John Ward Stoneware Vessel

John Ward (British, b. 1938)

Stoneware Vessel, artist impressed insignia 'JW' 

7 1/4 inches tall x 6 1/2 inches wide x 5 1/2 inches diameter

All work is handbuilt by pinching out a base then adding flattened coils of clay to produce hollow forms. These are sometimes altered, at the leather-hard stage, by cutting and rejoining to create ridges or grooves between curving surfaces. Finally, they are scraped and partly-burnished with a pebble. His work was influenced by the bold, simple forms of ancient pre-glaze pottery from China and Egypt; the early Cypriot pottery with simple abstract linear decoration and early Persian bowls.