Archive with e-mails from Marius and Hugo van Woerden
Below in chronological order the answers to questions, which I have asked to Marius and Hugo. My comments are in italics.

Periods: (Monster = 1964) - ( Raam - Gouda = 1965 - 1972) - (Vest - Gouda = 1973 -1984). Monster is a village. Raam and Vest are streets in Gouda.

31 May 2023 - ball vase BV1

question
A vase unknown to me has BV1 on the bottom. However, I have no other vase with BV. In addition, the Vest mark is stuck to the bottom with adhesive tape. So it may have come from another vase. Did you make this vase?

answer
Yes Cor that is ours. It was a series of 3 sizes.

Hoy Cor here is a picture of one I have. He's a bit bigger than yours I think.

answer Hugo
Yes Cor 100% from us. Baked in reduction oven. You can tell by the clay with iron speckles. I think we had several sizes of this model.
Would have been made somewhere between 1982 and 1984. Not long before we left for Canada.
Very special. BV probably stands for BuikVaas (Belly Vase).

note
The BV vases series is also in: collection 1983.

The email dated 15 April 2019 describes how to use the clay with crushed iron ore.

11 Januari 2022 - Oil lamp with different glaze

I can buy an oil lamp whose model is very similar to other oil lamps you have made. However, I do find the glaze strange.
Do you remember if this oil lamp was made by you?

answer Marius
Hi Cor it is an early hand made.

answer Hugo
Yes, I agree.

8 December 2021 - Unknown vases

question
I can buy two vases (10 cm). Did you make them?

answer Marius
They weren't made by us, it could be Prosman.

30 October 2021 - Jug, glaze on the inside and bottom are different

question
I received a question from a seller about a jug (14 cm). I don't think you made it. The bottom and the glaze on the inside don't look like your other vases. Just to be sure, see the photos.
Is what I thought correct?

answer Marius
No Cor, that's not a Vest. It lokes like a little bit.

16 October 2021 - Small pot with a strange bottom

question
I got a question about a small pot unknown to me. The glaze is very similar to what you used.
Do you remember if you made it?

answer Marius
Yes Cor we made that.

answer Hugo
Incredible. indeed ours, extremely rare specimen. Can't believe my eyes!! WOOW..... Think one of the very few ever made or I must be terribly wrong.

7 August 2021 - Bottle-shaped vase with handle

question
There is a vase (31 cm) for sale. I suspect it was made by you. It is quite expensive, so I want to be sure before I buy it.
Can you help me?

answer Marius
Yes Cor, we made that.

17 June 2021 - Small jug

question
I am almost certain that the jug (14.5 cm) on the right was made by you. Just to be sure.
Is this right?

answer Marius
Yes Cor, that's right.

28 May 2021 - Hanging pot with red glaze

question
Found a hanging pot (15 cm) on Marktplaats. The glaze resembles Vest.
Did you make this hanging pot?

answer Marius
Hi Cor, the glaze looks the same but I can't remember the model.

18 April 2021 - Big vase with Negro glaze

question
There is a vase with a Negro glaze for sale on Marktplaats. The model is very similar to another vase (A25 - 23 cm) that you have made. But the vase on Marktplaats is much larger (35 cm) and turned by hand.
Did you make this vase?

answer Marius
Yes Cor absolutely made by me. Nice to see. It's one of the originals. I always made some different sizes but one was used to make a mold.

6 April 2021 - Hanging lamp with Negro glaze

question
This hanging lamp is for sale on Marktplaats. The glaze resembles Negro. Did you make this lamp?

answer Hugo
Completely correct. I think you recognize the vase with a rim.

answer Cor
It is indeed an inverted C2 (20 cm).

question Cor
There are very different cords on your lamps. Can you see from the cord whether the cord is still original?

answer Hugo
No, because we did not install them ourselves Cor. The 'hanging lamps' were assembled by the relevant wholesaler or distributor under their own management. By the way, it was not a big product for us. You probably won't see them 2 or 3 times after so many years.

note
On the right is the hanging lamp and a vase C2 with a similar model.

4 March 2021 - Three different A-vases made by Vest or Prosman

question
I have 3 small vases with the numbers A6, A8 and A10. I think they were made by you. But I'm starting to doubt. You have also used these numbers on other models. The fact that the same number is used for two different models occurs to you from time to time.
Maybe Prosman made them. However, I didn't see a single vase from Prosman, which had a number that started with an A. Prosman used almost all the other letters. Do you remember if you made them?

answer Hugo
Indeed Prosman, who copied us in detail. Pretty funny and unimaginative.

note
Vest has made more of these small vases or pots. However, these are numbered with RB.
See 7 vases on the right.

15 January 2021 - Start in a barn in Monster and later on in Raam (Gouda)

question
I have more and more vases made in Monster. You sent me several old pictures. A photo shows the exterior of the barn in Monster. There's a showroom in another photo.
Looking at the ceiling of the showroom I think it could be the inside of the barn. Is that right?

answer Hugo
Marius is on the right and Hugo on the back left. Customer (left) is G. Mijnders from Mijnders Meubelen in Lisse (at the time).
Not Monster but Raam 28 in a former (old) factory hall of the Plateel Bakkerij Zuid-Holland. Plazuid for short. We rented from an investor who had bought the entire complex, just before the municipality could buy it. Therefore, as a 'punishment', the investor obtained no building permit. He tried to rent the hall by bits and pieces. It was a major setback for him.
There are actually 3 models of F45 on the packing table. Large "bottles" with a turquoise glaze. Was really nice Egyptian blue, also quite handsome at that temperature.

note
The Egyptian blue glaze is very similar to Groeneveldt's. Groeneveldt claimed that only he could make this glaze.

