Langnau pottery in CERAMICA CH
Andreas Heege, Andreas Kistler 2017
The municipality of Langnau is in the Emmental valley in the Swiss Canton of Bern. Because of its central location it was predestined to be a commercial hub for the upper Emmental valley and the neighbouring Entlebuch region in the Canton of Lucerne. First mentioned in records in 1467, the Langnau annual fairs were important for the entire region and beyond. By the 18th and early 19th centuries, Langnau and the uplands in the eastern part of the Canton of Bern, had the most advanced economy of all the regions in Switzerland. This wealth was reflected in the large farmsteads on the one hand and the significant population number, which was increasing steadily on the other. Combined with the ultimogeniture laws (preference in inheritance given to the youngest son) that had prevailed in the canton since the Middle Ages, this resulted in a strong rural middle and lower class of small farmers, day labourers and craftsmen. The latter included the potters and stove fitters, and by the late 19th century, their high-quality products had become much sought after by museums and private collections. To date, more than 2000 ceramics and stove tiles created by Langnau potters are known to have survived in collections, to which we can now add important archaeological finds recovered from the potters’ properties at 1 Höheweg and 1 Sonnweg as well as a private collection of Langnau moulds which largely originated from the workshop at 15 Sonnweg.
In the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries, there were individual potters called Hürby, Baur, Neuenschwander and Jost, none of whom, however, could be considered to have founded a potting dynasty. Their products, in fact, remain unknown.
The Herrmann potters were a completely different matter. Between Niklaus Herrmann, who was the first potter to work at 15 Sonnweg from 1672 onwards, and the last potters, Ulrich Herrmann, who died at 1 Sonnweg in 1904, and Johann Herrmann, who gave up his workshop at 5 Wiederbergstrasse in 1910, at least 56 potters from the Herrmann family and their workshops or properties can be identified. Comprising nine generations in total, the Herrmanns were the largest dynasty of potters in the German-speaking part of Switzerland studied to date (cf. family tree and list of potters), although they tended to be transient depending on the economic situation they found themselves having to deal with. Two Herrmann potters worked in Bern for a time (this included managing posts at the Frisching faience manufactory); five worked in the Heimberg/Steffisburg region, either for a limited period or permanently; six potters and their families lived and worked in the “Brügghüsli” at 14 Mühlestrasse in Trubschachen, while six other Herrmann potters lived and worked in Wasen in the municipality of Sumiswald in the Emmental valley. In the late 19th century in particular, several Herrmann potters gave up pottery making and took up other trades. One became a shopkeeper, another a civil registry official, one had a tobacco factory and one was a municipal administrator in charge of the local roads. Some potters spent all or part of their working lives in other places throughout the Canton of Bern (Bärau, Bümpliz, Grosshöchstetten, Münsingen, Neuenegg, Oberburg, Oberhofen, Signau, Dürrenroth, Hindelbank, Langenthal, Lyss, Ursenbach and Zweisimmen). Only two eventually settled outside of the canton, one in Lüsslingen, Canton of Solothurn, the other in Aesch, Canton of Basel-Landschaft. Four other Herrmann potters emigrated to the United States.
The economic circumstances
The economic circumstances of the Herrmann potters can only be partially outlined. Tax records show that they were part of the lower middle class in Langnau. In the 18th century, this would have referred to approximately 30 percent of all households. At the same time, 40 percent of Langnau households belonged to the lower class of welfare recipients. Surprisingly, the agricultural and economic crisis of 1816 to 1821, which was a very difficult period for many, did not result in any of the Langnau potters becoming bankrupt, even though Langnau too was badly affected by the “Year Without a Summer”. It was not until the next crisis between 1845 and 1846 (potato blight of 1845/46) that Langnau was hit by severe supply and economic problems. Emigrating to the US was perhaps the option chosen by at least four of the potters from Langnau to alleviate their problems.
