SAWA KERAMIK 'NAPOLI' DECOR KLINKER VASE Nr 207/20

A very nice example of a rolled lip bouquet vase designed by  Heinrich-Maria Müller for Sawa Keramik and decorated with his 'Napoli' decor.  It is marked by hand on the base with the model and size numbers and was produced entirely by hand.

FRANZ SCHWADERLAPP GmbH (aka SAWA KERAMIK) was founded in 1904 in Ransbach-Baumbach as an abrasives factory, but soon began producing unglazed flowerpots in an associated pottery factory.  One of their early successful specialties was a self-watering Jardinière.  The extension of the production program to high end ornamental ceramics did not begin until after the end of the Second World War.  Beginning In 1951, the production of fine artisanal-Klinker style ceramics commenced under the name "SAWA-KERAMIK" and directed by Schwaderlapp's uncle Heinrich, who joined the company as Head Designer in the same year.  Heinrich-Maria Müller was responsible for designing all of the shapes, templates, and decorative designs until he retired from the company in 1965.  In fact, many of the pots that were produced during this period were hand turned and decorated by Müller himself.  There were three basic decor varieties that are often noted with a single letter on the bottom of the object:  ‘K’ (= Kerbschnitt, which was the manual application of grooves in unbaked clay, aka 'sgraffito'), ‘P’ (= Plastischer Kerbschnitt which was the application of cut in designs using figural stamps ) and ‘S’ (= sigilata, which is a method of applying and hand burnishing a thin layer of slip as a top coat, to a very high sheen). Often these methods were very labor- intensive, and thus quite costly

It should be noted here that Klinker ceramics are produced using a native red clay that was otherwise employed in the production of a particular sort of partially-vitrified bricks, commonly referred to as "klinkers"—so called for the metallic sound they make when struck together.  Like the namesake bricks, klinker pottery is hard fired at very high temperatures.  In addition to being hand-thrown, it's usually also burnished and decorated by hand, and only partially colored, if at all, using special dyes.  The production methods tend to make these items very water-resistant, and in most cases, waterproof, even without an interior glaze.

The company was family-owned until 1992, although it appears to have been transferred to another bearer of the same name, since in 2000 a Heinrich Schwaderlapp was appointed liquidator of the company. SAWA FRANZ SCHWADERLAPP GmbH ceased to exist in 2004.

HEINRICH-MARIA MÜLLER (1892-1974) practiced numerous professions prior to WWII, often trying his hands at various artistic endeavors until going to work as a furniture salesman shortly after the war, but in 1951 he joined the Franz Schwaderlapp company which was led by his nephew.  There he became the Head Designer of the newly established Art Ceramics department producing decorative pottery for the home under the name SAWA KERAMIK. Müller designed all shapes and decors, modeled the templates and executed numerous pieces entirely by his own hands. Despite the variety of decorative influences, which were all characterized by elaborate and carefully executed decorations ranging from animal representations influenced by the Far East to abstract surface ornaments, he managed to give all of the objects a characteristic appearance.  He ultimately retired from the company in 1965 at the age of 73 and died nine years later in 1974.