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 They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface.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.

Monday, June 25, 2018

CULA Potteries

Designer	Ken Day?
Maker	CULA Potteries
Marks	Hand Painted in black “Cula D65”
Material	Mould formed slipware.
Description	Cream coloured exterior of bowl with offset unglazed foot ring. Yellow and black interior glaze with sgraffito wavy lines to interior. Reinforces semicircular handle attached to top edge of rim of bowl.
Condition	Very Good,
Number	D 65
Production Date	Before 1958
Width at rim	113mm
Width at Base	55mm
Depth	48mm

Weight	143gm
Volume	237ml (1 cup in old money)
Acquisition	Purchase Daylesford 23 June 2018
Rameking Reference Number	CUL 001, 002

Despite years of collecting, sometimes a surprise comes along. This one happened recently when I found these two ramekins hiding on the bottom shelf of a retro/antique store in Daylesford Victoria. They are from CULA Pottery, yet another small manufacturer that began after the Second-World-War. In 1946 Ex-Servicemen Ronald Frank Curnow (1914-1998), originally a Queensland boy, later of Narrabeen and William Langley (combined the first two initials of their surnames to form CuLa) purchased a small working pottery in Grenwich, Sydney (I don't know which pottery). In 1948 the partnership was dissolved. Just who continued, I also don’t know. In 1950 the works were relocated to larger premises at Brookvale in the Wahringah Shire in Sydney. Into this pottery came master potter and mould maker Ken Day. Ken had previously worked for Diana for many years. He made moulds for CULA and other potteries at this time. It is better than even money that he made the moulds for these ramekins. He began his own pottery “DAYEL” in 1955 and operated it until 1957. The CULA pottery closed in 1958, most likely yet another victim of the trade agreement with Japan. Ken then set up as a contract modeler in the old Martin Boyd pottery. CULA made a variety of slip cast wares including these ramekins glazed in a variety of dark orange through to brown. Like many potteries of the time, cultural appropriation was not considered and some were hand decorated with Aboriginal motifs or flowers and marked “Cula” either painted or inscribed. Unusually, these ramekins have an offset base that makes them sit on an angle.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Maxwell & Williams

Designer	Maxwell & Williams
Maker	Maxwell and Williams
Marks	Transfer print to base and side. Base “Maxwell& Williams Designer Homewares Homestead first quality porcelain Dishwasher, Freezer, Microwave and Conventional Oven safe.” Transfer to side “Maxwell & Williams Ramekin Designer Homewares The Homestead Collection”
Material	Mould formed porcelain.
Description	Cream coloured bowl with thickened rim and cream interior and unglazed foot ring. Transfer printed (as above).
Condition	Very Good, small chip to rim of one bowl.
Number	No number
Production Date	1910s
Width at rim 2 sizes	98mm 107mm
Width at Base	90mm
Depth	68mm

Weight	285gm
Volume	375ml
Acquisition	Purchase Salvos Store Norman St Ballarat 22 June 2018
Rameking Reference Number	HAG 001, 002

Question? When is a ramekin not a ramekin?

Answer; When it’s a bowl.

Just because you call a bowl a ramekin doesn’t make it so. These bowls made by Maxwell and Williams have the word “Ramekin” printed on the side. Well, they can call their product whatever they like, but by my definition, they are bowls. Beautifully made but still bowls. Nevertheless, theirs is still a story that needs to be told. Don’t look for much on the web because you won’t find it. They are a private company owned by a very private family, so I won’t tell you too much.

Maxwell and Williams are yet another success story created by migrants escaping the chaos of post-war Europe. The Maxwell and Williams story is an interesting one. Heinrich (Harry) and Anna Grundmann, German migrants, arrived in Australia on the 17^th of January 1952 aboard the migrant ship “Cyrenia”; a creaking old Greek ship built in 1911. The ship sailed from Piraeus in Greece to Fremantle Western Australia. Another website states that they were holocaust survivors.

On Board were 6 people named Grundmann, only Heinrich and Anna travelled on to Melbourne. After working as a salesman, Harry decided to go it alone. He began his own company H.A.G, combining his and Anna’s initials. The company began life in a small garage at their home in Clinton Street in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton East.

Their story is one of talent seizing opportunity. The business began at just the right time because Australia had signed a trade agreement with Japan in 1957. The grandfather of the current Japanese Prime Minister Abe signed the agreement with our then Trade-Minister; ”Black Jack” McEwan, opening the door to a range of imports not available previously. (It also almost killed our studio pottery industry). It was abrave thing for the Post-War Government to do.

Maxwell and Williams is just one member of the HAG Import Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd, registered on the 17^th of June 1975 and operating from a purpose-built warehouse in Millers Road Brooklyn Victoria Australia. Their Action Plan states; “H.A.G. Import Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd (H.A.G.) is a family company that has been selling homewares in Australia for over 35 years. H.A.G. is the sole Australian importer and distributor for the brand names Maxwell & Williams, Casa Domani, Doozie, Headline, Krosno and Ritzenhoff.”

Maxwell and Williams are Max Grundmann, son of Harry and Anna and Bill (William) Ryan, Max’s business partner. The company operates in over fifty countries worldwide and employs around one hundred people. Max was studying at Monash University in Melbourne when he realised that he had inherited a love of sales from Harry. He joined the company in 1974 and took over when Harry suffered a heart attack in 1978. That is when Bill joined the company. Bill had a background in finance.

The business really took off when they marketed the “Krosno” brand and the Maxwell and Williams name was born in 1995 when Max was staying in Europe. After doodling “Maxwell and Williams” on a paper table cloth the name was born. I believe that this piece of paper is now framed and hanging in their offices.

They also have a range called "White Basics" that have a "Ramekin" with fluted sides, that has similar dimensions. Much of the fine porcelain produced these days is made in China. Even though these do not have a country of origin marked on the, I think it reasonable to conclude that they are of Chinese origin.

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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

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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.