EARLY ORIGINAL RUSCHA KERAMIK ‘ZEBRA’ VASE Nr. 313

A very early (1950s) example of the iconic RUSCHA KERAMIK vase Nr. 313—designed by Kurt Tschorner and finished in Cilli Wörsdörfer's fittingly kinetic Zebra décor. The shape of the "313" changed at least twice over the years, mainly as a result of manufacturing problems that arose from the delicacy of the attenuated handle. Initial modifications were minimal, but later ones had the unfortunate effect (in our opinion) of robbing the form of much of its grace and its illusion of forward motion. Luckily, later production often benefitted from the excellent glazes that RUSCHA introduced subsequently. Nevertheless—nothing beats an original! Label intact. RUSCHA KERAMIK was launched in 1948 when Rudolf Schardt assumed management of Klein & Schardt, his father Georg's ceramics factory in Rheinbach—a small town southeast of Bonn in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia with a long tradition of earthenware pottery. (RUSCHA is a syllabic abbreviation of the name Rudolf Schardt.) The ti