Featured ITALIAN Majolica Pottery CHERRIES Vase WHO DUNNIT?

This is my personal favorite auction purchase this year. It's so ugly I love it! I'm gonna keep this one. Any idea who made this beauty? Measures 12 inches tall. THANKS!!

 

That'll keep you awake at night.

 

I love this kind of thing.

 

Words have not failed me...I just can't use them.

 

I love it too!

 

I'm just curious but . . . will it remain simply a "look at" decorative piece or will it ever be put to use as a vase for flowers/foliage?

 

It will get placed in the cabinet with the rest of the crap that never gets used or looked at.

 

Id have bought it ! Love the colors,and apparently Im on a vase kick.

 

Anyone who admits to having created that thing will be headed to Pottery Purgatory.

 

You will probably never discover who made your vase because it wasn't produced by a factory but rather by an individual artist. That makes this piece one of kind. It is worthy of some discussion. The first thing that caught my attention was the material-terra-cotta. This red clay is often used to make outdoor flower pots and containers but rarely it is used to make small indoor vases. This clay, in comparison to the industrial white clays used in mass production, is rough and more dense. It must be worked entirely by hand, as modern machines would be damaged by its demanding composition. That fact caused me to look at the construction of the vase. It was not "thrown" on a wheel as most pottery is. This piece was made by "Coiling". It dates back to the Stone Age and any child given a lump of clay to play with has used the technique. The clay is rolled out into a long cylinder until it is a long rope. The clay is then coiled on itself until a hollow cylinder is formed. A flat bottom is then added and the outer surface of the body is smoothed out until the coils vanish and a solid-looking body is left. In this case, the cherries, leafs and branches were made separately and attached with slip (liquified clay). The body has been heavily coated with a glaze using a palette knife. The technique, in painting, is known as "Impasto". The artist used it to cover the rings left by coiling. While the use of terra-cotta and the technique used to create the vase are fairly unique, it would likely be seen in Sicily and Southern Italy more readily than northern Italy.

 

You can make a vase by coiling and then work it on a potter's wheel.

 

I'm not sure it's my taste either but it seems that it required a lot of handwork. To just have a Made in Italy stamp seems a pity.
Don

 

Thanks for all the postings Walter, as always, you are amazing!

 

gawd that's ......well it ain't purdy....but..it's a keeper !

Walter.....the effort you put into your posts.....UPPER DECK !!!!!!

 

I just have one question...If it was made by an individual, why would it be marked on the bottom?

 

Maybe it wasn't signed because, although parts of it were clearly handmade, the body might not have been. In that case, it wouldn't be the work of a single craftsperson.
Here is a little mass produced Italian pot that sits on my roof terrace (I only just remembered). It looks handcoiled, but isn't, and there were thousands like it:
Here is something interesting on post-war glazes from France and Germany. The ones from Annecy and Vallauris remind me of the rough finish and lustrous glaze on your vase.
http://ceramicsconversations.blogspot.nl/
Both towns are not far from Italy, and notably Vallauris was an inspiration for potters and manufacturers elsewhere.

 

In order to be exported to the US it needed to be marked with the country of origin. and thank you, Any Jewelry, for the explanation of how multiple craftspeople may have been involved.
Don

 

Sorry about the link above. Not sure how it got there!

 

@vitry-le-francois - you might find more about this vase if you search with keyword barbotine in different combinations of words other keywords Italy, Italian, and impasto.

 

I have the same identical vase. It belonged to my grandfather, he was an antique collector. Did you ever find out any information about this piece?