The Rameking

Worldwide Headquarters of the Australian Studio Art Ramekin, (and a few others) that piece of Australiana that has almost disappeared from our lives and tables. How many of you Baby Boomers have sat in front of a warm fire in winter, eating tinned spaghetti from a ramekin? In the period between the World Wars, and in the decades after, many famous artists made ramekins. They continued until cheap imports and copies almost killed them off in the 1970s. See them here in all their faded glory.

Ramekin is thought to come from a Dutch word for "toast" or the German for "little cream."

Name

Ramekin

Variant

Ramequin, Ramekin dish.

Pronounced

(ram′ə kin)[RAM-ih-kihn]ræməkin

Function

English Noun
Plural

Ramekins

Hypernym

A type of dish

Purpose

Cooking

Etymology

French Ramequin from Low German ramken, diminutive of cream, circa 1706. middle Dutch rammeken (cheese dish) dialect variant of rom (cream), similar to old English ream and German rahm. Ancient French cookbooks refer to ramekins as being garnished fried bread.

Meaning

1. A food mixture, (casserole) specifically a preparation of cheese, especially with breadcrumbs and/or eggs or unsweetened pastry baked on a mould or shell.

2. With a typical volume of 50-250 ml (2-8 oz), it is a small fireproof glass or earthenware individual dish similar in size and shape to a cup, or mould used for cooking or baking and serving sweet or savoury foods.

3. Formerly the name given to toasted cheese; now tarts filled with cream cheese.

4. A young child usually between the ages of 3 months and 11 years exhibiting a compulsion to force or "ram" their head into various objects and structures.

These days, a ramekin is generally regarded as a small single serve heatproof serving bowl used in the preparation or serving of various food dishes, designed to be put into hot ovens and to withstand high temperatures. They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface. Ramekins have more lately been standardized to a size with a typical volume of 50-250 ml (2-8 ounce) and are now used for serving a variety of sweet and savoury foods, both entrée and desert.

They are also an attractive addition to the table for serving nuts,dips and other snacks. Because they are designed to hold a serving for just one person, they are usually sold in sets of four, six, or eight. Ramekins now are solid white, round, with a fluted texture covering the outside, and a small lip. Please bear in mind that whatever you ask for them on Internet auction sites, someone is still getting the same thing in an op shop for peanuts.

However, there are hundreds of decorative ramekins that came in a variety of shapes and sizes. They came in countless colours and finishes and many were made by our leading artists and ceramicists. My collection has ramekins with One handle only, fixed to the body at one point only. If it has no handle, it is a bowl. If it has two, it is a casserole dish. But the glory day of the Australian Studio Art ramekin is well and truly over. See some here, ask questions or leave answers.

P.S. Remember, just as real men don't eat quiche, real ramekins don't have lids or two handles. Also remember, two handles makes it a casserole dish. Also, please note If it aint got a handle, it's just a bowl.
P.P.S. To all you cretins who advertise your ramekins by associating them with "Eames" or "Eames Era". Get your hand off it, you are not kidding anyone. The Eames people have told me that they never made ramekins.
P.P.P.s To all the illiterates out there in cyberspace, just as there is no "I" in team, there is no "G" in Ramekin. I am the Rameking, they are ramekins.
If you have a set of Grandma's ramekins at the back of a kitchen cupboard, have a look through the site, maybe you will identify them. Thank-you for looking.
There are many of you out there that have knowledge of Australian pottery. Please let me know if you have anything that I can add to the notes. It is important to get the information recorded. You probably know something that nobody else does.
Please note that while your comments are most welcome, any that contain a link to another site will no longer be published.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Belltower Pottery

Designer	Probably by John Stroomer
Maker	Belltower Pottery
Marks	Stamped “Belltower Pottery” in oval cartouche to base.
Material	Clay
Description	Heavy wheel thrown, hand made recurved earthenware bowl with flat unglazed base and looped strap handle. Matte brown glaze to interior and exterior with darker brown flecks and stripes.
Condition	Very good
Number	No number
Production Date	1980s
Width at rim	118mm
Width at Base	67mm
Depth	60mm
Length (with handle)	160mm
Weight	360gm
Volume	500ml
Acquisition	Purchase E-Bay 14^th April 2013.
Rameking Reference Number	BEL 001-002

These ramekins were made by the Belltower Pottery, set up in 1974 by Robert Richard Rudolph Dybka in the Victorian Country town of Kyabram. Known as Rudolf (Rudi) Dybka, he was born 11 mar 1935- and his then wife Anna, a glass engraver, came to Australia in 1968 from France on the migrant ship “Toscana”, one of the few Italian ships to survive the war, through the Australian Post-War Assisted Passage Scheme. He first set up a pottery studio in his backyard at Rydalmere, NSW.

