Vaas met decor van vier gelijke geometrische ornamenten 1905

This vase, by Willem Brouwer, has this lovely bronze glaze. It feels weighty in your hands, even though it's not that big, only about 14 cm. I imagine Brouwer shaping it, feeling the clay turn beneath his fingers, trying to get those ornaments just right. Those stylized decorations... they're like little faces or figures, aren't they? Four of them, spaced evenly around the body of the vase. They are a green outline against the bronze. It reminds me of the way Henri Matisse would cut out shapes and arrange them on a surface. It is such a beautiful colour combination. It is a timeless object. Brouwer, Matisse, we are all just trying to make something beautiful to put out in the world.