SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

wealth of tradition). It does have to be said, however, that the workshops mostly
produced work on the basis of ready-made samples.
Late in the 19 th and early in the 20 th century in Rīga, there were several
companies which specialised in the production of majolica stoves and fireplaces.
At the top of the industry in the early 20 th century was the Zelm & Boehm
company, which was established in 1859, but really began to flourish when new
manufacturing facilities were opened in 1886. This allowed the workshop to move
gradually from white to coloured tile stoves. The business produced tiles, vases,
pedestals, but particularly majolica stoves and fireplaces. Some were exported.
The second largest company around 1901 belonged to Fricis Auseklis. It, like that
of Zelm & Boehm, produced fireplaces and stoves in various styles. The early
period of Art Nouveau was one in which the sector really flourished. By the latter
periods of the style, more convenient heating systems were coming into play, and
richly decorated stoves and fireplaces were often replaced with simpler heating
units.
The use of ceramic tile panels in the vestibules of apartment buildings was
all the rage at the beginning of the 20 th century. Many of these panels were
imported from Germany, with leading manufacturers including Villeroy & Boch in
Dresden, as well as Meissen Ofen und Porzellanfabrik in Meissen. Both offered a
wide range of products, including ready-made wall panels which could be
purchased through the C. Necermann & Co. warehouse or the Jaksch & Co. shop.
There were also several major carpentry companies in Rīga which
produced wall panels, decorated ceilings and the like. One of the largest was that
of Robert Bergmann. Not far behind were the workshops of Mārtiņš Pagasts
(1851–1923) (which attracted favourable attention at the jubilee exhibition during
the 700 th anniversary celebrations in Rīga), the workshop of Adam Tiddrik, etc.
Popular elements of interior décor during the entire period of Art
Nouveau included plastic coving and rosettes. The work of decorative painters and
sculptors was important in interior design, but it must be assumed that also
significant were industrially manufactured elements of décor that could be ordered
from catalogues. Probably in line with demand were the things that were offered
in a catalogue of stucco and plaster of Paris products produced by the M.
Domšteits (M. Домштейт), Baltic Artistic Workshops and, later, the Stukolin
factory. That catalogue is one of the few items of its type to have survived to the
present day. The catalogue showed various plastic covings, corners for decorative
ceilings, rosettes, panels, etc. The style reflected the history of art from Ancient
Greece through the Italian Renaissance and then onward to Art Nouveau. This
author has not found any of the items offered in the aforementioned catalogue in
situ, but the publication is important in that it indicates some of the criteria of
“good taste” which existed at that time.
67