Artists, shapes and decors

Who doesn’t love it when every single piece of tableware is decorated with the same décor? On the other hand, the same ceramic object can have a very different effect on the viewer depending on the decor. More than 2200 decorations for creamware and almost 10 000 for porcelain are known from Zell.

One of the most famous artists from Zell was Anton Schmider (1817 to 1891), who was apprenticed to the upper factory and worked there as an engraver, modeller, mould designer and porcelain painter. While working for the lower factory, he also supplied an exhibition in Karlsruhe with vases made of fired clay. His exciting life and how he got his nickname (Count Magga) is described by Heinrich Hansjakob.

Some decorations such as “Favorite” and “Hahn und Henne” are still produced today after about 125 years. Two well-known examples before 1900 are the blue-yellow and red-green decors designed by the Constance ceramist Elisabeth Schmidt-Pecht (1857 to 1940). She worked for Zell until World War I, developing many decors that also decorated her well-known banner plates.

Karl Schöner (1856 to 1929) was apprenticed as a stoneware and porcelain painter in the upper factory, but later moved to the lower factory where, as head painter, he designed the “Cock and Hen” decor for his daughter’s first birthday. Various octagonal and round wall plates with a Black Forest house are signed by him.

Alfred Kusche (1884 to 1984) designed the decoration “St. Blasien” and a series of large decorated wall plates for the company Georg Schmider – Vereinigte Zeller keramische Fabriken in 1911. He later worked for the Karlsruhe Majolica.
In the 1950s, Anneliese Beckh developed many new geometric, abstract and floral décors, some of which were also coordinated with her new shape designs.