Rudi

While working at the Crown Crystal Glass Company, Anna met sculptor Vladimir Tichy and introduced him to Rudolph. Ceramicist Vladimir Tichy, a Czech was born 14^th September 1926 arrived in Australia on a migrant charter flight with his wife Jirina and daughter Marcela after leaving Vienna on the 9^th of December 1968.

Vladimir

Following World War II, Australia took advantage of the instability in Europe to encourage refugees and displaced persons to migrate. Populating Australia was seen as a way of ensuring our safety and guaranteeing our future. It was argued that by increasing our population, Australia was less likely to be a target for invasion. The two set up Studio Dibka-Tichy in Paramatta soon after they met. Rudi left to move to Kyabram in 1974 where he began “Belltower Pottery”, that later moved (in 1987) to the old Kyabram Butter Factor, 1 Eddis Street.

Kyabram Butter Factory

With Rudi, it was never a financial success and he and new partner Judith Anne left in 1977 to manage the Albury Pottery where he stayed until 1983. A Ceramicist still operates in a tin shed next to the factory.

Rudi’s Belltower Pottery had been bought from the Recievers by John Stroomer, a local Shepparton boy. John was more successful, building up the business. I think these ramekins were made during his stewardship. Now with a significant international reputation, John Joseph Stroomer has operated a pottery in Shepparton since early 2000 and works in high-fired, hand thrown stoneware and porcelain, specializing in crystalline glazes.

John

Moving north, Rudi began Four Winds Ceramics Pty Ltd are located at 12 Bowers Road, Everton Hills, Queensland to produce hand painted vitrified stoneware. This time the business flourished and Rudi still oversees every aspect of the production process.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Weatherly, Lilia Weatherly

Designer	Lilia Weatherly
Maker	Lilia Weatherly
Marks	Painted initials “LW” to base in black
Material	Clay
Description	Heavy rustic look hand made wheel thrown wide mouthed ramekins. One ramekin larger than the other. Matte grey glaze with mottled blue and brown glaze banded over to exterior rim. Short handle with dimpled top. Slightly pinched inward under rim. Unglazed footring.
Condition	Good. Slight chipping to rim of smaller ramekin
Number	No number
Production Date	1970s
Width at rim	140mm
Width at Base	76mm
Depth	65mm
Length (with handle)	188mm
Weight	480gm
Volume	750ml
Acquisition	Purchase Waverley Antique Market 13 Apr 2013
Rameking Reference Number	LWH 001-002

Lilia Margaret Weatherly born 16^th May 1927 in England, migrated from Manchester, leaving Southampton on the 18^th of November 1958 to Australia with her husband John, a Doctor together with their two daughters, 4 year old Candace and baby Tamar. A son, Cathcart was born and raised in Tasmania. He moved to Western Australia in 1992 and has deep involvement with environmental issues and social justice. They lived at Austins Ferry, Tasmania.

Lilia was a foundation member of the Tasmanian Potters’ Society (Southern branch) Inc., established 2 July, 1973. The first meeting was held at Domain House when Eileen Brooker was elected President and Penny Smith Vice President. Eileen recalls a particularly significant time in the early days of the Society when she was invited by the Government, with Lilia Weatherly, Peggy Coombs and others, to tour what was then called the Peacock Building to see whether it would be suitable as an Art Centre.

Lilia Weatherly was also made a Life Member in 2002. Her early very active role as committee member included hosting a two-day raku firing with Joan Campbell in New Norfolk which included attendance from prisoners at the Gaol Farm. Lilia was also the instigator of a grant (along with Peggy Coombes) from the Crafts Council for setting up clay production at the Gaol Farm where she taught for 12 years. She built the first gas kiln in Tasmania (after deciding on the model which had the most pictures to follow in Daniel Rhodes’ book!). In the 1980s, Lilia supplanted her pottery by becoming a professional award winning rose breeder. She will be remembered for her breeding a pink sport of an Iceberg rose later named “Burgundy Iceberg.”

