Schütz majolica is not well known in the United States by name but there are very few collectors who have not encountered some of their output. In spite of their excellent craftsmanship, the companys' work has been largely overlooked for over a hundred years. The Schütz potteries have a history that is an interesting and complex one involving two feuding brothers who operated together then separately under connected potteries with similar products under similar names. Among the larger potteries in Bohemia they employed up to 200 workers at their peak.
The pottery was originally established in Olomuczany near Blansko—then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but now part of the Czech Republic—along the Morava River in 1849 by Peter Eugen Selb and Carl Gustav Lenk. Purchased in 1852 by Karl Schütz the pottery that was to become Gebrüder Schütz Handelsgesellschaft was expanded and then trusted to his sons Ludwig and Arnold in 1859 for their management. The company took on the trade name Gebrüder Schütz Blansko.
They specialized in kitchenware and decorative hand painted earthenware. In time they expanded to more decorative housewares, brick, stoves and majolica. Around 1870 the company purchased a second facility in Petrovče near Cilli—now Celje—in which they developed finer wares that had them competing, and winning, in major exhibitions throughout central Europe.
The brothers Schütz operated the companies together for 31 years under the names Gebrüder Schütz, Schütz Blansko and Schütz Cilli. In 1890 disagreements between the two brothers led to a split with Arnold Schütz remaining in Olomuczany with Schütz Blansko and Ludwig Schütz operating the pottery in Petrovëc as Schütz Cilli.
Eight years after the split between the Schütz brothers, Arnold handed over management of Schütz Blansko to his son-in-law Wilhelm Julinek who sold the property to Oskar Basch. By 1906 the pottery was operating under a partnership including Basch, Emil Mandl and Franz and Wilhelm Julinek. The pottery ceased production of household ceramics and concentrated instead on the production of tile, brick and pipes for construction. The business closed in 1922.
After 1890 Schütz Cilli expanded to a location in Grǐze officially called Filialfabrik für Steingut, Ludwig R. Schütz. Ludwig continued operation of the plant, producing a wide range of household wares and majolica until his death in 1907. In 1909 his widow Maria took over the management of the plant, operating it until the outbreak of WW1 when the factory was sold.
Marks
There were several marks used by the Schütz factories. Pieces only stamped with the circular mark of a kneeling archer inside a G are often attributed to Gebrüder Schütz (Schütz Brothers) or Schütz Blansko with pieces marked Gebrüder Schütz considered older. Because of the split between the brothers it is sometimes difficult to date Schütz Blansko or Schütz Cilli pieces to before or after 1890 due to the fact that both marks were in use from 1870 forward until the closing of the companies. In auction listings it is common to see both Schütz Blansko and Schütz Cilli attributed to Gebrüder Schütz. Production numbers impressed on the back of each piece may be a way of identifying the design date but to my knowledge these records have not survived.
The best way to date pieces made after the split is by the addition of additional marks on the base of the ware. Although Schütz Blansko used the archer mark after 1890, ware intended for export had to also have the country of origin stamped on the ware after 1890. Schütz Blansko pieces marked Austria or Made in Austria can reliably be dated to this later period. The same is true for Schütz Cilli which used two marks, one impressed and one ink stamped, both with the country of origin included.
Schütz majolica is usually easy to find though it may not be identified as such. Gebrüder Schütz, Schütz Blansko and Schütz Cilli usually bring similar prices with dealers rarely differentiating between the three. Prices also tend to be reasonable for the most part with only the elaborate hollowware and decorative chargers commanding high prices.
