Mettlach's Handpainted PUG's

Transcription

1 Mettlach's Handpainted PUG's by Robert D. Wilson To avoid confusion regarding the classification of "handpainted PUG," I will briefly describe how this type of decoration was typically accomplished at the latter part of the nineteenth century, and it can be assumed that this is probably the way it was done by Villeroy & Boch at Mettlach: A copper plate was engraved with the design in an outline form. This engraved outline was filled with color mixed with oil. The printer cleaned off any surplus color and then applied a sheet of tissue paper (which had been water sized) to the plate. The copper plate, with the paper on top of it, was then passed through a roller press, which caused the decoration to adhere to the paper. The tissue was then pressed onto the biscuit ware (which is the unglazed ceramic after the first firing), and when it was removed by soaking in water, the decoration outline remained behind. The decoration outline was then filled in by handpainting. When the decoration was complete, the next step was to remove the oil which would interfere with the glaze. This was done by placing the ware in a kiln and firing it at a low temperature, but a sufficiently high one to destroy the oil and leave the color "fixed." The ware was then coated with glaze and fired again. The resultant product then had a decoration which I refer to as a handpainted print under glaze, or "handpainted PUG." The handpainted PUG decorating technique was distinctly different from the usual PUG decorations which were lithographed designs and were made up on several stones or metal plates (zinc or aluminum), one for each color. Each color was transferred to a sheet of paper so that the complete polychrome decoration was obtained on one sheet. This is commonly called a "transfer." This was applied to the biscuit ware, the decoration remaining after the removal of the paper by soaking in water. Although there are various numbered series of Mettlach wares that belong to the general category of handpainted PUG, this article will deal primarily with the first numbered series of this type. This series had decoration numbers from approximately 1 to 560 and then jumped to The first items with decorations in this series were produced about New decorations were continuously being introduced until, in 1911 or 1912, decoration number 560 (approximately) was attained. It was then necessary to discontinue this sequence of numbering because the number at which the usual PUG decoration number series began had been reached (i.e. when the No. 1044/95, 30 1 /2 cm, "Burg Eitz" 4X actual size magnification of detail in No. 1044/ 95. This shows the printed outline of the tree (the dark line segments) and the overlapping handpainted coloring of the tree. Back of the 1044/95 plaque. The number 38 (just below DEC.95) is handpainted in green and in all probability is the identifying number of the individual who painted the plaque. The Mercury Mark is date-coded for 1899 and this is exceptional for such plaques only about 5% are dated. The incised Form Number (1044) does not show in the photograph and is almost impossible to see on the actual plaque. The 1044 Form Number frequently appears to be missing and occasionally is in fact missing. usual PUG decorations were introduced in about 1885, the apparently first of the consecutive numbers in that series was 565). The numbering then jumped from 560 to 9000 and continued to at least 9041 prior to being discontinued due to the eruption of World War I. After the end of the war, in the early 1920's, items with this pre-war series of decorations were produced. However, as far as I know, there were no new decorations of this type, and only the pre-war decorations were used. The first 400 decorations in this series appeared primarily on plaques and the majority of these plaques were of a souvenir type depicting a particular place; usually the name of the place was printed on the back of the plaque along with the decoration number. However, some of the earliest plaques in this series do not have the decoration number printed on the back. This may have been due to the fact that the name of the place was considered to be adequate identification. On a few of the souvenir plaques, such as those which depict English cathedrals, the name of the place is not given and only the decoration number appears. In addition to the souvenir plaques, other types of plaque decorations included a variety of still life studies, various Japanese scenes, operatic scenes, animals and many other subjects. Items other than plaques on which some of the first 400 decorations appeared include vases, flowerpots, umbrella stands and, infrequently, steins and beakers. In some instances (on at least a few beakers), the entire underglaze decoration consisted of only the monochrome printed outline and there was no handpainting. Beginning with decoration number 400 (DEC 400) in 1905, a considerable variety of these decorations were used on the then new type of less expensive stoneware that was marked "BAVARIA." Many of the "BAVARIA" items were steins which had gray bodies and did not have the usual white glazed interior characteristic of other No. 1044/135, 35 cm, "Gudvangen" (Norway) 4X actual size magnification of detail in no. 1044/ 135. This shows the variable density of stippling of the printed outline.

