Pots And Pots

November 19, 2011
by Aidan@Potsandpots
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WGP Spotted (7) – “Rightmove” Glossop House For Sale

A house currently for sale in Glossop is full of loads of retro vintage items. Amongst all the retro decor are lots of West German Pots – you can see the house on Rightmove now. The front room features a Roth lamp, D&B polar decor pot in the fireplace, three small Otto vases on the mantlepiece and some Scheurich items on the windowsill.

The pottery doesn’t stop there either, there are some nice fat lava plant pots on the kitchen windowsill and you can just about see some large vases on top the bookcase. Then in the main bedroom there are lots of brightly coloured vases and it continues on into the spare bedroom where there are shelves full of West German Ceramics!

OK – this is maybe a cheat WGP Spotted post… it is the current home of Pots and Pots! We will hopefully soon be moving to a slightly larger home for us and our pots to fit into.

WGP Practical Use (3) – Rumtopf

Rumtopfs are used to preserve fresh summer fruits in rum so that they can be consumed in winter.

They were produced in large numbers by a number of West German pottery manufacturers. Scheurich and Bay probably produced them in the largest numbers. One of the sets of instruction shown below says that in 1982 it was estimated that “every fifth German citizen owned a Rumtopf”.

They are used to preserve fresh summer fruits so that they can be consumed in winter.

Our particular favorite West German Rumtopf made by Jasba with its unusual stylistic design is shown below. A more common Scheurich Rumtopf is also shown.

If you are tempted to put a Rumtopf to good use – there are copies below of two of the original recipe leaflets given away with Rumtopfs from which you could choose a recipe.

November 16, 2011
by Aidan@Potsandpots
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WGP Spotted (6) – “Miranda” TV Show

This BBC sitcom follows Miranda as she struggles through everyday life. Much of it is set in her shop where West German pottery features frequently on the shelves. The vases featured are mainly by Bay, Scheurich and Dumler and Breiden. Spot the Fat Lava vases in all the images below.

Some very similar vases to those which feature are shown below:

November 13, 2011
by Aidan@Potsandpots
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WGP Spotted (5) – “Cracking Antiques” TV Show

Cracking Antiques was a TV shown last year on the BBC hosted by Mark Hill and Kathryn Rayward . It is pitched somewhere between an antiques/collectors show and a DIY programme. It was based on the simple premise that decorating interiors with original items rather than modern high street items results in:

A better final look – Rooms are done out first with modern high street items and then again using 2nd hand original items. The rooms kitted out with original rooms almost always look better to me.
Money saving – The cost of the high street makeover is always many times more expensive
Environmental benefits as items are re-used or recycled
Better investments – Original items are almost always going to make better investments than modern reproductions

At the start of each show there is a small segment about something which may become a valuable antique of the future. West German Pottery makes an appearance in the opening part of episode 2 which was broadcast on 14th April 2010. Mark Hill discusses a simple Scheurich vase and gives a rough valuation of for similar vases of between £2 and £20.

Cracking Antiques - Scheurich Keramik Vase Fat Lava Ceramic

Cracking Antiques - Scheurich Keramik Vase (image from BBC Cracking Antiques Show)

Mark suggests that the smart investment money is going on more sought after fat lava glazes with bright colours and interesting shapes such as the Roth Keramik guitar vase shown below.

Cracking Antiques - Roth Keramik Vase Fat Lava Guitar Purple

Cracking Antiques - Roth Keramik Vase (image from BBC Cracking Antiques Show)

November 8, 2011
by Aidan@Potsandpots
0 comments

WGP Spotted (4) – “Bargain Hunt” TV Show

Bargain Hunt has already featured on the WGP Spotted posts. You might remember that the previous time that it appeared it lost the team in question money. I’m pleased to report that on this appearance (Series 26, Ardingly), first broadcast on the 9th July 2011, it was more successful.

Unfortunately the episode it too old to still be available on the BBC iPlayer and no amount of internet searches seems to be able to find out how much this item was bought for and subsequently sold. Based however on the TV listings from July which has it billed as “West German lava vase scoops a big price at auction” I am presuming that it did well for the team in question.

There is a small snippet still available to view on the BBC website so at least we can see what the vase looked like. The vase is a good example of a Scheurich balloon vase (Form 284, probably 47cm in height).

Bargain Hunt - West German Scheurich Fat Lava Vase Form 284 Ceramic W German

Bargain Hunt - West German Scheurich Fat Lava Vase Form 284 (image from BBC website)

The resolution of the image from the show is not great – to see it more clearly you will have to imagine the decor and form of the images below combined into one.

Scheurich 414-16

Scheurich 284-47