Polish pottery is the traditional and high-quality pottery from the Lower Silesian city of Bunzlau (today Polish Bolesławiec) and its surroundings.
Gundara sources its products from three manufactories in and around Bunzlau (Bolesławiec). All three manufactories continue with their handicraft (hand sponged) to hundred-year-old pottery traditions. The polish pottery is characterised by its fine and traditional artistic painting, which also accounts for the special originality and quality of the ceramics.
The shaping and painting is done by hand according to old methods (hand sponged). The designs and colour combinations have changed over time and naturally follow more and more modern trends.
Traditional Production
The process of ceramics production begins with shaping, drying and pre-firing at a temperature of 850 °C. The obtained product of bisque porcelain is then hand-sponged and/or painted with underglaze colours, glazed and fired again (at 1250 °C). The high firing temperature means that the products are very firm and suitable for use in the oven, microwave and dishwasher. The polish pottery from Lower Silesia (near Wroclaw) is of very high quality. All ceramic products are quality controlled after completion.
The polish pottery from Lower Silesia has a lot of blue shades (but also green and red) and convinces with its variety of patterns, which offers something for many different tastes. The Lower Silesian polish pottery therefore fits into different ambiences and interiors such as country house style, Scandinavian and modern design and interior. For some and some people it is certainly also a memory of a childhood and home, "...which no longer exists in this form."
The pottery Kalich and Wiza focus on traditional design. The manufactory, on the other hand, works with renowned Polish designers and therefore has a lot to offer to fans of modern interior design.
The Bunzlau-based manufactory also cares about ecology at every step of the ceramic production process. The clay it uses to make pottery is prepared for processing according to a traditional recipe and without the use of chemicals. The colours used for decoration are natural and completely harmless to the environment. Therefore, all products have appropriate certificates that allow contact with food. They are resistant to high temperatures and can be used in the oven and microwave. The entire production cycle is subject to recycling.
History of Polish Pottery
The production of ceramics in Bunzlau in Lower Silesia dates back to the 16th century. Even then, richly decorated utility and art objects (mugs, cups, plates, jugs, carafes etc.) were already being produced in the region. Later the potters joined together to form a guild (among other things to ensure quality). For a long time the number of potteries was limited to five. In 1762 this restriction was lifted. At that time Bunzlau and its ceramics (pottery) was important all over Europe. The great economic importance of the Bunzlau pottery from Lower Silesia lasted until the end of the Second World War. However, the polish pottery was also influential in the style of the region beyond that time with its typical style and decoration. A special advantage of these potteries has always been their refractoriness (ovenproof, microwave-proof and dishwasher safe).
Innovations in the pottery craft were brought by the Royal Ceramics School, founded in 1897 in Bunzlau (Bolesławiec) following the Austrian example, which became the State Ceramics School after 1922. Besides the industrial production in Bunzlau and its surroundings (Lower Silesia) there were always a lot of family-owned hand potteries, which turned on the wheel or cast in plaster moulds.
At the end of the 19th century the sponge decoration (also called sponge decoration) became more and more popular. Small coloured ornaments are stamped on with suitably cut sponges (the elephant ear sponge). Very popular were concentric dots in different colours, peacock eyes, which were partly completed by brush painting by hand. Polish pottery with sponge decoration was awarded the gold medal for (cadmium and lead free) tableware at the world exhibition in London in 1905.
Polish Pottery after the Second World War
Some polish pottery makers in Lower Silesia, especially small family businesses, resumed their activities after the expulsion in 1945 and settled in places where the pottery industry was already established due to suitable clay deposits. Many of them continued the polish pottery sponge decoration (hand pottery). Today polish pottery is no longer turned on the potter's wheel, but the pottery is made according to old moulds and handmade and convinces by its excellent quality. The old well-known decorations such as the peacock's eye are produced, but of course there are also new modern patterns full of vitality and energy. Due to its high quality polish pottery from Lower Silesia is still (or again) very popular today.