The main workshops and potters
Daniel Herrmann (1736–1798) was undoubtedly the most important and most accomplished potter in 18th century Langnau. From 1762 to 1776 he ran the Frisching faience manufactory in Bern, which employed faience painters from abroad to produce mainly tiled stoves and crockery modelled on Strasbourg wares for its patrician customer base in Basel and Bern. When the manufactory closed down, Daniel Herrmann began to introduce to Langnau earthenware many of the stylistic elements he had come familiar with in the Bernese factory, having brought home the plaster moulds required to produce both the crockery and the stove tiles. He was succeeded at the workshop at 1 Höheweg by his son, Daniel junior (1775–1864), who was at least as talented as his father. The production of pottery in the Langnau style ended in c. 1860 at the latest, during the lifetimes of his grandson (1801–1871) and great-grandson (1830–1883), both of whom were also called Daniel.
Various criteria (mark and signature, Langnau as the place of manufacture or residence of the owner, correlation with signed and dated moulds with lug handles and applied relief decorations, typological assessment of the vessel shape, decoration and motifs) have provided a very good basis for identifying ceramics as originating from Langnau and for distinguishing between Langnau wares and products from other pottery-making locations in the Canton of Bern. Particularly useful in this context were the archaeological finds from the potters’ properties at 1 Höheweg and 1 Sonnweg. By directly attesting to the local production they were an indispensable source for the study. A total of 1167 ceramics have a date incised or painted on them, making it easier to date the undated pieces by comparison.
Moreover, an in-depth study of the style of handwriting, combined with a typological study of the lug handles, fruit-shaped handles and various decorative elements revealed that certain features regularly occurred on the same vessels, which have allowed us to identify certain “signature styles” of potters or workshops. In some cases, it has even been possible to link these styles with specific Langnau potters and their workshops known from the records. In total, 33 such groups of features were identified and dubbed “styles 1–25” (with additional variations). Applying various criteria, e.g. lug-handle moulds that were in continuous use over a long period of time or links between the dates of certain vessels and the lifespans of individual potters, different “styles” were grouped into “ateliers” (“ateliers 1–6”).
Certain objects stand out from the other Langnau-style ceramics. They can be associated with Hans Herrmann, the bailiff (1673–1762, “atelier 1, style 1”) and the workshop at 15 Sonnweg. The Langnau style developed during his early years as a potter and subsequently evolved in various phases until the 1860s, though its popularity began to wane from as early as c. 1830. Hans’s son, Christen (1703–1771, “atelier 1, style 4”) was the most important potter and had the greatest impact on the Langnau style from around 1725 to 1750. Like his father and grandfather before him, he also fitted tiled stoves. The typological sequencing of the wares dating from the 1750s and 1760s has not been attributed to any particular potter known from the sources (“atelier 1, late” and “atelier 2”).
Daniel Herrmann (1736–1798, “atelier 3, style 5”) was the most important and influential of the Langnau potters. He opened his own workshop at 1 Höheweg in 1769, while also working as director of the Frisching faience manufactory in Bern from 1763 to 1776. He is the only potter to have married a member of the Langnau upper class. More than 250 ceramic vessels dating from between 1760 and 1798 have been attributed to him based on their high-quality decoration and inscriptions. Interestingly, Daniel’s early period in Langnau was still influenced by the formal range seen in Bernese faience products, as he was obviously using moulds from the Bern manufactory to make his own fruit-shaped handles, rococo tureens, water dispensers, sugar casters and tea caddies. As early as 1760, he created the first plate with a drainer and in 1781 he began to produce a large series of plates with various types of indented rim. In 1794, his workshop made the oldest surviving “wedding bowl”, a trompe l’oeil tureen for private use. He produced a wide and varied range of shapes and decorations using moulds from the Frisching Faience Manufactory, and numerous individual tiles and tiled stoves can also be attributed to him. Depending on the clients’ wishes, he used either faience glaze or the more affordable lead glazes to decorate these stoves. The first known tiled stove which was painted in manganese purple dates from 1789; the difference between it and the crockery that was being made at the same time would have been quite remarkable. This was the period during which stove and crockery production began to diverge from a stylistic point of view. Daniel, and later his sons, were also involved in decorating the church organ in Langnau. The ceramic decorations that survive on the church organ in Rüderswil were probably also created by him.
