DEK's - Painted in Enamel and/or Gold Relief 1888 - 1902

For each unique decoration pattern that was applied to their pieces, Loetz assigned a specific decoration (DEK) number. This number is painted in gold or etched on the bottom of the piece.  DEK numbers were first comprised of two parts (e.g. I/3, I/117, I/123, III/321, IV/580, etc.) and later just a number. Unfortunately, many numbers that were painted on these decorated pieces have not survived over time so if you have a piece that still has a number on it, we would love to hear from you!

Notes:

1)We are not certain what significance the first part of the DEK number has, but we believe that the uniqueness of each DEK design is reflected in the second part of numbers that follow the forward slash.  Therefore, the DEK examples presented here are arranged numerically according to the second set of numbers

2) While we know that a specific "DEK" number was assigned to each unique decoration, we have also found instances where the same number has been assigned to patterns that are clearly not the same. Please see the "DEK Anomalies" category included in this section.

3) The DEK patterns that were carried out in painted enamel or gold relief are not always "exactly" the same as you would find in a china pattern but rather present similar elements: i.e; decorations that combine the same flower, crescent shape or sweeping branch style. If one compares the branches in the three DEK I/4 examples shown in the DEK Anomalies section, clearly the middle example is different from the other two and also does not have the same flower present.