Retsch & Co. Wunsiedel Bavaria - Space Age - Table service (29) - Porcelain

Complete table service for 10 people produced by Retsch & Co. in Wunsiedel, Bavaria, during the 1970s.

In the 19th century, limestone and granite were extracted at Luisenburg. The connection of Wunsiedel to the railway line and the industrial development of the area attracted the first investors, including Christopher Seifert, Gustav Müller, and Bernhardt Retsch, who chose this very town to establish their porcelain factory Retsch & Co. Wunsiedel in 1885.

The tableware service offered at auction was produced by this manufacturer and decorated with an unusual design that falls midway between Space Age style and Postmodern design. Probably dating from the mid-1960s, each piece of the service features bold, sharp decoration with psychedelic undertones and pop colors, typical of that era and widely spread in the Central European area.

One of the main figures in the history of design during this period is Hans Theo Baumann (1924-2016), a visionary freelance designer who, starting from 1954, designed porcelain objects for over fifty German manufacturers, revolutionizing the language and style of German tableware porcelain. Baumann introduced Op-Art style designs on plates and vases that spoke a new language, highly appreciated for their vivid colors. Many Bavarian manufacturers turned to him to rework their models and decorations, creating a true artistic movement that for at least a decade distinguished German-made porcelain from that of other countries.

The service is in excellent overall condition.
It consists of:
6 flat plates
6 deep plates
6 appetizer dishes
soup tureen
1 salad bowl
One round tray
1 oval tray
One Riviera

A rare object that tells all the stories in a plate of postmodern design history.