Bäriswil ceramics
The Bäriswiler ceramics was in Bäriswil in Switzerland produced. In addition to Langnau im Emmental ( Langnauer ceramics ) and the Heimberg BE and Steffisburg region , Bäriswil was one of the more important locations for ceramic production in the canton of Bern in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the same period, ceramics were also produced in Albligen and Zweisimmen , district of Blankenburg.
Bäriswiler Hafner
Ceramic production was in the hands of various potter families . The Hafner dynasty Kräuchi deserves special mention. Your three branches of the family provided both the first Hafner (secured in Bäriswil from 1758) and the last Hafner (in the 1870s). It was not until around 1810 that members of the Witschi family also started producing ceramics, which they gave up in the 1860s in favor of the manufacture of "tubes". It was not until the very end of the Bäriswil pottery history that two members of the Kläy family were also active in ceramic production.
Pottery plots
For some of the Hafner the Hafner properties could be proven. The properties Hubelweg 24, Hubelweg 10/12 (Röhrehütte), Hausmattweg 9 and 15, Giebelweg 4 and Dorfstrasse 11 should be emphasized. However, further former pottery "Am Giebelrain" properties are to be expected, since the respective location of the workshop is not for all pottery operators could be proven. So far, only the "Röhrehütte" owned by the Witschi family has been extensively investigated. As a "monument of national importance", it is also the only witness of this section of the Bäriswil local history that has been preserved above ground.
Stylistic development
In 2010, a total of 333 ceramics were found in museum and private collections in Switzerland, which can be attributed to Bäriswil production based on typological and stylistic features. Bäriswiler ceramics clearly differs from the typical Langnau ceramics and Heimberger ceramics . In the future, it would be possible to confirm these assignments beyond any doubt through scientific analyzes.
Bäriswil pottery, approx. 1758–1780
Bäriswil ceramics, approx. 1780–1800
Bäriswil ceramics, approx. 1800–1821
The stylistic analysis shows the strong link between the early Bäriswil crockery (approx. 1758–1780) and the baroque, regional ceramic traditions of the first half of the 18th century. Particularly noteworthy are the blue and white decorated dishes with underglaze brush decor, but also malhorn, spring feather and bristle pull decorations. This early, almost baroque production of lead-glazed earthenware with underglaze brush decoration on a white background engobe (early Bäriswil) can only be attributed to the first potter Jakob Kräuchi, who, according to the sources, also set tiled stoves.
From around 1779–1781 a stylistic upheaval can be seen. These changes, which u. a. include the inclusion of Rococo elements in the decor, related to the successive departure of the first Hafner and his two sons to Biel-Mett (1785 at the latest) and from 1780/1785 the takeover of the workshop by the schoolmaster / Hafner dynasty Kräuchi . The reason for the abandonment of the workshop in Bäriswil is probably due to unsuccessful property speculations in the family of Jakob Kräuchi and the resulting economic difficulties.
From 1779/1781 to around 1800, a second production period followed in Bäriswil, with a rural rococo decoration (middle Bäriswil) with rapidly successive development steps, which can be well structured mainly due to the numerous crockery labels and dates. The fine-lined Fraktur letters written with a goose pen in a manganese-violet to almost black color are one of the most important features of Bäriswil ceramics. Their calligraphic quality is directly related to the first or second occupation - schoolmaster - of some of the Kräuchi family members. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that Bäriswil crockery, which consists of a base and lid, has line, number and letter marks that document that the two parts belong together. Such blind marks cannot be found in any of the other Bernese production regions (Langnau, Heimberg, Blankenburg).
A final phase of production followed between around 1800 and 1821 (late Bäriswil), which is characterized by an increasing solidification of the decors of the ceramics with underglaze brush decor. Only a few central motifs, especially animals, were added to the collection of motifs, the rocailles and flower patterns were no longer developed. In 1821, the crockery labels end on the "classic" Bäriswil ceramics with a white basic robe. Reason for this may u. a. the second bankruptcy of the stoner / schoolmaster Ludwig Kräuchi in the years 1819/1821.