Margaret died on the 3^rd of December 2012 after a short illness, John having predeceased her.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Sone (Japan)

Designer
Maker	Sone Japan
Marks	No marks
Material	Stoneware
Description	Straight-sided press moulded bowl with dimples spherical knob short handle attached to upper side of bowl. Banded two-tone brown glaze applied to exterior with speckled dark colour to rim. Interior is lighter burnt-orange gloss glaze. Unglazed foot ring to base.
Condition	Very Good. No chips cracks or crazing
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	100mm
Width at Base	53mm
Depth	40mm
Length (with handle)	130mm
Weight	220gm
Volume	250ml
Acquisition	Purchase Waverley Antiques Market 3 Apr 2013.
Rameking Reference Number	SON 001 -004

These ramekins are unmarked. The original stamp to the base has been lost through washing over the years. They were made by Sone Ceramics of Japan and would have been stamped “Apollo Ware Atelier Sone Japan” They were likely to have been designed by famous Japanese ceramist Kyoki Yamazaki who was working there at the time. They are available in a variety of designs but only one pattern. Sone also produced the popular “Kiyomizu” traditional Japanese design, not to be confused with the Kyomizu yaki ceramic ware.

I don’t know if they are the same people or not but The company Sone Kogai Co Ltd are wholesalers of Brown-Ware and were founded in 1944. It is located at 4-6, 3-Chome, Tatsumi-Minami, Ikuno-Ku Osaka, Japan. Although they are leading wholesaler of specialized tableware, Sone also develop original products to meet their customers needs. They now sell a range of ceramic piggy-banks and Japanese lucky (maneki neko) cats.

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Origin of the Australian Art Studio Ramekin

In the 19th Century, Ramequin Cases began to be used in cooking. These were paper cups, similar to those used for cupcakes or muffins. As time passed, people began to make them from clay and the spelling mostly changed from Ramequin to Ramekin. Ramequin still holds out in a few places, mainly in parts of the USA. The heyday of the Australian ramekin began in the 1930s.

Australian Art Studio pottery grew out of the 19th Century Arts and Crafts Movement. Following the upheaval of the First World War, potters found that many people still wanted hand made homewares. In Australia, many potters opened studios to meet this demand which intensified after the Second World War when returned ex services people set up their homes. It is the fallout from this ageing group that is now finding it’s way onto the market. Most of them may never be valuable, it is only their intrinsic value,but after another 100 years, who knows?

The Government, still in austerity mode encouraged manufacture of practical pottery post World War 2, by placing a higher tax on decorative wares, leading to potteriesmaking items that were decorative but had a practical use,thus avoiding the tax. This explains the absence of figurines that were the mainstay of many English potteries, and the proliferation of things like ramekins and vases.

Retraining programmes for returned and wounded soldiers at the end of the First and Second World Wars provided a workforce for the many potteries that flourished in Australia at the time. After the First World War, Bendigo Pottery needed a trained workforce to help make the flood of bricks for the housing in Melbourne. Towards the end of the Second, Guy Boyd worked at the Rehabilitation Hospital at Ingleburn, New South Wales, teaching pottery

Before take away food and plastics came to dominate the market, ceramics were used for a much wider range of products. The population explosion created by the Australian gold rush resulted in an increased demand for all kinds of locally manufactured goods. As the market diversified so too did the pottery, from commercial packaging to utility kitchenware. For the larger pottery’s, domestic items were, however, always a sideline to the main business of serving the building trade. For some, smaller potteries and individual potters, ramekins were the main income producer.

In 1957 the Australia-Japan Agreement on Commerce negotiated by Australian Trade Minister, John 'Black Jack' McEwan dealt a major blow to commercial potteries. This agreement opened the doors for mass- produced cheap Japanese ceramics to flood the Australian market. Many local commercial potteries were forced out of business by this competition, but a few managed to survive.

There are also the untold stories of some Eastern European migrants fleeing persecution who made a new life in post war Australia, thanks largely to ramekins. Because they made homewares and not art sculpture, their stories have not been adequately told. In some cases, this is the only place you will find part of their stories.

