Vase 1893 - 1911

Editor: Here we have a ceramic earthenware vase, made sometime between 1893 and 1911 by Dedham Pottery. I'm struck by the glaze; it feels almost volcanic, like molten rock has cooled mid-flow. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: It is the viscosity and tonal relationships that immediately command attention. Note the way the variegated greens, blues, and reds interact, not blending homogeneously, but maintaining their discrete identities while participating in a dynamic visual field. The semi-controlled drips are intriguing, do you agree? Editor: Yes, I see that now, especially how the drips create a vertical rhythm. It's not perfectly symmetrical, which gives it a handmade, almost accidental, quality. What do you make of the form itself, beyond the glazing? Curator: Observe the ovoid form and subtly fluted lip. The proportions create a stable, grounded base that ascends to a more delicate and receptive opening. The form is harmonious and classic, a quiet counterbalance to the exuberant glazing technique. It's also not quite classical. Editor: Interesting! So the color is the point of expression rather than the structure itself, it almost reads as more of an aesthetic exercise. Curator: Precisely. The tactile qualities inherent in the ceramic medium underscore this dialogue between form and surface treatment, engaging the haptic as much as the optic senses. What I like about it, is the tension between its formal shape versus the active, energetic nature of the glaze. Editor: I learned to look closely at the vase. I love that Dedham played with the relationship of traditional form versus glazing and that both are in a very lively tension with one another! Curator: And that relationship reveals so much about the semiotics of the glaze. The glaze presents itself almost as a separate form that is integrated into the initial vessel.