Introduction: La Gonda is another small line of wares. This was Gonder's attempt to enter the luncheon and dinner ware market. The line of 17 pieces, is composed of cups, saucers, bowls, plates, candle holders, S&P shakers and serving pieces. Pieces are marked with an unusual ink stamp. Candle holders and the S&P shakers are unmarked due to size constraints.
Other kitchenware pieces produced at Gonder are often attributed to the La Gonda line. While these pieces do use the La Gonda shapes, they have two attributes that indicate they should be assigned to the Gonder Original Line. First, they are are marked Gonder Original and have a mold number on the piece. La Gonda pieces are only marked with the ink stamp developed for the line. Secondly, they are finished in glaze treatments developed for and used on other Gonder Original pieces. Many collectors incorrectly refer to most kitchenware items as La Gonda based purely on shape as opposed to mark and glaze treatment.
Mold Numbers: The La Gonda Line consists of 17 items using mold numbers 900-916. None of the items are marked with the mold number. Collectors will need to familiarize themselves with each piece and it's mold number.
Glaze Finishes: Glaze treatments offered on the La Gonda line are solid color pastel glazes - the least "Gonder like" glaze you can imagine. Per the sales sheet, colors for La Gonda are Yellow, Coral, Turquoise Green and Grey. While the sheet indicates Grey - the color is a very pale blue and is generally referred to as blue by collectors.
Notes: Pieces from the La Gonda Line are in short supply. Because the pieces were large and heavy, they were prone to damage. I suspect this line was short lived as there was so much competition from other dinnerware companies.
Pieces may also be found with hand painted decoration. These pieces may have the Marco Pottery mark on the back. They may or may not be marked with the La Gonda ink stamp. These pieces are extremely rare and highly sought after by collectors. The relationship between Gonder and Marco is not clearly understood. It is possible Gonder commissioned their work. It is also possible that Marco purchased the luncheon ware from Gonder before decorating it and marketing it under their own label. In either case, Gonder produced the pottery.
