Maurachern potter’s workshop around 1950
Andreas Heege, Andreas Kistler 2019
The Maurachern potter’s workshop was located at what is today 72 Thunstrasse in Wichtrach’s district of Maurachern in the Canton of Bern. Zacharias Steiner from Fahrni, “living at the time on Beumberg, Steffisburg”, bought the property on 6th October 1811. It does not appear to have been set up as a potter’s workshop at the time. We find out that Zacharias was a potter on the occasion of his widow, Elisabeth Steiner-Neuenschwander’s death (17th January 1862) from a record dated 11th December 1863, stating that Zacharias’ son Christian had inherited the following properties: “Homestead in the Muracheren area: 1. House at no. 141 fire-insured for CHF 3,500 with a well 2. Meadow belonging to the house including the hill, approximately 8 Jucharten. 3. A bog with a strip of grass. 4. A small residential building with two potters’ workshops and two apartments under no. 144 fire-insured for CHF 2,000, newly built by Zacharias Steiner. 5. Hälismatt, in the municipality of Kiesen. 6. The use of half a forest and field common. Further property in land and forest listed.” On 2nd November 1874, Christian Steiner sold the residential building and potters’ workshops to Gottfried Grognuz-Gerber from Poliez-Pittet, Canton of Vaud, master potter in Muracheren. Not long after, on 18th October 1876, Anna Elisabeth Grognuz-Gerber, Gottfried Grognuz’s widow, sold the property to Rudolf Moser (1840-1877) from Arni, master potter in Heimberg. On 20th October 1904, Rudolf Moser’s widow, Anna Maria Moser-Aeschlimann (1844-?), sold the property including the two workshops and the two apartments to their son, Gottfried Moser, master potter (30th December 1873-4th May 1949).
Pricelist, undated.
The workshop “bosses” (from top left to bottom right):
Gottfried Moser 1873-1949, Martha Moser-Waber 1883-1973, Armin Stucki 1920-1980, Emma Martha Stucki-Moser 1914-2004.
Exhibition catalogue, Zurich 1914, extract. Documentation of a collaboration between the closely associated Wächter-Reusser pottery and the Moser pottery in Wichtrach. Gottfried Moser signed the tableware supplied to Wächter with ‘AWZ’ (information provided by Martha Stucki-Moser to Bruno Hirschi in 1983).
Following Gottfried’s death, his daughter, Emma Martha Stucki-Moser (1914-2004), continued to run the business together with her husband, Armin Stucki (1920-1980). Her sister, Elisabeth Moser, was a partner in the firm. At that time, the cadastral register only listed “1 residential building with a potter’s workshop”.
According to Martha Stucki Moser’s recollections (1983, documents from Bruno Hirschi, Oberhofen), there were at times four potteries in the ‘Untere Murachere’: the Gasser pottery immediately to the south, the Bähler pottery immediately to the north, and the Steiner pottery on the opposite side of the road towards Wichtrach. No more detailed information on these businesses is available at present.
In 1945, the wood-fired potter’s kiln was replaced by an electric one. Following a fire in 1985, the workshop was partially renovated, and in 1992, sold to Peter Kupferschmied (born in 1960, served his apprenticeship with Martha Stucki-Moser from 1988 to 1990) and his wife Kathrin.
In 1996, renovation and extension work was carried out. The ceramicist Cornelia Rubin also worked in the business until 2017. The workshop closed down on 1st October 2017.
Sources pertaining to the property
