Conover Tulum

Artist Claude Conover was a master ceramicist, known for rustic pieces that appear roughly finished yet were created with meticulous care. Though he was not averse to using color and glaze, Conover is most noted for his monochromatic ceramics and pottery. These pieces have a simple, rugged appeal, setting them apart from many of his mid-century modern contemporaries. He often etched lines onto the surfaces of his vessels, planters and other decorative objects, giving them an old-world appearance. 

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Conover attended the Cleveland Institute of Art. From there, he worked for 30 years as a commercial designer. At 55, Conover quit his job and devoted his time to making ceramics, a skill that he taught himself.

Conover put himself on a strict, seven-day weekly schedule in which he focused on specific parts of the ceramic process, from rolling the vase necks to the final furnacing and glazing. Each week, he turned out an average of six unique handmade pieces, creating about 250 works per year. Conover pursued a simplistic style, finding the beauty within the materials themselves without the need for lavish ornamentation or opulent colors. He drew inspiration from nature, always keeping his eyes open to new ideas for form and utility.

Over the course of his career, Conover’s work was shown in scores of museum exhibitions all over the United States. In 1983, he won the Cleveland Arts Prize for Visual Arts. Conover’s ceramic pieces are still widely celebrated by collectors and art enthusiasts. Today, many museums and private collections hold his ceramics and pottery, including the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

On 1stDibs, find Claude Conover serveware, vases and sculptures.

Whether you’re adding an eye-catching mid-century modern glazed stoneware bowl to your dining table or grouping a collection of decorative plates by color for the shelving in your living room, decorating and entertaining with antique and vintage ceramics is a great way to introduce provocative pops of colors and textures to a space or family meals.

Ceramics, which includes pottery such as earthenware and stoneware, has had meaningful functional value in civilizations all over the world for thousands of years. When people began to populate permanent settlements during the Neolithic era, which saw the rapid growth of agriculture and farming, clay-based ceramics were fired in underground kilns and played a greater role as important containers for dry goods, water, art objects and more.

Today, if an Art Deco floor vase, adorned in bright polychrome glazed colors with flowers and geometric patterns, isn’t your speed, maybe minimalist ceramics can help you design a room that’s both timeless and of the moment. Mixing and matching can invite conversation and bring spirited contrasts to your outdoor dining area. The natural-world details enameled on an Art Nouveau vase might pair well with the sleek simplicity of a modern serving bowl, for example.

In your kitchen, your cabinets are likely filled with ceramic dinner plates. You’re probably serving daily meals on stoneware dishes or durable sets of porcelain or bone china, while decorative ceramic dishes may be on display in your dining room. Perhaps you’ve anchored a group of smaller pottery pieces on your mantelpiece with some taller vases and vessels, or a console table in your living room is home to an earthenware bowl with a decorative seasonal collection of leaves, greenery and acorns.

Regardless of your tastes, however, it’s possible that ceramics are already in use all over your home and outdoor space. If not, why? Whatever your needs may be, find a wide range of antique and vintage ceramics on 1stDibs.