Museum employees also prepared several articles about local stoneware, which were published in Germany and Poland. They also worked with editor Maria Brzezińska of the nationwide monthly magazine „Podróże”.
Japanese publisher Micans Books to publish a book about our ceramics
The fact that Bolesławiec ceramics have been recognized in Poland and around the world for years is confirmed by visits to the Bolesławiec Ceramic Museum from numerous guests from Poland and abroad. Tourists from Far Eastern countries account for an increasingly large proportion of them. Last week, the institution hosted Ai Otsuka, Shizuko Ohashi, Sakiyo Kajio and Izumi Fujita, Japanese women who are preparing a book in their language about contemporary Bolesławiec stoneware.
Tableware and decorative items, especially those decorated with stamped patterns, are becoming increasingly popular in Asian countries, reflecting the region’s highly developed food culture and centuries-old culinary traditions. This led to the idea of presenting Bolesławiec products on the Japanese market in the form of a book, which will be published by Micans Books in spring 2016. In addition to touring the museum, the visitors from Japan attended a „Zdobinek” demonstration, featuring body painting with patterns inspired by traditional stamped decoration, and visited several factories in Bolesławiec. At the „Bolesławiec” Ceramic Works, chief designer Janina Bany-Kozłowska guided them along the production line.
At the „Ceramika Artystyczna” Artistic Handicraft Cooperative, they met with president Helena Smoleńska, who presented the company’s history. President Małgorzata Szewczyk-Smoleńska guided the delegation around the „Manufaktura” Stoneware Factory. The Japanese editorial team also visited „Wiza” Artistic Ceramics in Parowa, where it met with the company’s founder, Stanisław Wiza, as well as „Millena” Ceramics in Parzyce, whose history was presented by its owners, Dariusz Sikorski and Wiesława Seneszyn.
Essays by Bolesławiec museum staff in German specialist publications
The popularity of Bolesławiec stoneware is also demonstrated by articles about it published both in scholarly works and popular magazines. Two essays by Ceramic Museum employees appeared in the German-language publication Keramik in Mitteldeutschland Stand der Forschung und Perspektiven, the proceedings of a conference held in Nuremberg in 2011.
Barbara Glinkowska and Tadeusz Orawiec prepared the article „The Beginnings of Bolesławiec Stoneware in Light of Archaeological Discoveries of Vessel Ceramic Forms from the 16th to the Mid-17th Century”. Anna Bober-Tubaj prepared a study on „The Influence of the Bolesławiec Vocational Ceramic School on the Development of the Design and Technology of Bolesławiec Stoneware in the First Half of the 20th Century”. Research shows that Art Nouveau and Art Deco design was an important chapter in the history of local stoneware, helping Bolesławiec become one of Europe’s more significant manufacturing centres. This was due in part to Kurt Randhahn, an outstanding ceramic artist who was associated with Bolesławiec for a short time. His work became the subject of an extensive study by Anna Bober-Tubaj entitled „Kurt Randhahn’s Bolesławiec Artistic Pottery – A Forgotten Episode from the Art Nouveau Period”, published in issue VI of the bimonthly „Szkło i Ceramika” in the „Science” section. It is the first monographic publication devoted to this ceramic artist.
The city of good clay in „Podróże” monthly
The December issue of the monthly „Podróże” also featured an extensive article entitled „Bolesławiec – City of Good Clay”, discussing important and interesting phenomena connected with the history and contemporary character of Bolesławiec ceramics. The magazine’s editorial team visited, among other places, Bolesławiec ceramic companies, where Danuta Amborska, head of the Design Department at the „Bolesławiec” Ceramic Works, provided valuable information, and visited Papa Glinolud, Bogdan Nowak. At the Ceramic Museum, Anna Bober-Tubaj familiarized editor Maria Brzezińska with trends in local design over the years and with historical facts concerning ceramic production in our city.
Information from the Ceramic Museum/ii