Jopeko's answer to Kurt Tschörner's much vaunted form 313, designed for Ruscha Keramik and introduced in 1954.  It is true that Jopeko's 404 bears more than a passing resemblance to Tschörner's design, but while the 313 was only available in one size (15cm), Jopeko's 404 was produced in two; a smaller 12cm vase and a larger 17cm version.  There is no doubt that Tschörner's design came first, and that it was wildly successful, so it's likely that jopeko copied it in a bid to enhance their own profitability.

This one is clad in a beautiful mottled glaze combination of blue and black with a touch of white, and it is in top pristine condition.

JOPEKO KERAMIK was founded in 1848 by Johann Peter Korzilius in Ransbach-Baumbach. Originally named 'Krug und Abflussrohr Fabrik' (Pitcher and Drainpipe Factory), they initially produced containers for spirits and chemical products as well as drainage pipes. The production of glazed ornamental ceramics would not begin until much later, and then the wares produced were in decidedly traditional styles. The modern forms and decors would not appear until long after the end of WWII, at which point the company name was changed to 'JOPEKO', in deference to its founder JOhann PEter KOrzilius, as well as to his namesake who would inherit the company in 1948, but the modern forms and decors would wait until the second half of the 1950s, beginning in earnest in 1957 with the introduction of the decor '1003' which was a 'shrink glaze' produced in different colors. Unfortunately, decor '1003' was virtually indistinguishable from a decor called 'Cortina' introduced by their competitor JASBA the previous year. In order to distinguish the two decors, JOPEKO would add a grouping of three dots (yellow, red, and blue) arranged in a triangular pattern on the face of each product. They followed up a year later with the series 'Ulla', a sgraffito decor with abstract, partially colored ornaments on a black or terracotta sintered engobe ground. All of the designs were produced in-house, and In the years that followed, JOPEKO would add many new classic and asymmetric shapes to their mold stock, as well as a host of striking decors ranging from vases with single bright monochromatic colors to 2 dimensional hand decorated designs, and some of the most striking examples of Fat Lava to emerge from the German pottery market. in 1960-61 a new collection known as 'Jopeko-Werkkunst' (loosely translated as 'Jopeko Works of Art') was introduced by the company's head of design, Heinz Martin. It consisted of many new and very elaborately designed forms offered with ornamental as well as figurative decor variants. The program was limited, however, and production was short lived.

Jopeko always remained in control of their own distribution, which took place via their own area representatives to specialized floral wholesalers as well as to retailers and florists. their wares were never distributed to Hard Goods or Mail Order companies, which made for limited distribution in the German pottery market. The business is still family run today in the town of Ransbach-Baumbach, although they no longer manufacture in bulk and instead utilise their facilities to assist studio potters, allowing them to use the equipment to produce limited runs of ceramics.

It's worth noting that around 1985/86 Jopeko re-released many of their most popular old designs. Additionally, many designs previously attributed to Jopeko are now know to have been produced by Stein Keramik and/or Gerz Keramik.