11 January 2021 - Old vase with white glaze

question
Strange this white glaze on this old vase. I have more vases with a white glaze, but I always had the impression that they were only made in the late 1970s. After the period of Negro and Rubens.

answer Hugo
This vase is VERY SPECIAL. From the barn in Monster. Unbelievable that such a thing still exists. I may even have turned it on a turntable.

note
The vase was turned in 1965. This model has been made in 4 sizes. See mail below and above.

11 January 2021 - Old green foam glaze period Raam in Gouda

question
The two left vases in the photo have the same glaze as the vase of 9 January 2021. They are cast and have red-baked clay. There is the same model (14 cm, white glaze and a stamp on the bottom).

answer Hugo
We called this 'foam' and 'green foam'. Very early. The composition of the glaze has nothing to do with the later foam glazes like 'Negro'.
There are two layers of glaze. First an iron, manganese and lead-containing engobe. Later a glaze with feldsspaat, silver sand and fritten. The layer was still applied with the brush. A lot of work. Very early period Raam Gouda. When we had just started casting. I think I was 17 or 18 years old. We sold the entire production to Firma de Mooy flower binding products, Lombardkade Rotterdam. The friendly man who bought it in there was Mr Kuyvenhoven.

question Cor
Well complicated this glaze. I still understand feldsspaat and silver sand, but 'fritten' is unknown to me.

answer Hugo
Fritten are pre-melted minerals (900-1000 C). The red-hot mass flows into a water-cooled tank. Everything splinters and crumbles and it is later ground into glaze powder. This process is mainly to be able to melt soluble ingredients such as salt or soda etc. with silica (sand) into glass. Soluble ingredients cannot be processed directly in a glaze. Also for example silica melted with lead white or lead mania. After all, in order to encapsulate its toxicity in the glass, everything must be an insoluble powder. This powder could be mixed with enough water to apply it to the vase.

note
An engobe is an opaque clay layer with which a vase is covered before baking. It can be scratched later or a glaze can be applied over it.

9 January 2021 - Old vase with 425 at the bottom

question
An old vase (11 cm), made by you, has 425 on the bottom. Do you remember if it's a model number or maybe the price fl 4.25?

answer Hugo
Yes very early. I don't know about the number. I think it's too expensive for a price at the time. Green glaze made with 1 % copper carbonate.

note
The e-mail above (11 January 2021) contains more information about the glaze.

23 December 2020 - Small vase or pot with brown glaze

question
I bought a brown vase (right in the photo - 9.5 cm - without number). I am almost certain it was made by you.
The model is unknown to me, but the glaze looks very much like another vase (left in the photo - model 116 8.5 cm). However this is the only vase in my entire collection with this glaze. So I'm not entirely sure. I hope it's clearly visible in the pictures.

answer Hugo
The left one is made by us. On the right, I thought of Prosman. I think it is. Did we ever have a shape like that? Oh, no! Just a boring Prosman model. When we were gone, he was going to cast our models.

note
In the e-mail above (4 March 2021), you will find more information about Prosman's small pots.

5 December 2020 - Casted flower pot (AP4) with regular rings on the inside

question
A flower pot of 13.5 cm has a strange number (AP4). Other flower pots in my collection are numbered with a DP, P or PT. According to the bottom it is casted but on the inside there are very clear rings.
Is there an explanation for these very regular rings?

answer Hugo
Is made on a turning machine using gypsum moulds. Ledges or edges were placed in a slewing ring. Intended to look like it was made by hand turning. The inside wasn't glazed. The clay was 100 % waterproof when fire was reduced (reductive stoking). I think you have pictures of that machine, too. By the way, this fashion has not been in production for very long. I think it was produced around or in the year 1983.

answer Cor
I looked at your pictures of the workshop again. The flower pot is indeed in pictures. I'm not sure, but a picture probably shows the machine you mean. Ribs can be seen on the machine and he works the inside of a mold.

answer Hugo
Yes, that's it. A Netsz Keramik Machin

note
The machine has only been used very briefly in models of white clay. Old models of red or black clay with rings on the inside, are turned by hand. This can also be seen at the bottom.

1 December 2020 - Double vase

question
I received an e-mail from a visitor to my website. She had a special vase, 10 cm and numbered R3. She asked if I could tell you a little more of it. It's obviously made by you. Do you have more information about it?

answer Hugo
Very rare. Taken off the market very soon. When people watered the flowers on the high side, the low side spilled over onto the coffee table. With a water stain right away. It's that the small thing is in the picture or I wouldn't have believed that something like this still existed. So let me freshen up for my memory. 10 points for that friendly lady, who brings out this vase out of nowhere again.

answer Marius
I wouldn't even have known that it existed. It must be very rare.

note
I have bought this vase.

18 October 2020 - Hanging lamp, hanging pot and flower pot

question
I bought two green hanging lamps. One hangs in the hall right now. It gives nice light. The model is an inverted hanging pot HP1. The modei has also been used as a regular flower pot.

answer Marius
Very nice Cor. I have one that's made by hand. Sometimes I think I wish I'd kept more. I'm 78 now, but I'm still turning clay at Donn Zver Pottery.

12 September 2020 - Flower pots without a number

question
I have two flower pots (about 10 cm). They look like your p t pot (left). Same clay (with speckles) and a smooth flat bottom. Other pots from Vest have a similar top edge, such as the small pot (6.5 cm) in the middle. I suppose that the other two pots were also made by you. Can you confirm this?

answer Hugo
Is right again. All three of us. Ordinary white clay (with 1 % iron oxide) baked at 1200 °CC in a reductive oven environment (= with as little oxygen as possible from 1000 °C ). Then the iron in the clay will colour nicely. The middle one is naturally just glazed and not reductively baked.

note
About the clay, see also e-mail 15 April 2019, jug B1.

