Lapid Ceramics: A Melting Pot

Photos by Kobi Klaitman of Lapid ceramic items from the collection of Sharyn Weizman

I've often wondered why some of us become collectors. Is there a need to build and eventually complete a set? Is it the search for the proverbial needle in the haystack? Do collectors find gratification in being surrounded by particularly beautiful or interesting or unusual things? Do they like owning things that no one else has or that others wish they had? Do they crave praise from visitors or do they cherish their collections privately? I know someone who keeps his collection of miniature Japanese silver salt shakers behind lock and key…to be shared with only special people.

I remember my father telling me how he built his stamp collection. In the 30's in New York there were ads in stamp collecting pamphlets. He told me that he saved his allowance in order to buy 5 cents worth of stamps "On Approval." His collection led to a lifetime passion for history and geography.

I wasn't interested in collecting stamps but have always loved flea markets. One Friday morning about 20 years ago, I set off to Jaffa to explore the flea market. I've always loved blue and white dishes and thought that would be a nice thing to begin collecting. Lo and behold, no matter where I looked, there was no blue and white European porcelain to be found. I was just about to head home empty-handed when I discovered a shop bursting with goods. When I told the owner what I was looking for, she told me simply "you're in Israel now, you must collect Israeli blue and white!" And she unlocked a special cabinet to show me what she meant. It was full of blue and white Israeli plates, dishes and tableware. It was love at first sight. She told me the pattern was called Arabesque (some think it was inspired by Meissen's Blue Onion pattern rather than anything middle-eastern). I chose a small plate which the kind shop owner gifted me – she must have seen a potential client-collector. When I turned it over I was delighted to see that on the bottom it read: "Lapid Israel, hand-painted by Batia."

I loved my new plate and began visiting the Jaffa flea market once or twice a month. Little by little I started collecting Lapid ceramics exclusively. One of the old-time shop keepers at the market told me that he had worked in the Lapid factory and that it had been located on Eilat Street in Tel Aviv. He kept very large and very beautiful Lapid vases in the back of his shop, so that's where I headed every time I went to the shuk. He was reluctant to part with them, but as he saw I was becoming an avid collector he always showed me one he had put away for me. They were pricey but collectors can't be stopped. And so my collection grew. I discovered the Friday morning Dizengoff Circle market (which sadly doesn't exist anymore), where I met some very nice vendors and my collection grew some more. One of the vendors, Yonatan Livny, from whom I bought several impressive Lapid pieces advised me to stick to collecting one brand of ceramics. I'm glad I heeded his advice. Yonatan went on to become a professional auctioneer and opened the very popular and respectable Ishtar Arts auction house. And of course, there was eBay where Israeli ceramics were affordable, even with shipping.

I became very curious to know more about the now-closed Lapid Ceramics Company. I tried to find something about the history of the company but there was very little to be found. At Beit Ariela in Tel Aviv I discovered a Hebrew/English catalog called The Beginnings of Israeli Ceramics 1932-1962, published by the Herzliya Museum in 1991. I photocopied the catalog and savored reading it. I didn't search any further but remained very curious.

When COVID struck in March of 2020 I began, at my children's request, to catalog my collection. I searched online and I was able to find items identical to mine on eBay, Pinterest and Etsy. I saved and printed pages that matched items in my collection, and tucked the printed slips into vases and bowls. I was in for some surprises. One vase that I had bought for 45 shekels several years ago in the shuk was listed for nearly $400 on eBay. At last I sat down at the computer and began to document my inventory. First I counted how many Lapid pieces I have – I haven't added to my collection in years, so I was very surprised to find that I have almost 500 pieces. I have the pieces arranged by pattern (not knowing then that the patterns have names) so I had a good jumping off point. And finally I decided to see if, as opposed to the last time I searched several years ago, anything more was now available about Israeli ceramics on the Internet. I was thrilled when I found that an article about Lapid, published in C20Ceramics, contained a link to a Lapid Ceramics Facebook Group.

I learned that the group was established by Kobi Klaitman and that he would soon be publishing the first and only book ever written about an Israeli ceramics manufacturer: Lapid Ceramics: A Melting Pot. Pure serendipity.

I immediately joined the Lapid Ceramics group on Facebook and there I found that Kobi is not just very knowledgeable but he's a very encouraging moderator. I also found that the members of the group, of which there are almost 2,000, have shared interests – collecting and displaying Lapid pottery, posting photos of their favorite pieces, asking questions and putting pieces up for sale too. I felt right at home.

