Pilgrim Vase 1877 - 1889

Editor: Here we have the "Pilgrim Vase" from the late 1870s or 1880s, created by the Jersey City Pottery, and rendered in ceramic. There’s a winter landscape on its surface that almost disappears into the pale background, very quiet and still. What do you see in it? Curator: Quiet is a perfect word for it! It evokes that hushed feeling after a snowfall, doesn't it? For me, it whispers of long walks in the woods, the kind where your breath makes little clouds in the cold air, and the only sound is the crunch of your boots on the snow. You know, the artist created this whole little world on the surface, from the placement of the deer, to the delicate rendering of the barren trees against the landscape; do you see the implied pathway created by the break in the trees? Editor: Yes, I do! And the deer are placed asymmetrically to one side; without them, there would be a balanced clearing on the left and a group of trunks on the right! Why use ceramics for this kind of very detailed picture? It's more commonly something one finds on canvas. Curator: That’s the lovely surprise of it! Taking something so...earthy, right? And turning it into a canvas for quiet contemplation is like alchemy. Imagine finding beauty not just in grand landscapes, but on something as humble as a vase. It really encourages us to stop, reflect, and see beauty in the everyday. Don’t you think? Editor: Absolutely. It makes you wonder what other unexpected canvases are out there, waiting to be discovered! It's definitely made me see ceramic art in a different light. Curator: Me too. It's like the Jersey City Pottery was inviting us to find a small piece of serenity, a sort of frozen, quiet moment on a shelf, isn’t it? It sparks something magical.