Bay Keramik “Tripolis” décor, 985-30

One of the wonderful aspects to collecting Mid Century West German pottery is the shear fearlessness of the ceramicists of the time; there appears to have been no limit to their imagination. Perhaps it was a reflection of the lowering of societal rules and boundaries occurring worldwide? After all, this was produced in 1968, a year which saw extensive and sometimes violent protests in Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Mexico, Northern Ireland and the United States which today are viewed as historic, generational fault lines. The naming of this line, “Tripolis,” was ominous in this sense — “Tripolis” is the German word for the city of Tripoli, the city in Libya, a country whose leadership was overthrown in 1969. Whether Bay Keramik was reflecting tumultuous times or simply turning out gorgeous wares, we are left with this beautiful and bravely colorful example today… one which would never be produced today. We may have “interesting” times like they did in the late 60s, and mass-produced pottery which seeks to evoke the same time period, but in the end, both are just faint echos of the raw, unfiltered originals.