Ilkra Keramik (l. to r.) 1208-19, 1035-25, 1041-15, 1025-15

Orange and green are wonderful partners in the natural world — just look at the beauty of a fully-laden orange tree, tall orange zinnias in mid-summer or maple trees bursting with autumnal orange leaves against a backdrop of evergreens. With such inspiration, it is easy to see how Ilkra got the idea for this heavy, lava-like glaze. While I’m not sure how well this combination went over — even in the “anything goes” world of 60s-70s West German ceramics, I haven’t found too many other manufacturers of that time who married the two colors — the glaze has a wonderful sense of life which can’t be denied.