The beautiful lakeside city of Thun (pronounced "toon") in Switzerland has been a pottery making center for centuries.
Some of the finest pieces come from the period between 1880 and 1930.
Thuner Majolika is a very distincive slip-decorated earthenware, often using bright colors against a rich deep brown background.
Popular motifs include alpine scenes, edelweiss and the so called "Chrutmuster" sometimes described as the owl and sometimes as the peacock's eyel pattern (see vase lower right.) The motif reminds us of the masked figures in the work of famous Swiss art outsider artist Adolf Woelfli.
