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By
the early 1920s, many newly established and
converted factories were copying PZH’s enormously
successful dark-bordered, semi-matte Gouda
Pottery. Huge amounts of pottery with
thousands of pattern
 names and
hundreds of forms poured from
factories in Gouda as well as those
in Arnhem, Schoonhoven, and other
Dutch towns. Soon every flower
was named, every city was mentioned,
and every girl’s name was
identified until the designers ran
out of pattern names and began using
nonsense words and plain letters.
During
the 1920s, almost half of the citizenry in Gouda was involved
in some way with the art pottery industry. Not until late
in the decade did the market begin to soften; a broad-based strike
in the major factories, the beginnings of the Great Depression, and
changes in customer taste caused the Gouda pottery industry
to seriously contract in preparation for the crisis years
of the thirties. To save money companies had to fire most of
the decorators, and the pottery produced after 1932 lost much of
its complexity and excitement. Factories had to concentrate on
producing practical dining accessories, commercial orders, and
either simply painted or drip-glazed pottery. Those
companies that survived included PZH,
Regina, Zenith, and Plateelfabriek
Schoonhoven. Late in the thirties, the rather ordinary "Rullo"
series was introduced and had some success, but World
War II finally spelled the end of Gouda’s great art pottery era.
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Time Line of Dutch Pottery Factories
A.
Early Influences
Years
of Operation
De
Porceleyne Fles ............. Pre-1880-Present
Rozenburg
................................... 1883-1914
Holland
....................................... 1893-1920
Brantjes//Haga
............................. 1895-1907
Purmerend
................................... 1903-1906
De
Distel ..................................... 1895-1923
B.
Gouda Pottery Factories
1.
In Gouda
Ivora
................................. Pre-1880-1965
Zenith ................................ Pre-1880-1982
Goedewaagen .................. Pre-1880-Present
Regina .................................... 1898-1980
Zuid-Holland ............................. 1898-1964
Eduard
Antheunis ...................... 1910-1933
Flora ....................................... 1946-1980
2.
In Other Towns
Rembrandt
.............................. 1906-1926
Arnhem .................. 1907-1936, 1942-1946
ESKAF ................................... 1919-1934
De
Rozeboom .......................... 1919-1920
Schoonhoven ...................... 1920-Present
Ram ...................... 1920-1935, 1936-1945
Gelria ..................................... 1927-1932
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Gouda
Pottery Principles
•
Patterns with birds, insects, human figures, or landscapes are rarer than
abstract or floral ones;
•
High glaze is more valuable than matte, and early high glaze (which was
more likely to be painted freehand)
even more so. (Although not Gouda pottery per se, high-glazed pieces from
the influential precursor factories
of Rozenburg, Distel, Purmerend, Holland, and Brantjes are often both
beautiful and desirable.);
•
High-glazed pieces with white or blue backgrounds are usually more
prized than those with dark ones;
•
Size counts. Large pieces are more important than small ones, even though
miniatures have their own devotees;
•
Factory-marked wares are usually more valuable than unmarked ones;
however, prototypes, experimental pieces, and studio articles may
be of special interest;
•
The older, the better.
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Brief
Summary of Gouda Pottery Periods
I. Before 1898: Clay potteries in Gouda
produced mainly pipes, building tiles
and basic ware for farm and home.
II.
1898-c.1913: Plattelbakkerij Zuid-Holland opened and was the only
major company in Gouda manufacturing decorative pottery.
III.
c. 1914-1926: New companies and reorganized pipe factories entered
the ornamental pottery field in Gouda and nearby Dutch towns.
IV.
c. 1927-1935: Shifts in public taste and a variety of economic difficulties
forced design and production changes, if not outright factory
closings.
V.
1936-1939: The Gouda ceramics industry enjoyed a short-lived revival
of prosperity.
VI.
1940-1944: Germany occupied the Netherlands and very little ornamental
pottery was made.
VII.
1945-1963: Revitalized and newly formed factories tried to stave off
international competition and economic problems by concentrating on
the production of tableware, souvenirs, and commercial goods.
VIII.
1964 to the present: Most factories either closed, merged, or moved
away.
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