4 September 2020 - Hanging coffee pots with different opening

question
I have bought a hanging coffee pot (right - HK1). It is very similar to a pot (left) that I have shown to you before (see e-mail 16 October 2020). The hanging pots are 17 cm and appear to come from the same mold. The ridges are at the same height. The end of the spout is not exactly round and has the same shape. But there are two obvious differences. The HK1 (right) has smaller openings and no hole in the spout.
- Have these openings been sanding by hand after casting?
The left coffee pot (made of red baked clay) is much older than the right coffee pot.
- Is the right one perhaps a remake with a slightly different mold?

answer Marius
They look the same. Someone made the opening too big. Differences can caused by finishing after casting.

answer Hugo
I think there were complaints or special orders for larger holes for easier planting. I can't remember if a big hole was enlarged by hand. Sometimes a new mother mold was made that sometimes deviated from the old one.
I think the hole in the pouring spout was an improvement to prevent massive spouts that were difficult to dry. And also to prevent a bubble in the top of the spout that remained above the clay. So that finally the spout end broke off.
Both coffee pots are made by us. The brown-green glaze is also quite early. Still, it's possible between left and right not much time difference.
The glaze on the left is shaded white. Seems more like a test than a real production example. The brown-green glaze is a barium mat buy glaze from Degusa (Germany). Degusa or Degusa glazes still gives images on the internet.

note
Another example is in the e-mail of January 22, 2020. A model has been changed by processing after casting.

3 September 2020 - Hanging pots HK or HR?

question
Vest Keramiek GoudaVest Keramiek Goudaquestion I have a problem with 2 hanging pots from Vest. In the right pot I see clearly HR1. I don't have this hanging pot in my possession. I have one that looks a lot like it.
Now I have bought another hanging pot (left) with HK1 inside. However, the K is not very clear. It could also be a vague R where the bit on the top right has fallen away.
What do you think? Do they both have the number HR or is it HR and HK?

answer Hugo
I think HK may be means hanging coffee pot. HR may stand for hanging and round. They were just reminders. No other meaning. Like G for hole (Dutch = Gat) vase and K for jug (Dutch = Kan).

note
So the hanging coffee pot is HK. In a smaller hanging tea pot you can see HT.
HR was also used by Vest for half-round with a hole in the middle. See also the e-mail of 16 October 2019.

27 August 2020 - F15 with special blue-green glaze

question
I now have 14 different glazes of the models F9 - F11 and F15 . However, the last one I found is very special.
It is a blue-green glaze that feels smooth. I do have glazes that have a lighter color but they are all foam glazes.
Is the glaze of this F15 perhaps one of the first where the foam effect has not yet succeeded or is it perhaps a separate smooth glaze that has not been used much?

answer Hugo
Yes nice, early. Haven't been in production too long. Maybe not a good time for this kind of green. Very nice, by the way. A kind of sea green or Russian green. Nice silk mat.

30 May 2020 - Old jug with number NG

question
I found a very old jug (16 cm). He's in one of the pictures of The Window. I suspect he's only been in production for a short time. There's probably a number of yours on the bottom. It's not really clear. I read NG with probably 10 behind it. Do you remember if you used numbers that started with NG in the window time? Ik heb een heel oud kannetje gevonden (16 cm). Hij staat op n van foto s van Het Raam. Ik vermoed dat hij maar een korte tijd in productie is geweest.
Op de bodem staat waarschijnlijk een nummer van jullie. Het is niet echt duidelijk. Ik lees NG met waarschijnlijk 10 erachter.
Weet je nog of jullie in de tijd op het Raam al nummers gebruikten die begonnen met NG?

answer Hugo
Wow that's a very rare one. Moreover a very nice one too.

note
NG10 seems most likely.

23 February 2020 - Use of an "angeltje" (= porcelain coaster with 3 dots).

question
I thought you didn't use an angel. But on a convex hanging pot (HB1) there are 3 unglazed dots.
Have you used an angeltje for these convex pots? It seems logical to me because a sphere rolls.

answer Hugo
Yes, otherwise they bake on the oven plate with the glazed bottom.

note
An angel was only used if the bottom is glazed.

31 January 2020 - Larger version of model M13

question
A visitor to my website asked me about a large M13. The height is 23 cm. I think number M23. It is casted with white clay. The vase contained a label that I have never seen.
Do you know the number of the vase and in which period the hanging label was used?

answer Hugo
We have made this model and hanging label. I have another one here in Ede with this hanging label. It has only been used for a short period of time. Made very early on the "Raam". This theapot is reduced with oil or fat in an electric oven. You can still see the carbon stripes on the pot. Some pots were reduced too cold had to be cleaned with turpentine. Gave a lot of mess. I am 100% sure.
I think indeed M23.

22 January 2020 - J4 vase without a Jacoba foot

question
I bought a vase (J4) with a particularly greyish glaze. The model was exactly the same as other J4 vases. However, the foot is different. There were no impressions of a thumb, it is not a Jacoba foot.
Do you remember whether this model is made before or after the other J4s? Or did something go wrong with the production of this J4?

answer Marius
Those thumbprints have been there but they have been sponged away. You can see them very light. In addition, the glaze is very thick.

note
The thick glaze layer also flattens the ridges at the top.

