Vintage Hand-Painted Orange Floral Pitcher Erphila Art Pottery Czecho-Slovakia

In overall very good condition for its vintage age, this piece has crazing (fine cracks in the glaze) as shown, as well as minor wear to the painted finish, consistent with its age and prior use. The piece is stamped Erphila Art Pottery Czecho-Slovakia on the bottom and is also incised with potter's marks. The name Erphila was a combination of the initials for Ebeling and Reuss and the beginning of Philadelphia.

Initially established in 1886 with a third partner by German immigrants Theodore Ebeling and Frederick Reuss, the company was renamed Ebeling & Reuss in 1900, with their import volumes of porcelain and pottery from Czecho-Slovakian and other European factories peaking in the late 1940's to 1950's. During the 1980's the firm was involved in litigation with Swarovski International for which it was the exclusive distributor of a line of crystal figurines. There was a $55 million ruling in favor of Ebeling & Reuss after it was determined that Swarovski International had breached the terms of its distribution agreement with the company. The firm of Ebeling & Reuss was eventually sold to the Strathmore Company, also of Pennsylvania, in 2002.

Approximate dimensions: 7 ½ inches tall; 6 ¼ inches wide including handle; 6 ¼ inches in diameter at widest point.