Founded by Eduard Bay in the 1930s and based in Ransbach Baumbach in the heart of the main West German pottery producing region, Bay Keramik grew to be one of the most prolific producers of ceramics in the ‘West German’ style and continued production into the 1990s. Concentrating at first on terracotta cooking pots and tableware, the company began producing a range of art pottery from the 1950s onwards which was to enjoy great popularity. Bay pieces are usually marked with their name and often also carry the original manufacturer’s label. They are, then, for the most part, easy to identify. The numbers show the model number and the height in centimetres, as here.

The style of this piece, both its elaborate form and florid, almost baroque style decoration sets it rather apart from the bulk of Bay’s output and indeed that of the West German ceramics producers in general. There are no ready parallels apart from similar pieces in different sizes and this pitcher seem to look back to earlier German ceramic designs rather than attempting to follow more modern ones. The ‘earthy’ colourings suit a retrospective item which still has its own attractions for a contemporary setting. Dating is probably to the 1960s or 1970s.