The history of Boleslawiec has been closely tied up with the Polish pottery craft for over 350 years. The area in the basin of the rivers Bobr and Kwisa is a rich source of clay which gives Polish Stoneware it's unique characteristics and strength. In 1897 in Boleslawiec a Professional School of Ceramics was established, which contributed to the common description of "town of good clay."
Up to 1945 the main manufacturers were Julius Paul, Reinhold Company, and Carl Werner.
In 1936 six ceramics workshops established a cooperative called "Bunzlauer Braunzeug" -- you'll sometimes still hear people - especially German Europeans - call Polish Pottery " Bunzlauer " The part of Poland that produces Polish Pottery - Boleslawiec - had gone back and forth between Geermany and Poland - the last time was after WW2.
During the World War II the entire region and the workshops were destroyed. After the war factories began producing again. Now the region has up to 10 smaller private workshops producing Polish Pottery in both classic and new patterns.
Pictures and artwork in the sidebar come from the Polish Pottery Museum in Boleslawiec. Polish Pottery Usage
The main advantages of Polish pottery:
- Dishwasher, microwave, freezer & oven safe.
- Free from any toxic substances, including lead and cadmium, polish pottery is safe for use with foods.
- Glazing helps resist chips and scratches.
- High quality stoneware does not dent or break easily.
Polish pottery is a superb for storing and serving your favorite foods. More than just a pretty serving piece, it keeps hot foods hot and cool foods cool because ceramic stoneware retains heat and cold for extended periods, longer than other kitchen ware. Fruit and other fresh foods remain fresher for extended periods when stored in pottery.
Favored by experienced cooks for its excellent heat distribution during cooking and baking, Polish pottery also helps food retain moisture.
TAKE CARE! While extremely utilitarian and durable Polish Pottery, like any stoneware, should not be taken directly from the cold and placed in the oven. Allow to warm to room temperature before heating. If proper precautions are not taken the pottery, like any stoneware, may crack.
The following has been said of other stoneware pottery and may be a good guideline for using your Boleslawiec Pottery. You may safely use ceramics in the microwave for up to four minutes and in a conventional oven up to at least 350 degrees. Do not use with stovetop burners.
How Polish Pottery Is Made
Kaolin, the fine grain native white clay which is used to create Polish pottery, is of such high quality it is also used to make fine porcelain dishes. This natural resource is abundant in the Boleslawiec earth. Once drawn from local quarries, the clay is brought to the pottery factory to be processed.
The transformation from clump of earth to charming heirloom quality pottery begins with a spin in the crusher machine. Water is added in and pressed out until the proper clay consistency is reached.
Once the clay is prepared, there are different methods of working it. Anyone who's seen the movie "Ghost" is familiar with the potter's wheel. Gypsum molds are used for vessels type pieces such as pitchers and vases. The variety of available forms (Zaklady alone offers 1300 shapes and sizes) is due to the flexibility of these molds. Most of the wares, especially the hollow pieces, can't be used terribly long and must be thrown out and recreated every few weeks to a couple of months. Six months is about the longest a mold lasts.
Once form pieces are dried, they are cleaned and pre-burnt to fix the fine white layer to which the design will be put on. The different cooperatives employ similar methods for applying the pattern.
Originally they stamped the design on using vegetable stamps, the potato in particular. The stamps are more high tech now, but the process is still the same.
Occasionally brushes will be used for certain designs. Pieces from Zaklady are decorated by hand in over 170 patterns using a technique seen only from Boleslawiec potteries.
This time consuming process uses one or more of ten different sized punches to fill the ceramic with paint. The number of punches made on a piece can be into the thousands.
The paint used on Polish Pottery has a distinct absence of harmful substances, no lead or chromium. They are completely nontoxic.
The designed pieces are then submerged in glaze that is stored in huge vats. This glaze over design process started way back in the Baroque period helps the Polish pottery to resist cracking, chipping, and scratching. Once glaze is in place, the pieces are fired in coal and gas kilns at temperatures of 1220 - 1350 Celsius or 2246 - 3000 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 hours before cooling and removal to shelves. WHY MANUFAKTURA - POLONEA Our factory partner Manufaktura is one of the few Boleslawiec factories still extremely devoted to preserving the hand crafted nature of Polish Pottery. For one example -they spin their own plates. Other factories such as Zaklady use molds and presses - even on plates or bowls - which gives the pottery a more mass produced feel. Manufaktura, a very fine company does not have this cookie cutter feel - each piece is a work of art! Manufaktura mixes it's own paint - it's this attention to detail that has helped set them apart from the crowd. Polonea has the best selection of patterns, forms, and the widest variety of pattern form combinations. You'll notice we have some of the prettiest and most sought after Polish Pottery patterns on the market today - and many of them you'll only find them at Polonea and our dealers. | 
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