneurs with their preserved foodstuffs. The overseas territories, West and East Indies were a considerable target group for the supply of the most diverse delicacies, in addition to the sailors on their distant voyages. Although most foodstuffs were sent in tins or glass, there was also room for the Cologne provision jar. After 1870, numerous new butter factories, dairies and margarine producers were added, who had many jars made in a period of competition and counterfeiting. The Butter Act gave regulations that the margarine jar in particular had to comply with.

The production of stoneware in the Netherlands

The question remains to what extent Dutch potters or other industrialists strove to make the popular stoneware themselves. Attempts in Arnhem, Wageningen and Deventer, between 1790 and 1884, had no lasting results. When the import of preserving jars stagnated during both World Wars - home-made stoneware had taken off in the meantime - few successful imitations were attempted again, including in Leiderdorp, Gouda and Limburg. Even after 1945, a few manufacturers in Tegelen and Roermond continued to make stoneware, but the conclusion must be that it is impossible to compete with a product with such a strong market position as German stoneware.

Want to know more?

How do I date a pot? When did companies start putting their names on pots?

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© 2017 Dutch Association of Friends of Ceramics and Glass and the authors

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Exhibition Hollandgoer

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