About the Project

This online directory of stove tile makers and their marks is a result of many years of work by Dr Dalia Klajumienė, a researcher at the Institute of Art Research of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The study into tile stoves from the 1800s to the 1960s revealed that the most accurate attribution of stove tiles can only be made by finding the makers’ mark on the back or on the leg of the tile. The shape of the impressed mark and the inscription indicating the name of the artisan or the factory owner; the name of the nationalised establishment; the location of the workshop or factory; and sometimes the marks of exhibition awards received by the maker, are all pieces of important historical information which helps to establish the time of manufacturing, as well as to confirm the identity of the maker. Such information not only reflects the history of local stove tile making, but also gives evidence of imported goods of which there is certainly an abundance in the country. In this directory, imported products are defined as all those manufactured outside the borders of present-day Lithuania from the 1800s to the 1960s. The study also covers the northern territory of East Prussia (also known as Lithuania Minor), which made up a single unit together with the Klaipėda region in the stove tile-making history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From the political and economic point of view, the two territories were separate entities throughout the study period. However, their ties with the Lithuanian market are obvious and important.

The study also revealed that a significant number of stove tiles from the 1800s to the 1960s were unmarked, so an attempt was made to find out why some stove tiles were marked and others were not. It turned out that there were important social and economic reasons behind the decision to mark or avoid the obligation of marking stove tiles. Although an important incentive for undertaking this study was the desire to identify as many marks as possible, the abundance of unmarked production led to the decision to include in the directory both entries for stove tile makers with examples of their marked tiles and, where no such examples could be found, entries without them. Moreover, by further researching archives, analysing archaeological findings, liaising with museum curators, collectors of building ceramics, heritage conservation specialists and owners of tiled stoves, we are occasionally able to supplement existing biograms with new visual and factual material, or to include biograms of previously unknown stove tile makers based on newly identified marked tiles. An online directory format is very suitable to support this ongoing process of adding visual and factual information.

Subject of the Study and Structure of the Directory

The directory contains biograms of stove tile makers in Lithuania from the 1800s to the 1960s, with or without examples of marks they placed on their wares. This was a period when tiles were produced in and outside Lithuania by potters who were either members of guilds or independent artisans, and by tile and ceramics factories and brick makers. Consequently, the directory reflects the full range of stove tile makers. Due to the large number of identified stove tile makers, and in an effort to facilitate the search, biograms have been divided into five groups: (I) Lithuanian stove tile makers; (II) stove tile makers of the northern part of East Prussia; (III) stove tile makers of the Klaipėda region; (IV) manufacturers of imported stove tiles; (V) unidentified stove tile makers’ marks. Each biogram contains a brief history of the tile maker’s activities, and sometimes includes details from their personal biography, which make it possible to determine more accurately the duration of their professional career and potential successors to the tile-making workshops.

Where marked tiles have been found, details of the finding sites and illustrations of the finds are provided. Long-established tile workshops have repeatedly changed the marks on their wares for various reasons, most commonly due the change in ownership; therefore, an effort has been made to reflect these changes in the illustrations. Biograms have been compiled on the basis of information found in archives, publications, other data sources on European and Lithuanian stove tile makers, and field survey data. All statements are supported by references to the relevant sources of information.

How to Use

In the directory, stove tile makers can be searched by group, location or name in the alphabetical index, and by period of activity. The directory is divided into five chronological periods: from the late 1700s to the early 1800s; the first half of the 1800s; the second half of the 1800s; from the late 1800s to the 1900s; and from the 1910s to the 1960s. On the right-hand side of each entry, the group, location, period and dates of the tile maker’s activity are indicated.

Author(s) and Project Manager

The author of the text and visual content of the directory is Dr Dalia Klajumienė. Each illustration contains a note indicating the title, the period of manufacturing, photographer credit and the date of the photograph; information about the location where the tile is stored is also included.

The author extends her sincere gratitude to everyone who helped to gather the visual material and provided valuable information on the subject of stove tile makers and the marks they used on their wares. Every effort has been made to mention all the contributors to this research in the references of the biograms. The author is grateful to museums that granted their permission to use photographs of their exhibits for illustration of biograms of stove tile makers.

I would like to thank Antanas Kaselis, Director of UAB Optimalios sistemos; Dalia Žalienė, Editor; Rasa Janulevičiūtė, Designer; Rūta Kaunaitė, Translator; and Irena Turčinavičienė, Head of the Projects Department at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The online directory would not have been published so smoothly without your help!

The directory was produced by the Vilnius Academy of Arts as part of the project ‘Creative Interdisciplinary New European Bauhaus – NEB Research Centre’ (2024–2027) (Agreement No. S-A-UEI-23-3), funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.

Citation

Klajumienė, Dalia. Lietuvoje randamų XIX – XX a. 7 deš. koklių gamintojai ir jų produkcijos ženklinimas [elektroninis mokslinis katalogas: https://kokliai.vda.lt/], Vilniaus dailės akademija, 2026.

Where an individual biogram is cited, the tile makers’ name and the web address of the biogram should be provided along with the title of the directory.