16 October 2019 - Hanging teapot

question
A question about a hanging teapot. You have made a big one. It is on the left picture. I bought a smaller (17 cm) hanging teapot (photo right) that looks exactly like the big one. Still, I doubt because I don't recognize the glaze. I also find the remains of glaze on the bottom strange. Was this teapot made by you?

answer Hugo
Hi Marius do you think this was copied? I doubt it comes from us? We didn't use that red clay anymore, did we? It looks it was baked by a low temperature.

answer Marius
Hugo no one can have copied this. Is it not handmade?

answer Hugo
What then? Is it ours? We didn't have red clay then, did we?
The question is whether it is manual work? Can I see correctly that there is a casting seam on the bottom?

answer Cor
There is a clearly straight cast seam. The outside is not completely smooth but ribbed.

answer Hugo
Now Marius say it once. I don't think we do.

answer Marius
Hugo that is impossible, nobody who has this glaze is going to make something like this. It was made by us.

note
An identification based on photos is always difficult, especially in this case.

4 September 2019 - Jug with blue-green glaze

question
I cannot find the model of this jug in old photos. The glaze resembles my other vase from Gemovers.
Is this made by you?

answer Marius
Yes, we made that.

answer Hugo
Yes all the way from us at Raam 128 in Gouda.

note
In the e-mail of 1 December 2018, the vase from Gemovers has a glaze with the same color. At Vest it is a real lava glaze. The color is the same at Gemovers, but the glaze is smooth.

3 September 2019 - Unknown vase with red and green glaze

question
I have found a difficult vase. Turned 12.5 cm, probably black clay and a red-green glaze. Probably red due to reduction of 2% copper carbonate and green due to oxidation of the copper.

The bottom is not neatly finished and so I start to doubt. Also because it is an ordinary model. A black spot can be seen on the inside. No dirt but probably the color of the clay.

Do you have any idea whether you made this vase?

answer Hugo
Tja not from us. I think this is very early Mobach. Is baked on an "angeltje" (= porcelain coaster with 3 dots). Can also be from an 'artist' from the years immediately after or before the war (WW 2). Well nicely reduced, probably with fat. Maybe Marius knows.

answer Marius
I don't know for sure. It is not Zaalberg and I also doubt Mobach. I don't think about the "Big Ones". Groeneveldt experimented with reduction, but I am not sure.

note
An angeltje is also called a "proen". It is a triangular ceramic bracket that was placed in the oven between the vases to prevent the glazed vases from baking together. On the bottom that is easy to see as three dots that are not glazed. Vest has not used this method in vases with a flat bottom.

On the internet I found a similair vase. This vase has the same glaze (outside and inside) and on the bottom there are prints of a proen on the bottom. It was marked with D.O.K (De Olde Kruyk). It is very likely that my vase was also made by D.O.K.

(foto: midcentury-kc.com)

8 August 2019 - Striking green vase 25 cm

question
I saw an advertisement with a green vase. It has the same color as the green vase that I have seen in Ede.
Was it made by you?

answer Hugo
Yes by Marius turned by hand. Unique.

29 July 2019 - Decor van Gogh and Negro in the catalogue

question
In the van Woerden catalogue there is a decor Van Gogh in several places. This decor looks exactly like Negro.
Is Negro a different decor / glaze or have you used both names?

answer Hugo
We were told then - then already - that Negro actually means 'Negro'. So some customers commented on that. Racist, so not in the catalog. Almost forgot. Now more than forty years ago.

note
The catalog also includes the decors Rembrandt (lilac) and Rubens (yellow-brown) designs.

17 July 2019 - Old jug with stamped name "Marius van Woerden"

question
I've probably found one of your oldest vases.

On the right is a pot (14 cm) made of red baking clay. It is turned and has a Jacoba foot and a very flat ear. I don't know the glaze (applied with a brush).

Is the jug older than the one on the left (with the same stamp)?
answer Marius
I don't even have one with that stamp. It is made in Monster and I think the jug is later than the vase.

answer Hugo
Nice that old jug. We were copying medieval pottery, antique look, possibly for sale to the USA. Was difficult to finance the costly marketing.

note
The container is good looking. I really thought it was a very old jug. Especially due to the different ear and the glazee.

8 July 2019 - Vase 107 with cast-in number

question
Did you make the vase on the right (with cast-in number 107)?

answer Hugo
Yes this 107 is ours. Putting numbers in the bottom did not really work due to blurring after frequent use.

note
In the e-mail of 28 August 2017 Hugo and Marius thought that 107 was not made by them. This was because they had only seen the photos. Moreover, that vase had a strangely finished top and a different glaze.
Hugo has seen both of them in real life and confirmed that they have made them

24 June 2019 - Large block vase G30 - 21 cm

question
I have a block vase (over 20 cm) with a hole. G30 is on the bottom. You have made a G10 (11 cm) and G15 (15.5 cm) from this same model.
Why is the third in the series not G20 (21 cm) but G30?

answer Hugo
G30 is that the big or the middle one? My handwriting of the price is correct. The vase once belonged to a monster collection, funny. He is therefore the largest of the three. Is he from the Netherlands? Because I sometimes sold my entire monster collection in Belgium or Germany because of the nagging (back then!) on the border.

note
It is not known where the vase was originally purchased.
The G10 - G20 - G30 series can be found in the van Woerden catalogue. G20 also exists. It is a block vase with three holes and it is 20 cm.

5 June 2019 - Square pot with ridges on the inside

question
I want to buy the pot (13 cm) next door but I am not sure. This is due to the inside that is not completely smooth.
Was it made by you?

answer Hugo
Glaze remains laid out on the inside. I remember this glaze. Very thinly glazed on red clay. The square dish is also one from the NG series. But because of the narrow foot, the model did not last long. It was a little bit top-heavy.

