KREUTZ KERAMIK JUG VASE

A pint-sized, square-mouth jug vase by KREUTZ KERAMIK, finished in a remarkable, thick and bubbly, black-yellow-and-orange volcanic fat-lava glaze. KREUTZ KERAMIK was founded in 1958 by Helmut Kreutz in the picturesque village of Langenaubach in the central German state of Hesse.  Its products are characterized by red-clay bodies covered with very thick and bubbly glazes—the epitome of what's broadly thought of as German "fat lava," we might argue.  KREUTZ often achieved foamy, cratered, or "volcanic" surfaces with the addition of organic substances to the glaze that released oxygen during firing, or, alternatively, the use of silicon carbide and its release of carbon dioxide. Determining the origin of a KREUTZ vase can be a challenge as a good deal of the company's output was sold to other potteries—Montanus, Gerlach Keramik, and Marzi & Remy among them.  Naturally this causes consternation for those connoisseurs and historians trying to unravel the mysteries that continue to dog