JEMA Holland was a family-run ceramics business based in Maastricht in the southern Netherlands, remembered particularly for its decorative animal figures, lustre glazes and figural clocks. Its history began in 1942, when brothers Jelis and Johan Willem Mager took over an existing business from J. Meussen, whose partnership dated back to 1920.
The brothers registered the enterprise with the Maastricht Chamber of Commerce in 1945, and the JEMA name was already associated with the early business. Following a move to Fort Willemweg in 1953, the company was reorganised in November 1955 as JEMA Keramisch Atelier N.V. The 1955 date therefore marks a change in its legal structure rather than the beginning of all JEMA production.
Early work included wheel-thrown ceramics, but the company became especially associated with a broad range of decorative figures. Birds, fish, horses and other animals appeared alongside human and religious subjects, while clocks were incorporated into many sculptural designs. Vases and other household ceramics also formed part of its output, making JEMA more varied than its familiar animal figures alone might suggest.
Glossy and lustre finishes are prominent in surviving JEMA wares. The same model can be found in different colour schemes, and some figures stand on substantial bases with green decoration suggesting foliage or grass. These varied finishes are an important part of the factory’s appeal, but colour alone is not a reliable guide to a piece’s date.
Many pieces carry an incised Jema name in a handwritten style above the printed word Holland, sometimes accompanied by a model number. Earlier examples can also have a black printed stamp. Incised marks may be shallow or partly obscured by glaze, and model numbers were not used as a consistent chronological sequence, so numbers alone should not be treated as firm production dates.
The business remained closely connected with the Mager family through successive management changes. It was declared insolvent in June 1984 and closed, leaving an extensive and varied body of ceramics that continues to be documented by collectors and Maastricht’s ceramic-heritage organisations.
Read more in Stichting Aardewerk Erfgoed Maastricht’s history here, the Capriolus ceramics reference here, and the JEMA collector’s history and identification guide here.
