Vintage ceramic owl service signed Reber, 1960

Magnificent set of Swiss art pottery from the famous Reber family workshop in Heimberg (Thun region). This complete service consists of a large jug and its six matching cups. Iconic "Owl" motif (Eulendekor), a modern and stylised reinterpretation of traditional Bernese majolica. With its graphic decoration featuring large yellow eyes on a deep black background, this set is a centrepiece of Swiss design from the 1950s-1960s. Although Heimberg pottery has been producing owl motifs since the 19th century, the handwritten signature in yellow slip is typical of the Reber family workshop's production during the mid-20th century. It was during the 1950s and 1960s that their production of drinkware (jug and cups) with this specific decoration reached its peak. This style was influenced by artists such as Margrit Linck-Daepp (who trained in Heimberg in the 1920s) and other creators who transformed traditional peasant pottery into modern design objects from the 1940s-1950s.