I began taking pictures of my collection and uploading some of them to the Lapid Ceramics Facebook group. Kobi's input made it very interesting. He knows the names of every pattern, the years each pattern was produced, and something about the artists whose handwritten names are found on the bottom of the pieces.

When his book became available I went to his home to pick up my copy, expecting to see a fantastic collection – only to learn that Kobi isn't a collector and owns just a few Lapid pieces. Kobi told me that everyone who came to pick up his book had the same expectation – surprise… and perhaps disappointment too. He focuses on photographing and cataloging other people's Lapid collections.

But I was overwhelmed with his book. Lapid Ceramics: A Melting Pot is a combination history book, catalog and attractive coffee-table book. Kobi describes the iconic Lapid Ceramics factory – how it came into being during the British Mandate in 1943 as a producer of sanitary ware, developed into Israel's legendary producer of art pottery in 1949, and continued to produce beautiful dinnerware and gorgeous museum quality vases until its closure in 1990.

The book describes the importance of the factory to the young Israeli economy, both as an employer and as an exporter. It also gives details of the various phases of ownership and management the factory went through during its 47 years.

Interesting historical black and white photos of the factory workers producing sinks and toilets draw the reader right into the look and feel of the period. Other photos show the potters at their wheels, the designers and artists painting and/or etching the beautiful designs on the pieces, and the shelves laden with pieces set out to dry. Seeing photos of some the artists whose signatures adorn pieces in my collection was a delight.

The production process and the importance of the huge, continuously burning tunnel kiln are described. Other chapters catalog the artists' names and signatures, another presents the Lapid stamps and logos (an intertwined L ל was the first one) and another illustrates the shapes of the vases, jugs, teapots and pitchers by catalog number. Later chapters boast photographs of some of the important visitors to the factory, including David Ben Gurion, Abba Eban and Teddy Kollek.

Most impressive to me is the 175-page Catalog of Lapid art pottery which includes hundreds of beautifully curated photographs. In order to include them, Kobi visited collectors all over Israel and took nearly 3,000 professional photographs. The photos are esthetically arranged both in groups and individually, sometimes by pattern, other times by shape and size. Details about the designs and designers are included for most. There are also quaint advertising pages in English. I found so many familiar pieces and so many others that I'd love to own!

It's the wealth of beautiful photographs that makes this interesting 350-page reference book very attractive to just leaf through and enjoy.

I decided to ask Kobi how he came to write it, and when I heard just part of his story I felt that it was something I wanted to learn more about and share. He agreed to be interviewed for the ESRA magazine and to let us include some of his photographs.

More about Lapid ceramics by Nina Reshef

I want to thank ESRA Magazine for including Sharyn Weizman's engaging article on her collection of Lapid ceramics in your last issue (June 2021). The short piece brought back many memories. I still have a Lapid stoneware sugar bowl, which I bought when setting up house in Israel. I was delighted by the ceramic figure of Srulik* on the cover, which captures the innocent hope and sense of adventure that accompanied me when making aliyah. The article gave me some insight into how the company's name, which means a torch or guiding light, came to be reflected in its operations, especially in its first decades.

Quite frankly, it was new to me that Lapid had maintained a department for producing ceramic art, which got me talking to my partner, who had worked in the firm's technical department in the early 1970s. Memories from that period still enchant him.

He described the plant's comfortable ambience despite the amazing amount of dust and noise resulting from the production process. Instead of spending time only with electric cables and machines, he was able to observe, for the first time, how clay, paint brushes, pottery wheels and ovens heated to 1,250 degrees Celsius could produce beautiful works of art when handled by talented people. It seems that Lapid ensured its aesthetic quality by recruiting its designers, primarily women, from Jerusalem's Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Some of the staff, such as Maude Friedland and Zehava Goshen, would acquire reputations as independent artists in other media. Others would continue creating new designs for Lapid dinnerware and vases.

Thank you again, Ms. Weizman and ESRA Magazine for a lovely entry into an unknown part of Israel's history.

*Srulik is a cartoon character symbolizing Israel. He was created in 1956 by the Israeli cartoonist Kariel Gardosh, known by his pen name Dosh. Srulik appeared for many years in countless cartoons published in the daily newspapers Maariv and Haaretz.

Nina Reshef
Tel Aviv