If you have found a ceramic signature or pottery signature on a studio pottery, but you don’t know from which artist it originates, you can find it in the Pottery Signatures Lexicon. Pottery signatures of studio potters from Germany, France, Spain, Canada, Switzerland and the United States of America (USA) are listed here.
Searching is very easy using the search function above the overview table. This is because the signatures are recorded here in text as they appear on the ceramic. If you cannot decipher the pottery signature, simply compare it with the following photos.
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How to use the Pottery Signature Identification
For the Pottery Signature Identification please use the search field above the table of the pottery signatures below and enter what is written on the ceramic – the name, the abbreviation or an icon (just describe what you see). If for example the name “Lion” is written on the studio ceramics, you have to type “Lion” into the search field (but please do not use the search of www.robertzueblin.com, that will probably not help you here).
Alternatively, you can scroll down the entire table and compare the pottery signatures listed there with the one found on your pottery to determine the pottery signature.
many signatures and marks
Ceramic monogram
Sometimes ceramists do not sign their whole name, but the artist signatures consist only of monograms. A monogram usually consists of one, two or three letters, and these letters are usually the first letters of the first name and surname, and possibly the middle name(s). These initial letters are also called initials. For example, the ceramist Walter Popp used the monogram wp as his artist signature. One of the first studio ceramists, Otto Lindig, used OL as his monogram. Depending on the addition, a different employee of his workshop turned the respective piece.
Difference between ceramic marks and ceramic signatures
The following list contains only studio pottery signatures. If you are looking for pottery marks, please click on this link here.
How do you distinguish a signature from a mark? Signatures are carved by hand, sometimes painted on the ceramic. Marks are usually stamped, so they look much more perfect. If the artist has a good hand guidance, or presses strokes with tools, one cannot distinguish sometimes well whether it is a mark or a signature. Therefore, it is best to check both lists to see if you can find the originator of the pottery.
Identification-Service of Pottery Signatures
If you can’t find the mark in the Studio Pottery Signature Identification Guide below, you may be able to have me determine the pottery signature. More information about this pottery signature identification service and the contact details can be found here.
Pottery Signatures Lexicon Database
In the following pottery signatures database you can find the pottery signatures with picture display. You can find them either by letter selection, by clicking on the respective letter to jump to the letter of the surnames of the corresponding ceramists. Or you can enter what you recognize as a signature on the ceramic in the “Search” search box. Alternatively, you can simply scroll down and compare the signature on your ceramic with the pottery signatures listed here in the image display.
A | ↑ |
| Lucien ARNAUD |  L Arnaud St Amand |
B | ↑ |
| Richard BAMPI * 1896, † 1965 |  Fjampi or Fgampi (reads: RBampi, therefore R. Bampi) |
| Hans BERBER-CREDNER * 1908, † 1998 |  A Star over three rows of waves |
| Liebfriede BERNSTIEL * 1915, † 1998 |  B in a rectangle |
| Jan BONTJES VAN BEEK * 1899, † 1969 |  B, reversed B, dash, V and dot (this pottery signature of Jan Bontjes van Beek probably dates from the Hamburg period) |
D | ↑ |
| Louis Auguste DAGE * 1885, † 1961 |  L.DAGE and line |
E | ↑ |
| Mario ENKE * 1948 |  E on M |
| Stephan ERDÖS * 1906, † 1956 |  SE |
G | ↑ |
| Rainer GESCHKE |  R and G |
H | ↑ |
| Ernst HÄUSERMANN * 1947 |  E in a circle and year below |
| Josef HEHL * 1885, † 1953 |  TH (T on H) |
| Görge HOHLT * 1930, † 2022 |  GH (G on H), year under it, cat stamp |
| Otto HOHLT * 1889, † 1960 |  Cat aligned to the right with two waves underneath (double and wavy underlined), HOHLT, year under it (new cat, used since 1953) |
J | ↑ |
| Karl JÜTTNER * 1921, † 2006 |  Jue |
K | ↑ |
| Horst KERSTAN * 1941, † 2005 |  K in circle, Kerstan |
| Tessa KIDICK |  Tessa Kidick |
| Heidi KIPPENBERG * 1941 |  HK 2 (The number 2 stands for the year 1969, the number 1 for 1968, the number 3 for 1970 and so on until 1974.) |
| Felicitas KLATTE * 1891, † 1956 |  Arrow above K in circle |
L | ↑ |
| Alfred LEBRET * 1871, † 1955 |  Lebret |
| Johannes LESSMANN * 1903, † 1944 |  T in M in arc on line with line left down (At the same time this is the signature of the "Keramische Werkstatt Margaretenhöhe", whose director was Johannes Leßmann from 1933-1941.) |
| Otto LINDIG * 1895, † 1966 |  OL„ |
| Eugène LION * 1867, † 1945 |  Lion |
| Eugène LION * 1867, † 1945 |  Lion |
M | ↑ |
| Clémens MASSIER * 1844, † 1917 |  MCM Golfe-Juan |
| Gerhard MEISEL * 1903, † 1979 |  G. Meisel STAHNSDORF |
O | ↑ |
| George E. OHR * 1857, † 1918 |  G E Ohr |
P | ↑ |
| Théo PERROT * 1856, † 1942 |  Theo Perrot |
| Jean POINTU * 1843, † 1925 |  JEAN°U |
| Walter POPP * 1913, † 1977 |  wp |
R | ↑ |
| Clary (Clara) von RUCKTESCHELL-TRUËB * 1882, † 1969 |  CRvT (or CvRT) |
Z | ↑ |
| Daniel ZULOAGA *1852, + 1921 |  Zuloaga Segovia |
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