Bariswil faience
Between around 1785 and around 1800/1803, the Bäriswil production always included a small percentage of real faience with a lead-tin glaze and inglaze painting. These are apparently only sugar bowls, teapots, small terrines and a money box that were glazed in this way, but then painted with the typical Bäriswil motifs. This small spectrum of vessel shapes clearly documents how much our knowledge depends on the chances of preserving dishes in everyday life and the museum collection activities in the late 19th century and their preferences (painted inkware, plates and bowls). In addition to the teapots, coffee pots, cups , cups and saucers were probably also made at the time of their production .
Bäriswiler everyday crockery
Due to the adhering glaze residues on the ceramics attributed to Bäriswil, it can also be proven that the "classic" Bäriswil ceramics represented only one production segment. In addition, mainly malhorn-decorated dishes with a red basic robe, but also ceramics with green glaze , black manganese glaze , with yellow glaze and brown spray decoration and with colored bodies in the basic robe. This is typical tableware of the time, just like the numerous other pottery companies in the wider region made. If there are no clear peculiarities of decor or floor marks, this "Bäriswil everyday crockery" cannot be separated from that of the other production centers or pottery companies in the canton of Bern in the archaeologically investigated consumer environment and in the museum collections. This is also one of the reasons why it is unclear which products the various Hafner Kräuchi and Kläy manufactured between 1821 and approx. 1870 without any excavation of scalding or false fires .
The Bäriswil "Röhrehütte" - a pottery workshop from the first half of the 19th century owned by the Witschi family
According to the archival information, the Röhrehütte building was entirely in the hands of the Witschi family's stoners. It was built from older timber after 1818 and before 1854. Only the street-side facade of the oldest building has survived (pink), as a fire on April 1, 1890 largely destroyed the workshop. The reconstruction took place on the same floor plan in 1893/1894 (yellow). In 1903/1904 the rear drying shed was added (green). Archaeological excavations (purple) have revealed two remains of a furnace in this area, of which only furnace A may have been used for ceramic production, but with its two trains and the unusually narrow furnace pit it represents a furnace variant that has not yet been adequately integrated into the technological development of the pottery furnace can be classified. The pottery in the Röhrehütte also included pit D, which can probably be referred to as a storage room for the ready-to-use pottery clay. Furnace A was replaced by furnace B at the beginning of tube production around 1860/1865, which was finally followed by the youngest furnace C.
The excavations have revealed a significant spectrum of incendiary and false fires in the first half of the 19th century. It documents the fact that certain typological elements are tied to the workshop, because the present spectrum of shapes does not coincide with the ceramic types of the "classic Bäriswil". The Witschi family's stoners also tried a faience production, the color of which was based on that of the superior manufacturers Matzendorf SO and Kilchberg-Schooren . In addition, the Witschis mainly produced manganese-glazed everyday crockery and ceramics with a white and red basic robe.
The intensification and cultivation measures in the agricultural sector from the middle of the 19th century made the production of drainage and water pipes an economically promising business. The switch to this branch of production was carried out by the Witschi family stovers in the 1860s, as otherwise the crockery was barely able to ensure survival. That is why three Bäriswiler Hafner and their families emigrated to America in 1854, 1855 and 1857.
literature
- Andreas Heege, Andreas Kistler, Poteries décorées de Suisse alémanique, 17e-19e siècles - Collections du Musée Ariana, Genève - Ceramics of German-speaking Switzerland, 17.-19. Century - The collection of the Musée Ariana, Geneva. Milan 2017.
- Robert L. Wyss: Berner Bauernkeramik (Berner Heimatbücher 100–103), Bern 1966, 44–46.
- Adriano Boschetti-Maradi: Pottery and Pottery in the Early Modern Age in the Canton of Bern (Writings of the Bernisches Historisches Museum 8), Bern 2006, 212–214.
- Andreas Heege / Andreas Kistler / Walter Thut: Ceramics from Bäriswil. On the history of an important farmyard in the canton of Bern and its artisanal crockery production (Writings of the Bernisches Historisches Museum, Volume 10), Bern 2011.