The snow has fallen; now comes the bitter cold! We are projected to endure temperatures in "the negative teens" over the coming weekend (and into the following week). Luckily, I've done a good job of removing the snow while it's still soft and powdery. I do not want it "taking root" for the next six weeks.
Rather than fight the cold (how does one do that?), let's celebrate the chill with a selection of antique ceramics which capture the frosty beauty of the Winter season.
Shown above, an American Arts & Crafts two-handled vase made by Fulper in Flemington, New Jersey (c. 1910). The organic, dripping, crystalline glazing is highly-reminiscent of the French Art Nouveau Pierrefonds pottery. At first glance, I thought it was Pierrefonds. The classical shape—controlled, timeless, academic—is softened by the highly irregular glazing. It's a juxtaposition of controlled form gone wild.
Like so many American pottery makers, Fulper got its start making "utilitarian ware"—canisters, sewer pipes, mixing bowls—in the early Nineteenth Century. Come 1909, the company began producing "artware," specifically, higher quality "studio" ceramics created to accessorize the Arts & Crafts interiors of the period. Such works, with their increased handwork and finishing, were much more costly to produce. But they were produced and sold as "premium" items at a higher price point.
Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome Arts & Crafts vase.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.