Fles, peervormig, versierd met geometrisch ornament in geel, bruin en zwart. c. 1910

This pear-shaped vase was made by the Tegel- en Fayencefabriek Amphora, but we don’t know exactly when. The geometric ornament is painted in yellow, brown and black. It’s kind of great, right? What strikes me first is the surface, so clean and smooth, the colour so simple and understated. And yet, the Amphora factory’s decoration is so precise, so controlled. There’s a real formality about the execution. Look closely at the slender neck, those parallel lines drawn with such assurance. The darker brown bands add definition and weight, anchoring the form. Then you get to the body of the vase, that egg-like curve, and the delicate motifs trailing down from its base. They almost look like stylized feathers. The overall effect is like a beautiful exercise in restraint, a masterclass in balancing elegance with austerity. This controlled formalism makes me think of Bauhaus ceramics, though perhaps with a more decorative sensibility. In the end it reminds us that art thrives on dialogue, that artists are always in conversation with the past, reinterpreting and reimagining traditions in their own way.