15 April 2019 - Jug B1 with a special type of clay: reddish, grainy and with black dots

question
I have bought a Vest vase (B1), which is made from a kind of clay that I have only seen two times in my collection. It is a real Vest, because I have a photo of the same vase, with a B1 stamp on the bottom. Another vase (C4) that has been turned by hand is made from the same clay. It does not look like white or red fired clay.
Do you remember in which period (Raam or Vest) you used this clay?

answer Hugo
This clay was used when we switched from electrically ovens to natural gas ovens at the Vest around 1981/82. For a while we still baked in a reduction environment with less oxygen supply. This gave you the 'buff' color to the clay. The clay contains grains of crushed iron ore. The trade name of the iron ore was 'Portafer'.
The jug is perfectly beautiful ... super cool !!!

note
Only the upper part of the inside of the vase is glazed. The inside feels rough. This clay was used in the late 70s and early 80s. Portafer is still sold by the Sibelco company.
If there is in an oven a lack of oxygen, the iron could not oxidize (rust). As a result, the iron remained black.

5 March 2019 - Old vase with a very special red-green glaze

question
Have many been made of this glaze?

answer Hugo
Very early indeed. Not many have been made.

The glaze was created by a reduction effect on a copper-containing glaze. In this case 2% copper carbonate. Reduction was achieved by spraying oil or fat into the oven at the point of 'being cooked'. By burning oil and fat, oxygen was extracted from the furnace environment. As a result, the red of the copper returned.

It was gambling and the result was much different. Quite difficult to deliver what the customer expects to receive. All of them unique items. You can still see the copper green in places where the copper was later oxidized. Sometimes that was the case with a whole or half oven. Sometimes with soot on the pot, which you then had to brush off. With soot (!!!) that's the funny thing. Fight the same with the same.
Because of the laboriousness and the risks, we quickly stopped.

note
The casting of the number was also stopped quickly due to the complexity.

5 March 2019 - Coffee pot Kof1 with special blue paint

question
The coffee pot is sprayed blue. When shooting, blue stripes appeared on my paper. Clearly painted. Did you do that?

answer Hugo
We did not spray the coffee pot.

note
The number of this coffee pot is KO1. KO was sometimes replaced by Kof for coffee pots. "Koffie" is the Dutch word for coffee.

27 February 2019 - Vases with yellow glaze, perhaps an early Rubens?

question
The middle vase has a Rubens glaze. The other vases have a glaze that is much yellower. This is harder to see in the photo than in real life. The glaze has been applied quite thickly, so probably not with a brush.

answer Hugo
All three vases are made by us. Only the middle vase has a Rubens glaze.
Rubens was pretty hard to make. After all, we have succeeded in using shale powder that contains iron. It brings the yellow color without melting of the whole glaze by use of iron oxide and without losing the foam effect.

The glaze on the other yellow vases is made with ceramic color pigments. It is yellowish but does not have the appearance of Rubens.

note
The first glazes were applied with a brush. This made the glaze layer thinner. A spraying machine was used later.

3 January 2019 - Jug with a green/blue glaze similar to the glaze of Groeneveldt

question
Was this jug made by you or by Groeneveldt?

answer Hugo
It is a jug made by us at the Raam in Gouda. The number could be K15.

note
The jug is in an old photo of the Raam in Gouda. The glaze is similar to the glaze of Groeneveldt.
It is not certain that the number is K15. An other vase has the same number.

1 December 2018 - Difference in size at the same model

question
The two vases differ in size. Both vases have a model (F40) and glaze that you have used. However, the left vase is 5 cm smaller. They are large vases, so the difference with shrinking is clearer. However, I have some doubts. Is this really shrinking or is there another explanation?

answer Hugo en Marius
Although the left vase has the same model (F40) and the same glaze as other Vest vases, it has been copied by Gemovers in Nieuwkoop.

note
Difference in size can have various causes.

(read more)

20 November 2018 - Use of different types of clay

question
The three vases (F40) are made from three different types of clay: red and black baking and white. Is there a difference in age?

answer Hugo
I believe that we have only used black clay for a short time especially for a certain glaze. We quickly switched to red. The black clay was not good for the high temperatures. This was the period at the Raam.
Later we bought clay directly in Germany and that was white baking clay. On the "Vest" we only worked with white clay.

2 November 2018 - Old vase with Marius van Woerden stamp

question
Perhaps do you know in which period (Monster or the Raam) this vase was made?

answer Hugo en Marius
This is unique. It is made in Monster. We sold our vases to De Mooij in Rotterdam. The glaze is purchased. Absolutely not made at the Raam in Gouda.

note
On the inside of the vase you can see that it has been turned by hand.

25 October 2018 - The largest Vest vase (51 cm) from my collection

question
This vase is certainly made by you. The model is in fact in a photo of the Fleurbeurs in Utrecht. Of course you know not all the numbers. However, this vase is exceptionally large and striking. Other vases with two ears have an N number (N10, N13, N16, N23, N18 and N20).
Do you perhaps know the number of this vase?

answer Hugo en Marius
The large vase with ears is probably a K50. It is a beautiful one. There won't be much left of it.

25 October 2018 - Old model in photos of the Raam in Gouda

question
This vase is in a photo of an oven in your workshop. The glaze on the inside looks the same as van Vest. The bottom is full of parallel scratches.
Is it really made by you?

answer Hugo en Marius
The vase dates from a short period of time when we cleaned the soils with a grindling belt. When you see the result, you understand that why we didn't used it long. The model has probably only been produced for a short time.

23 Augustus 2018 - Photo book from my collection

note
I have made a photo book for Marius and Hugo containing the vases that I have collected so far. It is a good overview of the diversity in shapes and glazes that they have made in the van Woerden and Vest period.
The format was 20 x 20 cm.