2 Mettlach steins. Furthermore, the handpainted PUG decorations created for the "BAVARIA" items were frequently very simple and lacking any pretense of elegance. However, in addition to the "BA VARIA" items, many of the earlier standard forms continued to be used for new decorations similar to those of the earlier years. For example, there was a set of 6 beakers (Form 2327) with DEC 425 to DEC 430 which were of a souvenir type depicting the Ratskeller-Bremen, Hofbräuhaus- München, and other places. Similarly, additional souvenir type plaques (Form 1044) continued to be introduced up to the end of this series. Many of the last group of decorations in this series depicted animals and birds and appear on plaques. Throughout the series, most of the decorations created for plaques were designed in pairs. Most of the pairs have consecutive decoration numbers, but in some instances there is just one number followed by an "A" or "B." The Form 1044 was used for the vast majority of plaques in this series and, except for rare instances, a given decoration was available on only one size plaque. A notable exception is the pair of plaques showing a Bavarian woman (DEC 411) and a Bavarian postman (DEC 412), the pair being available in sizes I, II and III (44cm, 35cm and 30½cm). Another set of plaques that did not conform to the usual rules are those with DEC 167A and 167B. The plaque body has a scalloped edge and a bas-relief border, and does not have a Form number appearing on its back side. It comes in four sizes (46cm, 39cm, 34cm and 29cm). There are four different DEC 167A (one for each different plaque size, the same one always being used for a given size) and four different DEC 167B. All eight of the decorations show castle ruins which are not identified and which may be creations of an artist's imagination. An important aspect of this handpainted PUG series is that the printed outline is one of the dominant components of the finished product. Indeed, in most instances, the printed outline provides essentially all of the detail for the finished product. The printed outline is in fact more than a mere outline. There is crosshatching and stippling in varying densities which produces texture and softly graded shadows and, when painted over (but not obliterated) with a uniform color, it produces various tones. This was very important because it meant that the handpainting could be done by a relatively unskilled painter who could do the job fast and somewhat carelessly and still produce a satisfactory product that was not expensive. No. 1044/154A, 44 cm, no title, mate to 1044/ 154B No. 1044/154B, 44 cm, no title, mate to 1044/ 154A /167A, 39 cm, no title, one of eight (four pairs), unknown /167B, 46 cm, no title, one of eight (four pairs), unknown To digress for a moment, it is interesting to note that, although the usual PUG decorations (polychrome transfers) had been introduced on a large scale by 1885 and that about 200 different decorations were produced by 1893 (i.e. numbers 565 to 736 with some numbers having multiple decorations), it was not until 1893 that any of the usual PUG decorations were used on plaques. The first usual PUG decoration to appear on a plaque (Form 1044) was 737, which has a great many (more than 12) distinctly different designs and was the predecessor of the Mettlach military steins (decoration numbers 738 to 940, approximately). The plaques with the 737 decorations are the plaques discussed in the article "Ein wichtiges Dokument über Mettlacher Regimentskrüge," by Th. Thomas in the December 1983 issue of Mettlacher Turm. Thus, prior to 1893, the underglaze decorations on plaques were handpainted and on steins they were polychrome transfers. This division of underglaze decorating techniques between steins and plaques tended to persist at all times as regards commercially successful Mettlach products, even though there does not appear to have been any price difference (to the buyer) for a handpainted item versus one with a polychrome transfer. Perhaps the reason for this division was that frequently No. 1044/263, 44 cm, no title, mate to 1044/264, scene depicts the arrival of Lohengrin (from the Wagner opera "Lohengrin") No. 1044/264, 44 cm, no title, mate to 1044/263, scene depicts the departure of Lohengrin (from the Wagner opera "Lohengrin")

