Prototype mould

The well-known industrial designer Wilhelm Kuchler, forefather of the Neckar and Excelsior drinking glass series (Schott-Zwiesel Glaswerke AG), once said on the occasion of a "Stegmann course" in Grafenau in 1980 "...there is nothing in our industry that has not been there before... ...a glass always has a rim and a cup always has a handle..."

We use this wisdom to explain the meaning of the term archetype as it applies to Holst porcelain. In doing so, we adhere to the definition used in biology of the original form as the root of an evolutionary tree of development. A number of our current shapes and articles have their origins in the artefacts of bygone eras, albeit with modified designs. The picture above shows Holst's exhibition at the Deichmannhaus in Cologne in 1960. Unfortunately, the black and white photo does not show that an entire room (sample room 1) was filled with a single - i.e. one and the same - porcelain mould. But there were more than 162 different decors ... those were the days...!

For us at Holst Porzellan, prototypes are the inspiration that we draw from our history and reinvent together with our designers with important functional properties.

Holst Porzellan/Germany - est. 1928!