Vase with poppy seed pods 1903

Artus Van Briggle made this vase, with poppy seed pods, a little over six inches high, out of glazed earthenware. The method of forming the clay, pinching, pulling, or throwing it on a wheel, is intrinsic to the process of ceramics. The mossy green glaze on the vase is thick, almost curdled in places, and this gives the vase a tactile, organic quality. It’s as though the object itself is growing and decaying, like a living thing. The spiral pattern is created by subtle, swirling ridges in the clay, and the glaze pools and thickens in these areas, creating a darker, richer green. I wonder if that top part that looks like pods, were made separately and added, because the colour looks slightly different. This vase reminds me a little of the work of George Ohr, another turn-of-the-century potter. Both artists were interested in pushing the boundaries of their medium and creating works that were both beautiful and strange.