In terms of the quality of the decorative motifs and inscriptions, the transition from Daniel to his sons (the “Herrmann brothers”, 1798–1840) was almost seamless (“atelier 3, styles 6 and 7”). A total of 99 ceramic objects can be attributed to Daniel junior (1775–1864), and 37 to Johannes (1777–1827). In 25 other cases, the dates allow us to conclude that they were made by “atelier 3” at the time of the “Herrmann brothers”. Based on various criteria, a further 237 vessels can be attributed to “atelier 3”, but not to any of the potters mentioned. It is possible that Daniel (1775–1864) produced the four known wedding tureens from 1800 and 1801. Between 1800 and 1810, he was experimenting with a significantly reduced, light-blue colour scheme and with multi-coloured decorations. In later life he also worked as an organist, a surveyor, a lithographer and a draughtsman producing organ brochures, and for a while he served as a cantonal district roads inspector. Until around 1803, the tiled stoves of the “Herrmann brothers” still followed their father’s colour scheme and style. After that, they appear to have only produced white faience stoves with purple and black in-glaze painted decorations in the classicist and Biedermeier styles. From 1760 to c. 1830, the workshop at 1 Höheweg in Langnau was considered the benchmark which all other potters were compared to in terms of the range of shapes, the quality of craftmanship, the decorations and the inscriptions.
Hans Herrmann (1737–1787, “atelier 4, style 10”), was the brother of Daniel Herrmann (1736–1798), and had his workshops at 1 Bärenplatz and 1 Sonnweg. Hans’ depictions of people and animals were also very pleasing but did not exhibit the same quality of draughtsmanship as those of his older brother. In any case, almost 60 objects can be attributed to Hans, while his son, Johannes (1775–1827, “atelier 4, style 12”) probably learned his craft from his Uncle Daniel (1736–1798) at the workshop at 1 Höheweg. Johannes’ ceramics and images were on a par with those of his cousins (the “Herrmann brothers”), though he only had access to a limited range of fruit-shaped moulds for the handles on his tureen lids. It was probably his workshop at 1 Sonnweg that produced several rather unusual spherical sundials in 1797. During the period of the Helvetic Republic (1798 to 1803), Johannes appears to have been more politically active than any of the other potters in Langnau. In all likelihood, 125 ceramic objects can be attributed to him. Hardly any of the objects that survive in museum collections today can be attributed to Johannes’ successor at the workshop, his grandnephew Johannes Herrmann (1802–1867, “atelier 4, style 13”). Excavations carried out at the property at 1 Sonnweg, however, have recovered a large number of wasters. They either date from the late period of Johannes’ (1802–1867) production, from his son, Johannes junior (1829–1887), or from his grandson, Ulrich (1857–1904). They are collectively referred to as “style 14” and attest to the late period of the Langnau style in the second half of the 19th century..
Another group of objects were labelled “atelier 5, styles 15–21” because they obviously differed from the ceramics made by “ateliers 1–4” or “6”. They were probably made by members of another branch of the Herrmann family, i.e. the sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of Christen Herrmann (1703–1771, see the family tree). The potential places of production, therefore, mainly include the properties at 15 Sonnweg and 5 Wiederbergstrasse as well as 24 and 33 Wiederbergstrasse. Finally, “styles 22–25” (“atelier 6”), almost certainly represent the workshop at 5 Wiederbergstrasse’s late phase of production (post 1840). Worth mentioning in this context is the stylistic influence of Johann Martin Labhardt, a journeyman from Steckborn in the Canton of Thurgau.
From the 1830s at the latest, Langnau pottery was increasingly influenced by “Heimberg-type pottery” from the Heimberg-Steffisburg region, and by 1860, the decorative elements characteristic of Langnau ware had all but disappeared. They had increasingly been replaced by a decorative scheme composed entirely of slip trailing, brushwork decoration (horizontal bands) and sponged decoration using small sponge stamps. As it stands, it is almost impossible to distinguish between the late phase of Langnau ware and the wares created by other potters in the Bern region.
