Vintage Pierced Studio Stoneware Vase, Cobalt Brushwork, c. 1975–2005
Viridian Eclection
The Piece
A hand-built stoneware cylinder in a warm buff body, its walls raised by hand rather than turned on a wheel, so the form leans and swells and the rim finishes in a soft undulating edge that was pinched rather than trimmed. Two rectangular windows are cut clean through one side, knifed out while the clay was leather hard, their edges left crisp and unsoftened. Opposite them a single spray of cobalt runs nearly the height of the pot, a scrolled plume laid on with a loaded brush in one pass, pooling almost black where the brush first touched and thinning to grey where it lifted away.
The glaze is a thin warm tan that lets the body read through, matte over most of the surface and breaking glossy where it has run and gathered. The base is left unglazed: raw buff clay, gritty, flecked with iron, and incised with a single letter D.
History & Provenance
The decoration belongs to a specific American tradition. Cobalt brushed freehand onto buff salt-glazed stoneware, in plumes and swags and feathered scrolls exactly like this one, is the signature of nineteenth century American utilitarian pottery, and it was revived by studio potters working in the mid-Atlantic, the Shenandoah and the Carolinas from the 1970s onward, sold through craft fairs and the shops of historic sites.
This is one of those studio pieces rather than a period original, and the construction says so plainly. Nineteenth century stoneware was thrown on a wheel and made to hold things; nobody cut windows in a crock. The hand-raised walls, the deliberately irregular rim and the pierced openings are studio gestures, made for looking at rather than for storing salt pork. What the potter has done is take a traditional decorative language and put it on an untraditional form.
The maker is recorded only by the single incised D on the foot. That is not enough to name a hand, and no attribution is offered here. The piece is sold on what it is rather than on a guess about who made it.
Product Details
| Era | c. 1975–2005. The hand-raised walls, pinched rim and pierced windows are studio craft gestures rather than production throwing, which rules out the nineteenth century ware whose decoration it borrows; the cobalt on buff revival idiom spread among American studio potters from the 1970s. The single incised initial cannot be resolved, so the window is offered wide rather than narrowed on a guess |
| Material | Hand-built stoneware, buff body, thin warm tan glaze, cobalt brushwork |
| Form | Cylinder with two rectangular pierced windows and a pinched irregular rim |
| Marks | An incised letter D to the unglazed base, with a small adjacent stroke. No other mark |
| Dimensions | Approximately 7 in. high by 3.5 in. in diameter |
| Condition | Very good. Inspected in hand and sound: no cracks, no chips and no losses to the pierced edges. Faint lines in the surface are forming and glaze marks from the making rather than damage. Rim intact throughout, glaze and cobalt strong. Light soiling in the recesses consistent with age. |
Why It Belongs in Your Home
The windows are the reason to own it. Stand a tealight inside and the cut openings throw two clean rectangles of light onto whatever is behind, which is a far better trick than a pot this size has any right to. Dry stems suit it, grasses and seed heads and anything with a bit of height to answer the cobalt plume. Or leave it empty on a shelf of brown and white pottery and let the one stroke of blue do the work. It is a small object that has had real hands on it, and that shows from across a room.
Every piece is packed with professional-grade materials: multiple foam layers, double-boxing, directional and fragile handling labels. For large furniture we use custom timber crating. We photograph packing before dispatch and can provide images on request.
White-glove delivery is complimentary within 100 miles of Reno, NV. National shipping quotes provided at checkout. All shipments are photographed and documented. Damage claims must be filed with the carrier; we provide all documentation needed to support your claim.
Local pickup is available at Viridian HQ (Reno, NV) with 2–4 days notice. Contact us to arrange. Private viewings also available.
All antique and vintage items are sold as described and all sales are final. Each listing includes detailed condition notes and photographs so you can make a fully informed decision. We encourage buyers to ask questions — about condition, dimensions, finish, provenance — before purchasing.
Antiques are irreplaceable and one-of-a-kind. Carrier handling is outside our control once a piece has left our facility, and major carriers including FedEx do not insure antiques. We do everything within our power to ensure safe transit, but cannot accept liability for carrier damage. If damage occurs in transit, we will provide full documentation to support your carrier claim.
Have a question? — we're happy to provide additional photos, condition detail, or discuss the piece directly.
