GOUDA-DESIGN
Regina Pottery
Clay pipe manufacturing was how most pottery factories began. Regina (Kunstaardewerkfabriek Regina) was no exception, starting in the same year as PZH - 1898, by Van der Want and Barras. Look on the base of Regina pottery and you will see the initials WB. It was a typical family business. The Regina name derives from Queen Wilhelmina.
Here below the site of the Regina factory in Gouda. The factory was demolished and apartments were built. You can see they kept the original Regina WB crown crest over the doorway.
Pictures by Kim.
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Regina started to produce their decorative and ornamental pottery towards the end of WW1 in 1917. This was due in part to compete with PZH and also the public were demanding more decorative pottery. At first Regina continued with the high glaze ware they had originally manufactured and then (as most did) moved on to the matte finish of which PZH were the undoubted masters. Everyone wanted to be as successful as PZH. Poor results from the factory, the bad economy and his ill health all made Otto van der Want decide to close the factory in 1979. The name was then sold to Artihove and until 1993 some Regina pieces were produced. Very little is still known or left about Regina. More photos can be seen on the Regina Gallery page. For some of the information on this page, we are indebted to our dear friends Joop and Ria Nobel for their vast expertise on Regina pottery and also to the many Regina collectors for their pictures. You can read an exclusive article on Regina by Joop here.
Base marks are typically as the ones shown here
and those shown below.The name Regina, mould number, crown logo
(or not, see "Avia" below), WB (see explanation above),
pattern name (here on the left "Lydia"), Gouda Holland
or Gouda or Holland and the decorator's mark. The
base mark of the piece on the right is dated from sometime in
the 1950's. It has a high model number of 949 which indicates
the later date. The "M" after the number stands for
Melk (Milk). It would seem that in the early years of Regina
production, it was forbidden for an artist to put his or her
name on a piece. This a very matte finished small jug as one
can see from the photo here.
Popular pattern names often seen include - Avia, Imanta, Lydia, Majoli, Orchis, Osiris and Rosario.
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 'Avia' on a match holder - c.1920 |
Some other pattern names are - Angola, Arina (see below), Cordoba, Delos, Fleveo, Florida (see below), Gambir, Molda (see below), Myria, Olga, Presto, Robur, Ruimte (the Dutch word Ruimte means 'Space' - see below), Sevilla, Tibon (see below), Torino, Valencia and many others!
Here below are some Regina marks you may come across. The details about the meaning of these marks will be shown soon.
Please note - some are from the Artihove Regina B.V. factory so they are after the Gouda Regina factory closed.
| This mark (right) on the 'Chryso' shows an item exported to the Canadian retailer Ryrie Birks Ltd. All the Gouda plateel factories exported. Liberty's of London perhaps the most famous retailer. |
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'Lydia' on a small test as described above. These items were produced until 1979. |
We often see these items described a cups. They are
in fact small scale facsimiles of an original test. This was
a Dutch earthenware vessel, often glazed, for holding hot coals.
This was then placed inside a ventilated wooden container. They
were used for keeping food (or whatever one wished, including
your feet!) warm. Here is a picture of an original test on display
in De Sint Janskerk (St. John's Church) in Gouda. It is about
25.0cm square. See the 'Lydia' test below and from the painting
by Vermeer.
Photograph taken by Kim.
| In Vermeer's 'The 'Milkmaid' you can see a test in the lower right side of the painting. |
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In future our Regina collection pictures
will be on the Gouda Gallery pages.
