Plateelbakkerij de Distel, a small Dutch ceramics firm that was located in Amsterdam.
Background
Jacobus Lob (1872-1942) established De Distel (The Thistle) as a ceramics firm in 1895. The company employed artists for both designing and painting. Two years later, Plateelbakkerij De Distel was founded to produce and market art pottery, utility ware, tiles, ceramics for special events, and small sculptures.
Cornelis de Bruin started at De Distel in 1895 as a painter before becoming the artistic director. He created scenic backgrounds with Rosenburg-style designs, naturalistic pictures for tableaus, and Jugendstil motifs for tiles and supervised artists who produced ceramics in similar styles.
J. Eisenloeffel worked as a designer from 1900-1908, while Bert Nienhuis served as a designer from 1900-1911 and eventually became the head of the decoration department. Meanwhile, at De Distel from 1898-1923, Willem van Norden held the position of head of the decoration department.
The firm was sold to A. Goede- waagen Il in 1924.
Exhibitions
Wares were shown widely before World War I, including the 1904 ‘Louisiana Purchase Exposition.’ St. Louis. Industry and Design in the Netherlands 1850-1950, Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum, 1985.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
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