Crock 1936

Nicholas Amantea made this earthy watercolour drawing ‘Crock’ sometime in the mid-twentieth century, conjuring a salt-glazed stoneware pot, maybe in the act of remembering it. I can almost see him now, hovering over the paper, teasing out the muted browns and blues, dabbing and blending, trying to get the feel of that cool, heavy ceramic. Look how the colour pools and settles, like sediment in the base of a jar. Was he thinking about the original maker of this crock? Or maybe thinking about his own immigrant past? I wonder if he was drawn to the humble beauty and quiet utility of this object? The blue decoration of the stoneware is so charming. The maker's mark: that stylized tree, the looping flourishes, it's like a secret language. The glaze has a life of its own, crazed and crackled with age, bearing witness to countless stories of the kitchen table. Just like the way we painters keep working, passing on marks and gestures to each other, across time.