3 a buyer would want multiple steins with a particular decoration and there would be far less variation in the steins when decorated with a polychrome transfer, whereas only a single plaque with a particular decoration would be needed and in such a case it was considered charming and desirable to have the irregularities of handpainting. No. 3080/409, ½-ltr, marked "BAVARIA"; note accidental drops of paint on stein body (one above the word "DAS", one connecting the letters "A" and "S," etc.) Some of the other Mettlach decoration series which are frequently encountered and which belong in the category of handpainted PUG are the Delft-type and faience-type items (5000 series decoration numbers) and the Rookwood-type items (6100 series decoration numbers). Just as the usual PUG decorations did not appear on plaques until 1893, it is also a fact that handpainted PUG decorations did not appear on steins until late in 1893 with the introduction of the faience-type steins. Initially there were approximately 20 such decorations for steins with decoration and form numbers ranging from 5001 to These steins were not a commercial success. This was especially true for the large steins, such as the 5-liter Krüge 5003 and In fact, in early 1894 when it was anticipated that this product line would be a commercial success, and in order to achieve the efficiencies of producing many of the same item at one time, a large number of Forms 5003 and 5021 were produced. These forms would only be decorated as orders were received. After nearly 3 years, in 1896, there were still many of the 5003 and 5021 bodies that remained undecorated because of a lack of sales. Thus, in 1896, Delft-type decorations (numbers 5192 and 5193) were designed for these steins so that the surplus bodies could be used. Among various facts that attest to the validity of the preceding scenario regarding Forms 5003 and 5021 is the fact that these bodies with Decorations 5192 and 5193 (introduced in 1896) are usually (possibly always) dated Also, has anyone ever seen Decorations 5003 or 5021? Even though the Delft-type decorations are handpainted PUG's, their method of exe- No. 1044/411, 31 cm, no title, mate to 1044/412, scene depicts a Tyrolean woman. This scene also appears on etched stein 3087 and etched Krug No. 1044/412, 31 cm, no title, mate to 1044/411, scene depicts a Bavarian postman. This scene also appears on etched stein 3085 and etched Krug No. 1044/413, 30½ cm, "Der Dom zu Frankfurt a/m" cution was distinctly different from that of the first numbered series of handpainted PUG's. The significant characteristic (other than the color which was usually a monochrome blue) that distinguishes the Delfttype decorations is that the printed outline is not a dominant component of the finished product. The handpainting was of much greater importance and required considerable artistic skill and took much longer to accomplish. The painting provided some of the detail and most of the shading. Finally, with the Rookwood-type decorations, the original outline (of whatever type it may have been) was of virtually no importance in the final product. The painter provided all of the shadowing and texture, as well as most of the incidental detail in addition to dealing with multiple colors. It took a very skilled artist to produce any of the Rookwood-type decorations which, when well done, were among the finest of the Mettlach products. However, probably due to their high cost, they were not a commercial success. Even though almost all of the stein bodies used for Rookwoodtype decorations were produced in 1902, these steins were still listed in the V&B price list of October This indicates how slow sales must have been. The accompanying table of "Cost Versus Decoration" has been prepared for the purpose of showing the significant differences in cost for the various types of handpainted decorations. Other types of decorations have been included in order to give a better overall comparison. In some cases the costs are approximate typical values. In all cases the costs are based on the simplest possible bodies so that the differences in cost reflect the effects of the decorating technique. It should also be realized that some of the items are stoneware whereas others are earthenware. No. 1044/527, 30½ cm, "Wirtschaft zur Treib am Vierwaldstätter See." (Lake of Lucerne, the principal lake of central Switzerland.)

4 It is occasionally of some importance to know when a particular decoration was first available. This information is particularly difficult to obtain for many of the handpainted PUG's especially the plaques which were usually not dated. Mettlach price lists (in "Mettlacher Steinzeug ") provided adequate data for only the 5-year period of January 1906 to January However, other means of dating initial production do exist. For example, in some instances a special form (with its own number) is created for a particular decoration (with its own number). Since the date of introduction of a numbered form can be determined, this allows the determination of the date of introduction of a decoration for which a numbered form is created. Many years of methodically collecting data has made it possible to provide the accompanying graph of "Decoration Number Versus Date of First Production" for the Mettlach handpainted PUG's. The solid part of the curve (which includes about 70% of the decoration numbers) is based on a large quantity of data and will probably have an error of less than '/2-year. The dashed parts of the curve represent regions of much greater uncertainty and, in fact, are only estimates. The starting point of mid-1880 for DEC 1 is believed to be relatively certain based on the high probability of the Form 1044 plaque having been developed for these decorations. Also, the introduction of DEC 9040 (on Form 1044) prior to the end of World War I is known because of an example with "Made in Germany" printed underglaze on the back of the plaque. After World War I, until the mid- 1930's, the country of origin notice was "Made in Saar Basin." [} No. 3342/546, 0.4-ltr, marked "BAVARIA" No. 1044/9032, 35½ cm, "Pheasant," mate to 1044/9033 No. 1044/9033, 36½ cm, no title, mate to 1044/ 9032 Bottom of stein no. 3342/546. All marks are incised except the decoration number "546." No. 1044/9040, 30½ cm, "Chillon," (One of the best preserved castles in Europe, situated on an islet in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. As shown on the plaque, much of the castle is hidden by trees and only the conical roofs of the towers are partially visible above the trees.) NOTE: Items marked * are stoneware and others are earthenware. The handpainted PUG items that are stoneware are part of the "BAVARIA" series.

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