Model voor een zilveren vaas van Begeer 1917 - 1918

Here is a plaster model for a silver vase by Carel Begeer, maybe from the early 20th century. Look at the rough, uneven texture of the plaster, built up layer by layer, a little wonky, not perfectly symmetrical. I can just imagine Carel in his studio, shaping the soft plaster with his hands, feeling the form emerge, a bit like a potter coaxing clay. He's got the vase, the bit where you put the flowers, then this sort of cloud-like swirl where it joins the base, then a chunky round base, all in tones of pale grey, bone, and ash. It feels like it has been excavated. Maybe Carel was looking at ancient Greek pottery. How these objects survive the wear and tear of time, and how traces of the artist’s touch remain visible. The studio is a place of constant conversation. Artists respond to one another, riffing on the same forms, echoing gestures across time. This little vase model speaks of that ongoing creative exchange. It’s not just an object, it’s a record of a way of seeing and feeling.