Manufacturer · Poland · Bolesławiec · est. 1946
Bolesławiec
Bolesławiec (est. 1946) – Zakłady Ceramiczne „Bolesławiec”, producer of hand-decorated stoneware, continuing the town’s pottery tradition.
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About the manufacturer
- Years active
- est. 1946
- Country
- Poland
- Location
- Bolesławiec
Bolesławiec was a pottery centre from the Middle Ages. In 1753, Johann Gottlieb Joppe made the “Great Pot” here, a vessel more than 2 m high, which became a symbol of the town. In 1762, under pressure from the Prussian authorities, the limit on the number of potters in the town was abolished. Johann Gottlieb Altmann replaced the harmful lead glaze with feldspathic glaze, which is still used today. In 1897, a ceramics school was founded, whose first director was Wilhelm Pukall.
In August 1946, the pre-war Reinhold & Co. factory resumed operations as Bolesławieckie Zakłady Garncarsko-Ceramiczne. Kraków artist Tadeusz Szafran took part in the post-war reconstruction of Bolesławiec’s ceramics. In 1964, the works became part of Bolesławieckie Zakłady Ceramiczne Przemysłu Terenowego, and in 1980 an independent enterprise, Zakłady Ceramiczne „Bolesławiec”, was established.
The products are formed and decorated by hand using the stamping technique. Patterns – circles, dots, scales, “peacock eyes”, triangles and clovers – were stamped using sponge or rubber stamps, mainly in cobalt, green and brown. The factory now uses more than 30 colours, and alongside traditional patterns also produces hand-painted floral and festive motifs.
