Brown & Blue
Siebenburger Pottery
This rare pottery comes from Transylvania in Rumania. It was made by ethnic Germans who once had a thriving community in that land.
*
Transylvania was once part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1140 King Bela of Hungary invited ethnic German merchants and farmers to settle in the area. He gave the Germans generous property rights, tax exemptions and limited political autonomy in exchange for military service whenever the need arose.
*
Eventually, the region came to be known by its German name, Siebenbürgen because the Germans founded seven fortress towns there in the 12th and 13th centuries.
*
The Siebenbürger, prospered over the centuries under various rulers but the Second World War was calamitous for them. Many perished on the Eastern Front whilst many survivors became refugees at the end of the war*
*
However, the refugee Siebenbürger community in Germany keeps the musical and artistic culture alive and this pottery is one aspect of that culture. The examples pictured are decorated with traditional designs and colours. The brown jugs are older and more rare than the blue examples.
Deruta Majolica
Deruta, a town in Umbria in the heart of Italy; is known all over the world for its production of ceramics. For centuries its finest products have been bought by individuals for private use and by museum directors for their collections. The items shown here, examples of the Raffaellesco range, are from a private home.
