1970s SPARA KERAMIK STUDIO PITCHER VASE Nr. 712/31

A fine example from the line of hand-built studio pottery created by Halidan Kutlu for SPARA KERAMIK in the early 1970s.  Its heavy form is quite rustic in style and construction.  Built with a red-orange chamotte clay, a black glaze is imprecisely applied to the tops of the raised ridges that circle the body.  The interior has been waterproofed with a bright emerald glaze.  Hand-marked on the base with the form and size numbers and impressed with the SPARA stamp (as is typical of the company's early studio work).

SPARA KERAMIK was founded in 1947 by Ludwig Spang in the small town of Ransbach-Baumbach in the Kannenbäckerland in central Germany.  (The Kannenbäckerland—the "jug-bakers' land"—is a centuries-old home to ceramics manufacture and the site of the largest clay deposit in Europe.)  A relatively small manufacturer, its output—which included both molded ceramics and hand-built pieces—was limited.  Few details are known about SPARA; like many ceramics companies of the day, it left no paper archive.  (SPARA is a portmanteau of its founder's name  and Ransbach.)

SPARA KERAMIK's modern production began in earnest in the late 1960's.  Halidan Kutlu was its key designer in the very early 1970s.  Kutlu, who also created for Ü Keramik and Majolika Karlsruhe, was Turkish-born, and many of the items he designed during this period have a pronounced Middle Eastern flavor.  This is especially true of the studio pottery.  SPARA KERAMIK pottery is generally very well made.  The studio pieces tend to be heavy and very sturdy.

SPARA KERAMIK mainly used a light-colored clay, although some early work, particularly studio pieces, were formed with a red-orange variety.  Many items are either molded with or stamped with the firm's name on the base.  A SPARA stamp combined with a hand-marked form number generally indicates studio work.  Some bases are left unmarked.  SPARA KERAMIK ceased to exist in 1985 when it was acquired by Hark GmbH & Co. KG and refitted for the production of fireplaces and furnaces.