This vase just shouts “German” at me, I might be wrong but everything about it is germanic in appearance from the robustly rotund body to the chimney neck and the solid straight-edged lip.
Of course none of that makes it attractive, in fact the German’s are pretty famous for some of the worst vase design out [...]

German pottery never fails to disappoint, and this one is no exception!
It’s a West German vase of the 18-921 pattern, but the colours are just awful.
Bright orange and reds with a blue/black undercoat which shows though on the high spots and is then flecked with white.
Not only are the colours pretty vulgar, but it’s also [...]

I normally like German pottery, there’s something about the deep rich colours, the vibrancy, even the dark coloured ones are full of life.
Not this vase though, this is about the most unGerman, German vase I’ve ever seen. It’s pale washed out colours. Rather than geometric or dripping glaze it’s a picture. Even worse it’s an [...]

Every time I see “West German” on pottery I know it’s going to be a treat. There’s something about West German potters that they love decoration, and the more the better. I’m almost disappointed with this little vase that the decoration is quite subdued compared with some.
The good news is that they made up for [...]

I do love German pottery as they are invariably so ugly it makes my job describing them superfluous. This is another such vase and you really do have to wonder why the artist bothered.
I’m pretty sure it’s never actually been used which isn’t surprising as the vase itself isn’t a great shape. The gold on [...]

I just couldn’t resist buying this vase, even though I had to import it from the US. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I don’t think anyone ever will again!
It comes with a great story, the sellers mother had it on display for years and when the daughter inherited it she discovered the [...]

There’s something about this little jug vase that really does make me dislike it immensely.
I’m not sure if it’s the background colour which is a rather dirty blue or the pastel coloured flowers.
Maybe it’s just the awful raised flower decorations without which it would be quite an attractive shape reminiscent of a Wee Willie Winkie [...]

A great vase this one, if you have tall flowers. Ample height at 12″ tall and large enough to hold a good supply of water.
It’s a West German vase, and a pretty popular shape. With the backstamp 517-30 a quick search of the Internet reveals it’s a pretty standard size.
It’s in great condition, there’s just [...]

Hooray!
At last I have a vase I can be reasonably intelligent about. I can tell you what it is and where it came from!
It’s from Germany, from a manufacturer called Schilz. I also know that it’s a one and a half litre wine jug!
So that’s the what and the where, but do we like it?
Well [...]

The second vase in my collection was also purchased from Mark and his title of “Ugly Item of the Week” made it a must have purchase. With the acquisition of this vase I now had a “collection”, albeit a collection of two, but it was a start. With the “Ugly” description my collection also had [...]