TANGERINE Ü-KERAMIK FAT LAVA VASE Nr. 1438/30

A tall, rectangular, tangerine-orange vase from Ü-Keramik that transitions at the shoulder to a round neck and mouth covered with a thick and bubbly white fat-lava drip glaze. Ü-KERAMIK (aka ÜBELACKER) began as a tin foundry in 1909 in the small town of Ransbach-Baumbach in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Master tinsmith Johann Übelacker initially produced simple pewterware, but he was soon experimenting with pieces that incorporated stoneware elements—in the manner of the common beer stein. The popularity of these led to Ü-KERAMIK's expansion into, first, the manufacture of terracotta and fine earthenware goods and, in the 1930s, the production of glazed ceramics. At some point following WWII, Ü-KERAMIK began collaborating with Siershahner Feinsteinzeugfabrik, a maker of "klinker" pottery in nearby Siershahn, and by 1949 it had taken over that company's operations. Combined the two factories employed more than 550 people. They were well positioned to help supply w