Click for larger photos on "photo book" in the menu.

Marius has made a personal version of this photo book with additions of text and old photos.

26 July 2018 - Flat vase with glaze Negro

question
I have bought a very special flat vase. The glaze (Negro) is clearly yours. Prosman's Negro glaze is different.
Just to be sure, have you made this vase?

answer Hugo en Marius
Strange the glaze cannot lie. It was cast and made by us. I think that a mold was made of it and that the model was subsequently rejected for sale.
The model is specially made for dry flower bouquets

16 April 2018 - Cube KG3 with Riffarth sticker and number 010

question
That a Vest vase has a German Riffarth sticker is more common (see 3 April 2016). With this vase, however, there is no KG3 but 010 on the bottom. Who put this number on it?

answer Hugo
We have put the number on it. Riffarth wanted his own numbers. The wholesale company was located near Frankfurt a/d Main. They went bankrupt at the time.

note
Riffarth stickers are also common on vases from W-Germany. KG is an abbreviation for Kubus (cube) and Gat (hole).

9 March 2018 - Vase with "Turkish" or "Egyptian" blue glaze

question
On Marktplaats I bought a 'Groeneveldt' vase. On the Capriolus website you can read that you have also made 'Turkish' or 'Egyptian' blue. The model is clearly yours. I searched for this color for a long time. It is also stated on Capriolus that you made this color because Groeneveldt claimed that only he could make this turquoise glaze.
Have you really taken this color into production or have you only made a few?

answer Hugo
This color and structure is from the beginning period on the Raam 128 in Gouda. Made a lot from it (copper oxide in an alkaline glaze). Also violet/purple with manganese oxide in an alkaline glaze. But I don't think you'll find the violet/purple easily.

15 January 2018 - Different models with number 106

question
I have two different models with the number 106. Now, however, I have found a 114 that has the same model as 106 (the number with felt-tip pen).
It is not visible in the photos, but the two left vases are exactly the same.
Is the felt-tip pen number 106 incorrect, must it be 114 or have you used the number 106 twice?

answer Hugo
Everything from us. Just an incorrectly numbered pot.

note
Van Woerden's catalog contains the same pot as the number 106 written with a felt-tip pen. The number in the catalog is 106. Number 106 has therefore been used twice and number 114 is incorrect.

15 January 2018 - Vaas BA6 van Vest of Prosman?

question
There is a pot/planter with number BA6 on Marktplaats. You have also used BA for other planters/pots. But this is a very unusual model (about 30 cm long).
Is this a real Vest or perhaps a Prosman?

answer Hugo
Made by us. That planter is one of the few that have survived the time. Extremely rare, we have made only a few.

note
Prosman numbered his vases in a similar way. Also with a letter and number. Prosman used in general only one letter.

26 October 2017 - ase BA1 with molded Made in Holland

question
This vase BA1 (21 cm) has a special bottom that I have never seen. Perhaps this is the only model with a cast "MADE IN HOLLAND".

answer Hugo
Yes indeed from us. Just a flurry to make it easier, casting numbers. Stopped quickly.

23 October 2017 - Vase with light greenish glaze and black baking clay

question
I have bought a small (10 cm), unnoticed vase, of which I am almost certain that you made it in your early days. However, both the model and glaze (light blue-greenish) are not in my collection.
I think you made it because: it is a cast vase, the glaze on the inside looks like that of your early vases, the bottom looks like one of your hanging pots. I hope I'm right.> answer Hugo
100% of us. Very early with black baking clay. One of the first foam glazes. Quite unique.

note
At the bottom you can clearly see that the vase is cast. Made at the Raam in Gouda.

28 August 2017 - Vase with number 107, no Vest?

question
A vase with cast-in number 107 resembles the model 106 of Vest. The bottom with the cast number resembles that of Vest 105 and 106.

answer Hugo and Marius
Hugo and Marius know for sure that they have not made this vase.

note
On the internet it says that it is Lor Beesel. This seems unlikely because Lor has numbers started start with a B. Moreover, Lor has a smooth stand ring.
In 2019 an identical vase 107 was found with the glaze Negro. According to Hugo, both vases are made by them. He has now seen them in real life and that can be very different from a photo.

8 August 2017 - Glaze Anthraciet

question
In your magazine "In Kannen en Kruiken" - September 1976, you can read that there are two new glazes, Oliva (olive green) and Anthraciet (a dark mixed hue). Of course I already know Oliva, but I don't know Anthraciet.
There are 24 different glazes on my website. They are numbered. Do you know which number is Anthraciet?

answer Marius
The vase right has glaze Anthraciet. Quite a lot of vases have been sold with this glaze.

note
In 1976 the glazes Oliva (green) and Anthracite (black) were used for the first time. The vases were baked at 1080 C. This made them stronger.
Source: In Kannen en Kruiken - September 1976

1 August 2017 - Oil lamp with wick and a hole in the lid

question
I received an oil lamp TK2 that you made. I have several, but this one has a wick. A round ball / bead has been threaded at the end of the wick. This dark bullet appears to be made and baked by hand.
Is this an original wick or has a seller put his own wick in it?

answer Hugo
No wick of us. The oil lamp were purely decorative and were used to make 'dry pieces' or dry flower arrangements.
We did not compound this glaze ourselves, but it was made by Degusa in Germany.
The hole in the lid was used to attach the lid to the handle.

(read more)

24 July 2017 - Barn in Monster

Photo of the workshop (barn) in Monster where Marius and Hugo started in 1964. Marius was then 23 years old and Hugo was 18 years old.

