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AMPHORA COLLECTORS INTERNATIONAL

Their focus is on the pottery ceramics produced by Amphora Austria, firms directed by Alfred Stellmacher;   Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel (RSt&K);  Paul Dachsel;  Ernst Wahliss; and Ed Stellmacher and by Bernard Bloch. These firms  operated  in Turn-Teplitz (Trnovany) Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. Though the production time for each firm varies, all produced at some time in a period from approximately 1892 until after WW I.  They  all executed works of the highest quality standards and received special recognition at World Fairs and Expositions during their years of production.  Riessner, Stellmacher and Kessel (RSt&K) took the Grand Prize at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair.  Edward  Stellmacher was especially known for his designs of fantasy creatures and Paul Dachsel for his Secessionist designs, while  Wahliss was noted for elegant and original Jugenstil porcelains and  later for Secessionistic wares known as Serapis Wahliss. Many pieces in the "Amphora School" are practically impossible to produce today and if they could be replicated the cost would be prohibitive.

Credit: From the Amphora Collectors International Site

COLLECTICS ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

Generally recognized as the first and arguably the best of the Amphora manufacturers, Reissner, Stellmacher & Kessel was established in the Turn-Teplitz region of Bohemia in 1892. Partners Hans and Carl Reissner, Edward Stellmacher, and Rudolf Kessel after Kessel took over the remaining factories of Alfred Stellmacher. This area of central Europe was close to Dresden, Germany and benefited from the long tradition of ceramics manufacturing among the peoples of eastern Germany. The ceramics Reissner and his 2 partners produced was known for its unique styles and the interesting glazes they used to create what became known as "Amphora" pottery or simply "Teplitz." Reissner, Stellmacher & Kessel (R. St. K.) displayed their work in America for the first time at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair where they were awarded a best in show prize and first attracted the attention of the American buying public. In 1897, R. St. K. produced began art pottery vases in the style of Grueby and Rookwood, but with more elaborate and Art Nouveau and Jugensdtil influenced designs. The partners Reissner, Stellmacher, and Kessel enjoyed business and artistic success and again took top honors at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, but in 1905 at which time Stellmacher left the firm to establish his own company under his own name. The original firm continued to operate as the Reissner & Kessel Amphora Works and operated as such until Kessel also left in 1910. Subsequently, the original firm operated under the business name Amphora Werke Reissner while Stellmacher continued in operation only until 1912. Amphora Werke Reissner continued to produce fine Amphora art pottery through the Art Deco period and the years of World War II, at which time it was nationalized by the Czechoslovakian government in 1945. There were many other Amphora manufacturers who established operations in the Turn-Teplitz region, while imitators emerged elsewhere such as the Zsolnay factory in Pecs, Hungary which went on to create some innovative designs of their own. 

In addition to Reissner, Stellmacher, and Kessel marked works, one also sees very high quality works which were produced at the Imperial Technical School for Ceramics & Associated Applied Arts from which many of the Amphora designers and artisans graduated. Created in 1885 and continuing in operation through World War I until 1917, the school was a decorative arts and design academy which taught students how to sculpt clay in a manner that was both complex in technique and reflective of "themes" such as nature which was so influencing the Art Nouveau period. The manufacturers of the region benefited from the supply of talent produced at the school, and they contributed to its operation by providing lecturers and raw materials including clay with which the students worked. In the Waltraud Neuwirth book Art Nouveau in Blossom: Austria, a 1908 report  describes the curriculum at the school as including "a plant in a given space, to be put into a stylized representation, with consideration for an effective special distribution. Model an animal in a stylized shape. Design a simple vessel with handle and plastic decoration represented in relief. Line up plant motifs to form a frieze and represent them plastically. Design and model a flower pot employing flow glazes. Sketch a figure (nude) after a live model." 

Ernst Wahliss of Turn-Wein, Austria was another early Amphora art pottery designer who enjoyed success beyond the confines of Europe, and Wahliss produced between 1897 and 1906 some of the most beautiful female Art Nouveau busts which are highly sought by collectors today given their beauty and technical complexity. Wahliss was somewhat unique among the Amphora manufacturers for having established his own retail shops in London and Vienna. Another well known, high quality Amphora manufacturer was the firm of Julius Dressler whose manufacturing operation was founded in Belia, Bohemia in 1883 and operated until 1944. During the early 20th century, Bohemia was part of the fading Austrian-Hungarian empire. Amphora was sold in the United States by finer decorating shops including Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York, who appreciated the innovative, hand crafted designs, vibrant colors, and unique glazes used by the Amphora manufacturers from Turn-Teplitz, Bohemia- now the town of Trovany in Czechoslovakia. Amphora works from this period were extraordinarily complex in manufacturing technique, often requiring as many as 10 firings, a series of decorators, and finishers to did the final style flourishes like gilding. Almost all European Amphora art pottery produced during this period was marked with various Amphora and factory marks including style numbers and in many cases artist's signatures such as Paul Dachsel whose "PD" marks decorated some of the work emanating from Reissner, Stellmacher, & Kessel from 1892 to 1905. Dachsel himself left Reissner in 1905 at the same time as Edward Stellmacher to form his own firm "PD Turn-Teplitz."

Credit: From the Collectics Antiques & Collectibles Site  

	Monster and Maidens Coffee table book Amphora Pottery of the Art Nouveau Era Author: Byron Vreeland, an American Collector Description: Limited Edition De Luxe Hardcover, 275 Pages, 375 images Dimensions: 12 1/2" x 9 1/4" Publisher Fledermaus Press Price: $ 200.00 + s/h depending on your location Order your copy today!

The House of Amphora Coffee table book by Richard L. Scott Comprehensive historical account of the five companies and individual artists who created these exquisite works in Turn Teplitz, Bohemia, from 1890 to 1915. Magnificent close-up photographs of over 600 pieces of Amphora taken from 8 worldwide important collections with detailed descriptions.50 previously unseen historical photographs and documents from private archives and libraries. Over 100 entries of marks and artists' signatures, organized for easy reliable reference. Price: $ 150.00 + s/h depending on your location Order your copy today!

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