Carstens Tönnieshof

History

Carstens Tönnieshof was a well-known German pottery company, established in the mid-20th century and primarily associated with West German ceramics. The company was founded by Christian Heinrich Carstens and initially operated under the name “Carstens-Uffrecht.” However, it wasn’t until the post-war period, around the 1950s and 1960s, that Carstens Tönnieshof truly rose to prominence, producing a wide range of decorative ceramics by designers like Heinz Siery and Gerda Heuckeroth that have become iconic pieces in mid-century design.

Forms:
451 | 7166 | 7713 | 7911

Decors:
Ankara | Hawai

Carstens Designers:

Trude Carstens (1891–1978): After her studies at the Kunstakademie Wien and her marriage to Ernst Carstens jr., she became the main designer in the early years of Carstens Tönnieshof, from 1946 on.
Heinz Siery: Likely the best-known of Carstens designes, Siery worked at the company from 1959 to 1967.
Gerda Heuckeroth: Designed for the company from 1962 to 1964.
Dieter Peter: Designed for the company in the early 70s.
Rudolph Christmann: Designed for the company from 1967 to 1968.
Helmut Scholtis: He developed designs for Carstens in the 1960s, like the Ankara motif that proved to be hugely successful.

Carstens Tönnieshof Marks

Carstens pottery was most of the time done in red clay, and the mark embossed. The iconic twin house logo makes it easy to identify most of the items. Carstens also used stickers to label their vases, often on metallic foil, mostly gold.

Carstens Mark

Carstens Sticker Mark

Carstens Tönnieshof Forms

Form 451

Carstens 451-2

Form 7166

Carstens 7166-30

Form 7713

Carstens 7713-20

Form 7911

Carstens 7911-40

Carstens Tönnieshof Decors

Ankara

Designed by Helmut Scholtis in 1963, the Ankara motif was used on many different forms until 1969. The colours used were mostly earthy blue ones, while the odd brownish or reddish ones can be found. The motif is created using the wax resist technique.

Carstens 1505 | Ankara

Hawai

A quirky and cheerful pattern, introduced in 1957

Carstens 451-2 | Hawai