Tea service, Alsiko,

ca. 1933

The German-trained ceramicists Fritz and Helene Haussmann derived the name of their pottery workshop Alsiko, which they founded in 1928 in Niederuster, from a primary component in the manufacture of ceramics: aluminum silicon oxide. In 1933, they moved to a modern new building in Uster designed by Max Ernst Haefeli, which housed not only a spacious manufactory but also a shop and their own apartment. After initially creating mainly studio ceramics that were rather severe in form, they were soon producing simpler vessels intended for everyday use. Their Alsiko tea service is classic design par excellence. The patented teapot—which is round, much like Wilhelm Wagenfeld’s model made from Jena glass—has a downward-pointing, non-drip spout. The various pieces of the service, made from extremely fine-grained clay, were available either unglazed in red or black or with a variety of different color glazes. Thanks to numerous sales outlets in Zurich (including the sales collective Zur Spindel and, from 1937, Cornelius), Basel, and Klosters, the Haussmanns’ ceramics were distributed well beyond Werkbund circles, allowing the factory to hire up to fifteen employees. Famous decorative artists such as Berta Tappolet, Luise Strasser, Cornelia Forster, and Amata Good worked there as painters. Helene Haussmann also created figurative works. She was in charge of the painting workshop and experimented with a multitude of colors, glazes, and firing cycles. (Arthur Rüegg)