Langnau pottery is known for its complex motifs and accompanying mottos. Hardly any templates have been found for the custom-designed images that were mainly used to decorate plates and tureens. The mottos, on the other hand, which were often cautionary and moralistic, were taken from the Bible and other religious publications or from music collections, schoolbooks, readers or printed collections of poems and old sayings. In some exceptional cases, they referred to current events or political issues (severe weather, meteorite impacts, inflation etc.). Many focussed on maidservants and farmhands or on gender relations. Various mottos refered to dairy farming and the Langnau Alpine commons. In keeping with this, all of the animals and many of the farming activities typical of the Emmental region could also be found in the decorative motifs.
It is not known to what extent the Langnau potters utilised the local and regional marketplaces to sell their wares. Any products that were not sold on the market or directly from the workshops were sold by street pedlars and door-to-door vendors. The sales area of Langnau pottery can be identified on the basis of recorded household inventories and various other pieces of information written on the pottery itself. Particularly important in this respect are the names of localities and Alpine pastures as well as the places of residence of married couples, which were typically written on ceramics. Moreover, 317 Langnau ceramics bear names that can be checked using the book of Swiss surnames to ascertain their place of origin in or around the year 1800, which provides us with another clue as to the potential sales area of Langnau ware. As a result, we can identify a core area with a radius of approximately 20 km encompassing the entire Emmental valley, and a peripheral region that includes the neighbouring Entlebuch and parts of the Upper Aargau to the north. By contrast, the cities of Bern, Burgdorf and Thun, and surprisingly, the Bernese Oberland, were unimportant as sales areas for the Langnau potters. This has been confirmed by a survey of the archaeological finds that have so far come to light.
Unfortunately, we are less well informed about the socioeconomic circumstances of the Langnau potters’ customers. Occasionally, there is a reference to the more affluent bailiffs, court officials, church wardens, dragoons, bakers, innkeepers, stewards of the Alpine pastures and estate owners. We cannot say for certain whether it was just the wealthier estate owners in the Emmental valley who could afford to buy Langnau pottery or whether the economically less well-off owners of the smaller homesteads were also in a position to buy such wares. We can probably assume that every large and middle-sized farm in the Emmental valley and probably also in the Entlebuch region would have had some of the very ornate luxury wares and the less ornate everyday wares from the workshops of the Herrmann potters in the period between 1700 and 1850. But even the less well-off households probably felt they could not do without at least some of the simpler and rather plain pieces of everyday pottery, very few of which have survived in museum collections.
Other potters in Langnau up to c. 1950
It should be noted that pottery continued to be produced in Langnau after 1850 and even after the ultimate demise of the Langnau style (between 1830 and 1860). This also included potters who were not part of the Herrmann family (see list of Langnau potters). As part of the Arts and Crafts Movement or the Swiss equivalent, the Heimatstil movement, “Old Langnau Style” pottery experienced a revival after 1896. The main producers were the Röthlisberger pottery in Langnau as well as the workshops of Oswald Kohler (1886–1955) in Schüpbach and his son-in-law, Adolf Gerber (1879–1951) in Langnau. From 1945 onwards, Gerber, who had opened his workshop in 1913, employed Jakob Stucki (1920–1982), the most important Langnau potter of the 20th century. The most important female ceramicist was Frieda Lauterburg.
Herrmann potters family tree
Langnau pottery sales area
Translation: Sandy Haemmerle
References:
Heege/Kistler 2017/1
Andreas Heege/Andreas Kistler, Poteries décorées de Suisse alémanique, 17e-19e siècles – Collections du Musée Ariana, Genève – Keramik der Deutschschweiz, 17.-19. Jahrhundert – Die Sammlung des Musée Ariana, Genf, Mailand 2017, 174-319.
Heege/Kistler 2017/2
Andreas Heege/Andreas Kistler, Keramik aus Langnau. Zur Geschichte der bedeutendsten Landhafnerei im Kanton Bern (Schriften des Bernischen Historischen Museums 13), Bern 2017.
