“A potter is one of the few people left who uses his natural faculties of heart, head, and hand in balance…”[i] — Bernard Leach, 1961 Bernard Howell Leach is considered the most influential potter of the twentieth century. He left an irrefutable mark with his writings, teachings, prolific work in clay, and contributions at the potteries […]
This tea set, designed by Édouard-Marcel Sandoz, is one of many tableware sets designed by popular artists for the porcelain manufacturing company Theodore Haviland, Limoges. Haviland History Theodore Haviland, Limoges was one of several porcelain manufacturing and retail companies operated by the Haviland family in the 19th and 20th centuries. The company first called Haviland […]
I remember being captivated by Ron Meyers’ cups, platters, and covered jars as a child. The imagery that danced across the surface of his forms stirred my imagination. Initially his fish, rabbits, birds, and gestural human faces grabbed my attention, but then the forms themselves, alive and expressive, made an impact. Over the past fifty […]
This stoneware teapot is attributed to Sowter & Company, an early 19th century pottery manufacturer. Sowter & Company—also called Mexborough Old Pottery—was one of several pottery companies in the Don Valley area of Yorkshire, England at the time. Other contemporaneous Yorkshire potters include Rock Pottery (also called Mexborough Pottery or Mexbro’ Pottery), Swinton Pottery, Don […]
These two works of art were both acquired from the estate of the influential art critic, historian, and collector Henry Geldzahler (1935-1994). Geldzahler began his career as a student in the Harvard Fine Arts Department, but left before completing his doctorate to become a curatorial assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in […]
This teapot is an example of Yixing (also spelled YiXing) pottery, from the Yixing region in the Jiangsu province of China. This particular teapot, made of dark teal, unglazed stoneware in the form of a melting candle, won a prize at the International Ceramics Competition in Mino, Japan. It is stamped with a maker’s mark […]
This teapot was decorated by the renowned porcelain painter William Billingsley. Billingsley began his career working for Royal Crown Derby, though later worked for many other manufacturers, as well as his own pottery factory at one time, and his own decorating business in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire for a time as well. Billingsley was especially well known […]
This teapot sculpture is by the contemporary ceramicist Laura, or “Red,” Weldon Sandlin. Sandlin was born in Owensboro, KY, and now lives and works in Decatur Georgia. She began her artistic career as a graphic designer, and switched to clay after taking a ceramics class. Since then, she has been largely self-taught. Sandlin’s ceramic sculptures […]
This teapot sculpture by ceramicist Gerry Wallace takes the surprising form of an aircraft carrier warship, which sits on a separate base made in the shape of ocean waves. The spout of the teapot is formed from an airplane at the bow of the aircraft carrier, and the handle is formed of a curling […]
These teapots were designed by British satirists Roger Law (b. 1941) and Peter Fluck (b. 1941), who first met and became friends in art school. Each had independent careers illustrating and cartooning before forming the partnership Luck & Flaw in 1975. They began creating three-dimensional caricatures of public figures, which were shown in The New […]
