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Thurnau Pottery Museum
Thurnauer Krug vor Töpferei am See (2013) by Günter KarittkeOriginal Source: Töpfermuseum Thurnau
The craft
Passed down from one generation to the next, unique vessel shapes such as the Thurnau jug and special decoration techniques like slip-cupped slipware are what make Thurnau pottery unique. Pottery has enjoyed an uninterrupted history in Thurnau since the 16th century. Even today, there are still five workshops in the town.
Drehen eines Thurnauer Kruges (2014) by Oliver SopartOriginal Source: Töpfermuseum Thurnau
How to turn a Thurnau jug
Master potter Franziska Schnauder-Sanke turns a Thurnau jug on the potter's wheel.
Töpferei Schnauder und Sanke, Franziska Schnauder-Sanke (2013) by Günter KarittkeOriginal Source: Töpfermuseum Thurnau
Decoration
Once it has been shaped, the pottery is decorated, glazed and fired. For centuries, Thurnau pottery was glazed in one color or sprayed with the help of a small brushwood broom or rod. The first half of the 19th century saw the onset of slip-cup decoration. In 1939, painter and ceramist Günther Stüdemann introduced the faience technique.
Spray decor
The method involved in this type of decor is clear from its name. Colored clay slips are sprayed onto the still unfired vessel with a small besom or rod. The vessels are then given a transparent glazing.
Slip-cup decor
From the first half of the 19th century, Thurnau's potters started decorating tableware with simple figures and ornaments. Colored clay is applied to the leather-hard dried clay using a slip cup. This was once a cow's or goat's horn, but modern slip cups are a kind of rubber ball with a plastic pipette.
Faience painting
Günther Stüdemann introduced faience painting to Thurnau in the 1940s . He himself learned this technique while spending many years in Positano, Italy. Colored pigments are brushed onto a white opaque tin oxide glaze.
Schlickermalerei (2013) by Oliver SopartOriginal Source: Töpfermuseum Thurnau
Decorating with a slip cup
Master potter Franziska Schnauder-Sanke decorates a Thurnau jug using the slipware technique.
Alongside everyday tableware, the potters also produce miniature crockery for kitchens in dollhouses. The miniatures are often exact reproductions of tableware pieces.
Herstellung von Miniaturgeschirr (2013) by Oliver SopartOriginal Source: Töpfermuseum Thurnau
Throwing off the hump
One technique for creating miniature vessels is "throwing off the hump." A ball-shaped lump of clay, the "hump," is centered on the potter's wheel. One piece after the other is turned from the tip of the cone. Here: master potter Fritz Sommer turns three little jugs from the clay.
Thurnau Pottery Museum
Thurnau has been an important center of pottery for many centuries. Potters of the former county made pottery for everyday use from the valuable slate clay deposits in the nearby Hutschdorf forest. The pots made included eating, cooking and frying implements, with iron yellow or slip-cup decoration. The repertoire grew over time. The arrival of artist and ceramist Günther Stüdemann in 1939 took pottery to a new level. He changed pottery from a craft to an art form, as described in the Thurnau Pottery Museum. However, this does not mean the traditional forms became a thing of the past; Thurnau's potters still make these on a daily basis to this day.
Thurnau Pottery Museum, 95349 Thurnau
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