To help calculate the relative cost of these ramekins, I have here are a couple of items to compare the average weekly earnings for a man in Australia for the decades during which ramekins were popular; In 1940, it was $9.60, in 1950 it was $11.50. To convert to the old currency, divide by two.

Please Note

Comments on this blog are moderated BEFORE they appear on the site, and this takes time. There is often a delay between a comment being posted and it being approved. If you do not wish to have your comment posted, I will not post it.

The photographs form part of the description. Due to the light, my photos may show slight variances in colour and some shadows, distortions, reflections and highlights that should not be there. Also different computers and monitor settings will affect colours. My ramekins are all washed in warm water with mild detergent as this identifies any crazing or cracks that are very faint, or invisible to the naked eye. This ensures that the descriptions are more accurate.

Modern Ramekins

Ramekins are one of the few baking dishes that actually have their own name, setting them apart from generic sounding “cake pans” and “baking dishes.” Modern ramekins are small, cylindrical dishes that are used for baking individually sized dishes. They are ideal for baking small soufflés, as their straight sides make it easy for an egg white-based souffle mixture to rise up the sides of the dish and gain a lot of height, as well as for baking individual desserts, since they offer built-in portion control. Use them for little pudding cakes and baked egg-cups, and also for chilled desserts, such as panna cotta and chocolate mousse.

Ramekins can be made out of any heat-proof material; most modern ones are often made out of porcelain, pyrex or something similar. They can come in any size, but are most often found in 4-, 6- or 8-ounce volumes. Some will have very shallow sides, but most have a rise of about an inch or so, depending on the size of the dish itself.

Their small size actually makes them useful for applications outside of the oven. For instance, they’re often used when a cook is doing preparation work in the kitchen, separating chopped ingredients into individual dishes to be used at a later time. They’re also a nice way to present side servings of dressings, sauces and dips.

There are a small number of people who refer to ramekins as “pipkins”. I do not. Yes, there are similarities, but historically, a pipkin is a small earthenware or metal cooking pot used for cooking over direct heat. They had a tripod moulded into the base to stand clear of the fire. Examples of Romano-British pipkins are not uncommon. Late medieval and postmedieval pipkins had a hollow handle in order to insert a stick in it for manipulation. See the “Diana” ramekins for a recent homage to this. Many more recent ones have a spout at a right angle to the handle.

To me a ramekin without a handle is just a bowl or a dish.

It's simple really.

No handle-it's a bowl or a dish

One handle-it's a Ramekin

Two Handles-it's a Casserole dish

Copyright

Most of the images on this site are of my collection as are the comments. Other images and comments on this site are reproduced for the purposes of your information and interest only. I would be grateful for any information concerning Copyright and I will withdraw any items so described immediately on Copyright holder's request.

Please leave any other comments regarding anything on this blog. In the interests of accuracy, I will be pleased to have any information or comments you may have. There are many older people out there that have been involved in the Australian pottery world of the fifties and sixties. Get those arthritic fingers moving and put that knowledge out there. When you go, it goes with you.

Disclaimer

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The facts, figures, reviews, records, statistics, and other data presented on this blog is for suggestion and information purposes only. The Rameking is not responsible for any incorrect or incomplete information. The Rameking does not take responsibility for any user-reviews of websites inside its resource and reserves the right to keep or remove those. It is highly recommended that you review all the data for accuracy.

Name	Ramekin
Variant	Ramequin, Ramekin dish.
Pronounced	(ram′ə kin)[RAM-ih-kihn]ræməkin
Function	English Noun
Plural	Ramekins
Hypernym	A type of dish
Purpose	Cooking
Etymology	French Ramequin from Low German ramken, diminutive of cream, circa 1706. middle Dutch rammeken (cheese dish) dialect variant of rom (cream), similar to old English ream and German rahm. Ancient French cookbooks refer to ramekins as being garnished fried bread.
Meaning	1. A food mixture, (casserole) specifically a preparation of cheese, especially with breadcrumbs and/or eggs or unsweetened pastry baked on a mould or shell. 2. With a typical volume of 50-250 ml (2-8 oz), it is a small fireproof glass or earthenware individual dish similar in size and shape to a cup, or mould used for cooking or baking and serving sweet or savoury foods. 3. Formerly the name given to toasted cheese; now tarts filled with cream cheese. 4. A young child usually between the ages of 3 months and 11 years exhibiting a compulsion to force or "ram" their head into various objects and structures.