vase

Reference Name LCNUG : 1927/890

A stoneware vase, dipped first in white slip, then in brown, and then in green slip. The design on the side of three abstract symbols is obtained by wiping away the two top layers to reveal the white slip beneath.

Physical Dimensions:

• object height: 19.4 cms
• object diameter: 16.5 cms

Material: ceramic, stoneware

Condition: excellent

Quantity: 1

Completeness: complete

Inscription: B.L.

Period: 20th Century

Person:

studio potter: Leach, Bernard

Commentary: (label in HF) VASE by BERNARD LEACH (1887-1979) This stoneware vase has been dipped first in white slip, then in brown slip and finally in green slip. The design, which shows the influence of Japanese pottery, has been obtained by wiping away the top two layers to reveal the white slip underneath. Bernard Leach was born in China in 1887. He was educated in England and went to the Slade School of Art. In 1908 he went to Japan to teach drawing and etching but while there he became interested in Japanese ceramics and was taught pottery by Ogatu Kenzan. In 1920 Leach returned to England, and, with the help of Shoji Hamada, set up his own pottery in St. Ives in Cornwall. There he began making pots in the Japanese tradition but, as his interest in medieval English Pottery and 17th and 18th Century slipwares grew, he also made his own lead glazed slipwares, incorporating in the making of them the knowledge he had brought back from the East. In 1934 he returned to the Far east to work with Hamada. He came back to England in 1936 and began working on 'A Potters Book', which was published in 1940. In this Leach wrote of his experiences in making pottery and this book, together with his own ability as a potter and his willingness to share his knowledge with others, had led to his enormous influence on modern studio pottery. From the Contemporary Art Society UG 890.