Photo: Hugo van Woerden jr

22 July 2017 - Old vase from 15 July 1966 signed by Marius van Woerden

question
I can buy the vase on the right. Before I do that, I want to know if you really made and signed it.

answer Marius
Yes beautiful. It was made when we were still at the Raam in Gouda. It is very unique that I have put my name under it. The vase is cast and not turned by hand. I can't remember why. The foam glaze was then still difficult. I think it's the only one that exists with my name. It could be the first vase in Gouda. At least one of the first.
When I left militaire service in July 1963, I worked for 2 years at Groeneveldt and 2 months at Zaalberg. At Zaalberg they wanted me to turn round discs. These discs were laid in a form and someone let them run with a template. So I quickly left. I could start with Ravelli then. I worked there for about a year. Then I started with Hugo in Monster. We were in Monster for about 6 or 7 months. We only made hand-turned vases.

16 July 2017 - Purple vase N20

question
Hugo saw this vase very small in a photo of my collection. He first thought that they had not made this vase. I sent him a bigger photo. With the corresponding data. The vase is numbered N20 and has the same purple glaze as your other vases.

answer Hugo
Funny, from us, but very rare. The purple foam glaze is based on cobalt oxide and magnesium oxide. Because of that magnesium / talc we were fairly limited in colors. We used it to achieve the foam effect.

note
Only later I discover that the name of the decor was Rembrandt. It has only been used for a short period around 1975.

3 July 2017 - Ashtray with blue-green glaze

question
I have bought an ashtray that you probably made. The Negro decor is exactly the same as with the other Vest vases. There are also green felts that you used and the clay also matches. New for me are the air holes in the bottom and the blue-green glaze on the bottom of the ashtray. So I don't know for sure.
Is this a real Vest ashtray?

answer Marius
The ashtray is ours. We didn't make much of it, maybe 500.

answer Hugo
A super rare original that has hardly been in production.

note
The blue-green glaze on the bottom resembles that of Groeneveldt. The bottom is very special because it contains air holes.

12 June 2017 - Hand-turned old vases with red and black clay

question
In Rijswijk I found an old vase of yours. With a small piece of an old Van Woerden sticker (without Gouda on it). Made from red clay (left photo).

Now I received another vase (right photo) that is very similar to what you have made. It has a rectangular ear. The inside has a white glaze, similar to that of other old vases of yours. But the bottom (clay) does not resemble that of your other vases. I suspect it wasn't cast, but turned. You can probably see this better. Of course it is always difficult with a photo.
Have you made vases with a similar bottom? Or can I seen from this bottom that it is not Van Woerden?

answer Marius
Made by hand very in the beginning.

answer Hugo
Both vases were turned by hand when we were just starting out at the Raam in Gouda. The left vase is one of the many hand models that Marius made, in red clay (so very early). Finally rejected for production in molds. It can also be a demonstration model, shot when there was a visitor. An absolute unicum as a rejected prototype.
The glaze of the right vase is from the time that we did not have a sprayer yet. We glazed "negro-like" with a brush. The handle was put on a bit too quickly, so probably not casted.

note
The gray-black clay has only been used for a short time.

26 May 2017 - New glaze made by Hugo in May 2017

Hugo is still active in the factory of his children in Nieuwkoop. He is mainly concerned with the design of glazes. The photo (made by Hugo van Woerden jr) shows a planter with one of the many glazes. The glaze is only applied to the top.

note
The factory in Nieuwkoop is a part of "Pottery Direct"

23 May 2017 - Old vase with red baking clay

question
Two vases with the same model but made from different types of clay. I am almost certain that they were made by you. Is that right?

answer Hugo
The vase with the red clay is our first cast production in Gouda. The glaze is also very early. It happens to be very similar to that of the "De Steenuil". We did not intend to make the same glaze as Henk Goosen. It was by chance.
Both vases are made at Raam 128 in Gouda tel 01820 6754.

note
Marius and Hugo developed their glazes themselves. They were not in possession of the recipes of Henk Goosen from de Steenuil.

23 May 2017 - Vase H5 with stand ring and cast-in number

question
There are several Vest vases with a cast number and a raised edge along the bottom (stand ring). However vase H5 has a bottom with raised edge that has a even thickness. The glaze is typical Vest. Have you made this vase H5?

answer Hugo
This vase is made by Vest. You will not often find cast-in numbers.

23 May 2017 - Block vase with square opening and ball

question
I have found a very special vase of you. A block vase with a square hole in which a sphere is attached.
Do you know by chance the number of this vase?

answer Marius
I made this vase. There have never been many made of it. The design has been rejected.
The vase was cast in one go. This could also have been the problem. I cannot remember that, but they have not been in production for long.

answer Hugo
I also think that glazing on the inside of the ball was a technical impossibility.

13 April 2017 - Vest vase R17 with special inner glaze

question
The vase R17 has a green glaze on the outside and a spotted glaze on the inside. I suspect that it is an old vase. Is that right?

answer Hugo
It is indeed an early van Woerden. Nice and rare.

note
The red-brown glaze on the inside was only used in the starting period.

13 April 2017 - Small block vases, jug and coffee pot, probably not a Vest

question
I have doubts about a number of vases made by Vest according to the sellers. I am almost certain that they were not made by you.
Just to be sure, I just ask it. For comparison purposes, I have placed them next to a well-known Vest vase.

answer Hugo and Marius
The vases were not made by Vest but by Jopeko and Prosman.

(read more)

note
The answers are processed in the section in characteristics.

