A rare pair of Distel earthenware vases designed by Theodoor Nieuwenhuis circa 1914 - 1915

Ilustrated in Eliens & Leidelmeijer, pp. 28 - 29 (actual pieces)

The decoration technique of these vases is based on an ancient procedure used by Islamic tile makers, in which lines in wax or another greasy substance are painted between areas covered by glazes in different colours. In the firing, the wax dissapears to leave the glazes banked up on each side of the dividing line. The 'cuerda seca' (dry cord) technique used by Spanish tile makers gives a similar result. The Distel procedure was named 'Carduus', as a reference to the factory name (carduus being the latin name for thistle -distel). The separation of colours in combination with the two-dimensional pattern evokes the techniques of batik and woodcuts, which Nieuwenhuis also mastered