Long before West German pottery got the attention of the collecting world, eBay sellers sometimes described the thicker drip and volcanic glazes as fat lava. When Dr. Graham Cooley decided to put together an exhibition of mid-century German and Italian ceramics, he found the term too delightful to pass up, and when Mark Hill published the exhibition guide Fat Lava: West German Ceramics of the 1960s & '70s, the term really spread. In some ways, the phrase fat lava simply tumbles off the tongue all too well, and as so often happens, the more it has been used, the more unclear it becomes.
Defining Fat Lava
Not all W. German pottery glazes are fat lava, and not all fat lava glazes are W. German, even if a search on eBay sometimes makes it seem that way. Fat lava is a sub-category that includes the unusually thick drip glazes and the volcanic glazes. A drip glaze is simply when one glaze runs down over another. In earlier drip glazes, popular in the early 20th century and into the '30s, the thickness of the two glazes was essentially the same. The attraction was in the color relationships, as well as the flowing pattern of the drip.
On a fat lava drip vase, the top glaze is distinctly thicker than the under glaze, creating distinct textural differences in addition to any color variations. At some points, the drip glaze may stand out as much as 1/2” above the surrounding glaze. A vase may well have three or four layers of distinctly different thicknesses, and colors may contrast strongly or be so close that only the thickness clearly distinguishes them. When such glazes are done in yellows, oranges and reds, the lava connection is even stronger.
Volcanic Glazes
Some of the fat lava glazes are also volcanic. In such cases, a chemical is added to the glaze to cause bubbling and create a cratered look. These craters vary in both size and texture. Sizes range from pinhead to well over an inch, while the edges may be smooth or rough, sometimes even sharp. The volcanic glazes sometimes cover the entire vase, but they are often used to create carefully constructed patterns, making use of both the color and textural differences.
The bubbling naturally makes the volcanic glaze rise above the surface of the vase, but it’s also possible for a thick drip glaze to also be volcanic. Obviously, the possibilities mount with all these possible variations, and many of the W. German companies experimented extensively with these glazes, sometimes with great success, sometimes not. Scheurich Keramik, which was the largest overall producer, also produced the widest variety of fat lava glazes, including some color combinations no one would expect to work. Sometimes they don’t, but most results are at least intriguing.
Historical Perspective
Companies such as Ceramano and Silberdistel used the fat lava glazes less often but with more care, achieving some notable results such as the Ceramano “Rustica” line. The best known volcanic glazes (but not fat lava) were done in the US by Otto Natzler on forms created by his wife, Gertrude. Natzler came to the US from Austria shortly before WWII, but he was part of a very strong pre-war art movement in Germany, and the post war volcanic glazes are almost certainly an extension of the work he and others were doing in the '30s.
The Natzler works are each one of kind, while most of the W. German works are molded, commercial art pottery. Prices for the Natzler work usually put it out of reach for the average collector, but prices on the W. German work still start at under $100, although better examples can command several hundred dollars.
You can find more pictures of fat lava and non-fat lava West German pottery at GinFor's Odditiques W. German Pottery Samples. (The items pictured at this particular link are not for sale.)
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