(read more)

7 December 2016 - Old vase with the name of Woerden on the bottom

question
For the first time I have found an old vase (8.5 cm) with the name Van Woerden on the bottom. It has a beautiful glaze. Is this vase from the period that you already worked in Gouda or is it older?

answer Hugo
This vase is quite unique. Made at the Raam very early, with yellow, red baking clay. Probably left over from an export order. Therefor "Holland". The glaze is made with approximately 2% copper oxide in an alkaline frosted glaze.

note
To ship products to the US, it had the country of origin stand on it.

7 December 2016 - Glazes on the inside

question
At the same model I sometimes find a dark and then a light glaze on the inside. I have an example on the right of vase 106. One vase has a Van Woerden sticker.
Did you use these glazes interchangeably or can you determine from the inside color whether it comes from the van Woerden or Vest period?

answer Hugo
The brown glaze was used before the transparent (white). Although it also changed sometimes. In the last years before 1984, only transparent glaze was used because it was stable and watertight.

note
In the early period in Monster and at the Raam real white glaze was also used on the inside.

28 August 2016 - Large vase (43 cm) with glaze Negro

question
This morning I bought a vase that I am almost certain is a Vest vase. However, I have some doubt because it is 43 cm and I do not know if you made such large vases. The vase looks the same as the Negro decor and the inside has a light brown glossy glaze.
Is this vase made by you and do you perhaps know the number?

answer Hugo
It is an F45 with early Negro glaze. We sold in that time a lot to 'arts and crafts shops'. It is made in Gouda at the Raam. Only a few hundred are made of it. We prefer not to make this model because it was quite large. Most of them are damaged in the oven and they also burst due to cooling.

note
The 43 cm vase is not the largest vase Vest has made. K19 (44 cm) and K50 (51 cm) are larger.

20 August 2016 - Wall pot with glaze Oliva

question
This hanging pot with glaze Oliva is 19 cm. Another hanging teapot has the number HT1. HB7 is also hanging. Does this pot have a number that might also start with an H?

answer Hugo
The model looks like a hanging oil lamp. The number is unknown. Not much has been made of it.

note
The glaze Oliva was used for the first time in 1976.
Source: In Kannen en Kruiken - September 1976

20 August 2016 - Model with the glaze Red Negro

question
This red vase is 15 cm. Maybe an NK candlestick? answer Hugo
Stupid thing with cold paint. The red color is paint that was applied after baking. Really a flop, but it was and should be for a few customers. They just kept moaning for a Red Negro.

note
The lcoating of Red Negro is not baked and can sometimes be removed. The right image shows that it worked. The vase has been in a solution of Vanish (a detergent) for a few days, after which it has been cleaned with a stiff brush. However, this does not mean that it can be done in the same way with otherRed Negro vases.
Before Hugo's answer the red lpaint was removed by chance.Perhaps this paint was not original.
The model number is K15.

20 August 2016 - Vaas NG20 met een opvallende glazuur

question
My collection has meanwhile expanded considerably. I now have over 90 models. Yesterday I bought a Vest vase NG20 with a very beautiful glaze.

answer Hugo
Super nice. The red color is due to copper reduction, with more gas and less oxygen. The blue color is due to "overspray" with the same glaze with the addition of titanium dioxide. This vase has succeeded very nicely.

note
These brightly colored vases were made in the van Woerden period. Striking colors were then in demand. In the period after 1977, however, the glazes became more inconspicuous. The natural shades (brown, gray olive green and anthracite) formed a good combination with flowers and plants.
Source: In Kannen en Kruiken - January 1977

3 April 2016 - Blue Riffarth vase with number 6/25

question
I bought in Kleve a beautiful blue vase that I know for sure is Vest. However, I am not entirely sure of two things.
The seller said it was Riffarth Keramik. However, I assume that this German company was a reseller who stuck his name on your vases. Before I put my vase on the forum, I would like to know if my suspicions are correct.

answer Hugo
Indeed, an NG 25 of us. Delivered to a German reseller. We then also sold en masse to German 'wholesalers'. 'Royal blue' was always very popular in Germany, not so in the Netherlands. The German 'origin' is indeed typical of this color.

note
The Riffarth sticker also appeared on other Vest vases. Sometimes these vases received a different model number at the request of Riffarth.

13 February 2016 - Vases with a glossy red / blue / white glaze

question
The photo of a Fleur Fair in Utrecht is by Hugo van Woerden.
A photo of a Fleurbeurs in Utrecht shows a series with a particularly glossy glaze, red / pink / white with sometimes a blue metallic luster. Very different from your other glazes. You rarely found them, I suspect that not much has been made of them. They often have a "van Woerden" sticker.
Do you have any idea when this glaze was made and did you also have a name for this glaze?

answer Hugo
The red reduction glaze is caused by copper reduction. The blue reduction glaze is caused by copper / titanium reduction. The result of these glazes was unpredictable and very beautiful.

note
At reduction the amount of oxygen (air) in an oven is reduces. This usually happened by burning something in the oven.
The name van Woerden was still used on this Fleur Fair . The name Vest Keramiek was used from 1 January 1976. The photo must therefore have been taken before 1976.
Source: In Kannen en Kruiken - September 1976

5 March 2015 - Vase with Duif's sticker and vase marked with vW

question
On a forum I read that the first vanWoerden vases were sometimes marked with the letters MvW. I have a vase that you may have made in your early days. It is a model with a glaze that I have not seen in other Vest vases. The vase is signed with vW and there are green pieces of felt on the bottom. I will send you the photos of this vase together with those of another model that I did not see in your examples.
Have you made these vases?

answer Marius
None of these vases was made by me, not even those with MvW. The felt that we used were rounds.
During my military service time I have made many vases. I always put a fish on it. I just turned 73 yesterday, therefore the fish.

note
Marius did use a stamp with MvW at the very beginning.