Vase ca. 1877-85 Chelsea Keramic Art Works The Chelsea Keramic Art Works was the first American ceramics firm to designate itself an "art pottery." It was founded in Chelsea, Massachusetts, by members of the Robertson family, all of whom had honed their skills in the ceramics industry in Britain before coming to this country. Hugh Robertson, the guiding force behind the pottery, created work that was not only inspired by classical Greek pottery but also by forms and decoration that align with English Reform design. The angular shape of this vase resonates with the innovative shapes developed b
Vase ca. 1877-85 Chelsea Keramic Art Works The Chelsea Keramic Art Works was the first American ceramics firm to designate itself an "art pottery." It was founded in Chelsea, Massachusetts, by members of the Robertson family, all of whom had honed their skills in the ceramics industry in Britain before coming to this country. Hugh Robertson, the guiding force behind the pottery, created work that was not only inspired by classical Greek pottery but also by forms and decoration that align with English Reform design. The angular shape of this vase resonates with the innovative shapes developed by Christopher Dresser for the English firms Watcombe and Linthorpe, as well as the glass and metalwork he conceived for various manufacturers. The more direct source for the vessel’s shape, small stand, and floral decoration was Japanese art—equally admired by Dresser. This vase features a fully modeled iris in white clay over a reddish, mustard-colored glaze. Such naturalistically rendered and asymmetrically arranged plant sprays in relief conformed to the decorative taste of the Aesthetic Movement in the late 1870s and 1880s (see also ; ).This vase is from the Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection of American art pottery donated to the Metropolitan Museum in 2017 and 2018. The works in the collection date from the mid-1870s through the 1950s. Together they comprise one of the most comprehensive and important assemblages of this material Vase. American. ca. 1877-85. Earthenware. Made in Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States
Size: 2999px × 4000px
Photo credit: © MET/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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