Although not marked as such, this vase has all the hallmarks of the firm Scheurich Keramik which started production in 1954, rather later than most of its competitors, but soon became the largest producer of commercial art pottery in Germany. Their pieces rarely carried the factory name but usually the model number followed by the height in centimetres with ‘W.Germany’ below, as here. Model number 289 is found in a variety of sizes and colourings, all employing a similar shape and design and a smaller example can be seen elsewhere in this auction. The larger size (41cm as here) was decorated with a much wider variety of motifs but the colour ranges made varied considerably and the modelling seems to have been of rather uneven quality. This piece excels in both and is a true ‘classic’ of West German design. Dating is probably to the 1960s or 1970s.