Posted 7 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
This is definitely the most precisely made wheel-thrown piece i've ever seen. it's evenly thick and very heavy for it's size and very strong. it's hard and strong - like a sink or a toilet, but it is wheel-thrown and pieced together. it's unsigned and very unusual. i'd love to know who made it!
I can’t ID it, but the term you’re referring to when you say “hard & strong - like a sink or a toilet” is “vitrified” or “highly vitrified”. That bit of info you provided may help you narrow down the maker, since it eliminates most student, amateur or studio potters. The kilns capable of achieving temps necessary for creating vitrified wares are quite pricey.
I really like the piece. I get kind of a mid-century Japan ikebana-type vibe from it.
Vitrification is not connected with a particular type of kiln, but with the particular type of clay. Every clay has a different vitrification temperature, the temperature at which the chemical reaction occurs that permanently changes the structure of the clay, and makes it impervious to water, thus becoming "vitrified."
Any kiln, or even a bonfire, can vitrify clay, it depends on the clay body itself, and the temperature it has to reach to become vitrified.
Earthenware vitrifies at a lower temperature than stoneware, and porcelain at a higher temperature than stoneware, thus different models and types of kilns are manufactured to reach higher maximum temperatures, in order to fire the particular type of clay the potter uses.
This is a contemporary studio pottery piece, meaning it will most likely be impossible to identify the potter. It appears to be a high-fired stoneware or porcelain. Porcelains generally fire in the cone 9-10 range, and usually require a gas, rather than electric kiln. Other than that, it's just a standard kiln, of the type the majority of studio potters use, so it's not going to help at all in figuring out who made this.
As to price, it's like buying a car, there is a wide range, depending on what you want. But any professional studio potter is probably going to spend $6000-$20,000 on kilns. Less, if they can get a used one. Which would probably eliminate the student or amateur potter, but definitely not the studio potter. It's a necessary expense/investment for professional potters.
I would bet on it being Japanese.
Thanks for taking time to post all the info on clay types and firing temps. Good stuff!
I love this piece. It would make a great censer.
wow! thanks for that info CanyonRd, and for your comments too artfoot, art.pottery and rockbat!
i think that the iron oxide glaze is what makes this particularly intriguing. it takes a lot of experience to bring out the blue tones seen in this piece. between that and the incredibly precise potting, i think i will eventually find out who made this piece.
Always learning something valuable from CanyonRoad. :)