WONDERFUL RIESSNER STELLMACHER & KESSEL RStK TEPLITZ BOHEMIA AMPHORA VASE - CIRCA 1900

Measures approximately 8 1/2" high by 7 1/2" in diameter.

Excellent original condition. No chips or cracks.

About Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel:

In 1892, after 17 years as a leader in ceramics production, Alfred Stellmacher encouraged his son and sons-in-law to establish a porcelain manufactory. They were the first Amphora manufacturer. Named after its owners Riessner, Stellmacher and Kessel (RSt&K), and employing son-in-law Paul Dachsel, the firm consistently marked pieces with the word Amphora by the late 1890s and became subsequently known by that name.

Amphora was produced between 1894 and 1904 in the Turn-Teplitz region of Bohemia during the Art Nouveau era. These ceramic wares  are also referred to by dealers and collectors as “Teplitz”.
There were many companies in the Turn-Teplitz region manufacturing ceramic wares during the Amphora movement. Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel (RStK) and Wahliss were two of the main companies of this style.

RStK wares were introduced in the United States in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair where they were given the “best in show” award. Their display at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 also earned high accolades bolstering their reputation as pottery masters. The departure of Paul Dachsel in 1903 and Eduard Stellmacher in 1904 marked the end of Amphora’s golden age.

Amphora was sold in the United States by finer stores including Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York, who appreciated the innovative, hand crafted designs, vibrant colours, and unique glazes used by the Amphora manufacturers from Turn-Teplitz, Bohemia. The Turn-Teplitz region was not far from Dresden, Germany. The porcelain manufactories found advantages in the Bohemian region because local riverbeds provided an abundant supply of kaolin, an essential ingredient of porcelain. The rivers themselves were sources of energy, and the nearby railroads made it easier to quickly sell and export ceramics across Europe.