Skip to main content

Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

American, 1921-2011

After studying under Peter Voulkos at the Los Angeles County Art Institute, Denver native Paul Soldner (1921–2011) became a pottery professor there in the 1960s, when the revolutionary California Clay Movement took root.

Soldner pioneered American-style raku firing methods, experimental updates of the centuries-old Japanese process, which involve pulling red-hot sculptures out of the kiln to be bathed in smoke or dipped in cold water, resulting in beautifully frazzled glazes.

“These new firing and post-firing reduction methods often led to spontaneous, unpredictable and quite wonderful results,” says Greg Nielson, of Dwell Floor Five, in Studio City, California.

Soldner’s raku vases, for instance, with their charred surfaces, seem to smile humbly through the scars of their past adversity. 

Alongside the likes of Toshiko Takaezu, Soldner innovated chunky, funky ceramics in the mid-century and beyond. He is one Voulkos student at whom enthusiasts should take a serious look, advises dealer Jayson Lawfer.

The owner of The Nevica Project, a gallery with venues in Chicago and Kansas City, Lawfer explains that Soldner “was a master of raku and was credited with bringing the historic Asian technique to the U.S.” He adds that “Soldner used simple techniques of throwing pottery on the wheel, but to make his sculptural forms more interesting, he also pressed burlap into the clay and stepped on it to give it different textures."

Find Paul Soldner pottery for sale on 1stDibs. 

to
1
5
5
2
3
1
2
1
5
1
1
1
5
4
4
Height
to
Width
to
5
5
5
7
1,150
554
411
385
Creator: Paul Soldner
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece Vessel
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece Vessel 1983 marked underside 83-28-6283 Sodner attended the Los Angeles County Art Institute, and became Peter Voulkos's first student i...
Category

1980s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Paul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece, Exhibited and published in Paul Soldner "A Retrospective" 1991 Page 97, Pedestal Piece (84-49) 1984, c...
Category

1980s American American Craftsman Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

American Raku Pottery Vessel by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Atlanta, GA
A modern pottery vessel by American potter Paul Soldner (1921-2011) circa 1960s. Paul Soldner is renowned for his dedication to develop and further Raku firing in American pottery fi...
Category

Late 20th Century American Organic Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Pottery

Paul Soldner Stoneware California Studio Pottery Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A spouted stoneware bottleneck vase with tenmoku glaze created by Paul Soldner of Claremont, California, circa 1960. Vase stands 9 1/8" in height and is signed Soldner on the bottom....
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Stoneware

Paul Soldner Abstract Expressionist Studio Ceramic Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Paul Soldner (1921-2010) abstract expressionist pottery vase. Glaze in black and brown, partly unglazed. Excellent design, mint condition. Signed Soldner on the bottom. Measures: 10" H x 8 3/4" W. Paul Soldner (1921-2011) was an American ceramic artist, noted for his experimentation with the 16th...
Category

Mid-20th Century Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Clay

Related Items
Raku-fired Wabi Sabi Miniature Moon Vase
By MONDAYS
Located in Brooklyn, NY
One-of-a-kind raku-fired vase. Clear crackle glaze over stoneware on an imperfectly round form. Part of a series, each is one of a kind. Made in our Brooklyn studio then fired in a...
Category

2010s Organic Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Dokutsu Raku Fired Pottery Vase, Obvara, Handmade Ceramic Home Decor
By RAAQUU
Located in Petaling Jaya, MY
Dokutsu ( 洞窟 ) ~ (n) cavern The Dokutsu Vase displays a modern style with its hollowed center. It would go very well with our Umi Vase or perfectly fine on its own as well. Our Dok...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Malaysian Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Copper

1970 Brutalist Studio Pottery Floor Vase by Inge
Located in Garnerville, NY
Handmade slab built monumental Brutalist pottery vase. Meticulously decorated and glazed with organic and geometric patterns and shapes. Applied neck. Signed and dated, Inge, 70 a th...
Category

1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Stoneware

Studio Ceramic Stoneware Vase
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A distinctive studio ceramic vase has a tall narrow shape, brown, with an outer glossy glaze and speckled white detailing. The cylindrical form contains an unglazed area at the neck ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic, Stoneware, Pottery, Clay

Large Signed Native American Style Raku Pottery Vase
Located in Lake Worth, FL
Large signed Native American style 2 tone crackle glaze hand thrown Raku pottery vase Approximate measurements in inches 14" high x 13" wide ...
Category

1970s Unknown Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic, Pottery

MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase
Located in San Diego, CA
A very nice MCM California studio pottery stoneware vase with brown earth tones, circa 1970s. The vessel is in very good vintage condition with no chips...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Pottery

Large Haeger Modern Ceramic Drip Glaze Vase Vessel Raku Collection
By Haeger
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Large and impressive Japanese influenced vase by Haeger. This vessel is from the 1980s and has a bulbous form with a slightly irregular opening and is finished in a charcoal black matte and metallic bronze colored drip glaze. Retains the original label on the bottom - Haeger, American Made, 4416. About Haeger Potteries, from Collectors Weekly: Founded in 1871 as the Dundee Brickyard, Haeger Potteries was one of the leading American manufacturers of art pottery, jardinieres, and figurines. Beyond bricks, its first products appeared around the turn of the century in the form of red flower pots for florists. By 1912, Haeger Potteries was offering customers multiple lines of what it called "artware," some influenced by an Arts and Crafts aesthetic (its buttress-handle vases come to mind), others hearkening back to forms developed by the ancient Greeks and given evocative names like Adam and Eve. One of the biggest changes in the company's fortunes occurred in 1938, when a designer named Royal Hickman was hired by Haeger. Hickman focused on Haeger's artware, a line that was quickly named Royal Haeger, presumably to capitalize on Hickman's reputation but also to imitate the names of potteries in England such as Royal Albert and Royal Doulton. The figurines produced by Royal Haeger, the most famous of which was Hickman's black panther from 1941, were a smash with customers, as was the company's white gazelle, whose style appeared to straddle Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern. Subsequent designers such as Eric Olsen added to the Royal Haeger legacy—his muscular red bull was introduced in 1955. Throughout its history, Haeger also made lamps, from models designed for tables and desks during the Art Deco era to its popular TV lamps of the 1950s. In fact, the Mid-Century Modern tendency runs strong in Haeger; collectors of vintage Haeger know that ceramists such Sascha Brastoff got their start working for the firm. Some of these same collectors look for vintage Haeger ashtrays...
Category

1980s American Post-Modern Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Vintage Japanese Studio Ceramic Vase
Located in Oakland, CA
Absolutely stunning Japanese ceramic studio glazed vase with original box. Dreamy purple lavender glaze with hints of greens. Expertly crafted, unknown artist. Fully signed on box an...
Category

1980s Japanese Post-Modern Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Clay

Postmodern Studio Ceramic Vase Signed
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Postmodern ceramic vase in a pastel palette with black interior, circa 1980s. Intriguing form / shape with geometric and linear decoration. Signed "R" to the underside.
Category

1980s American Post-Modern Vintage Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Postmodern Studio Ceramic Vase Signed
Postmodern Studio Ceramic Vase Signed
H 7.25 in W 6.75 in D 3.25 in
Raku-fired Wabi Sabi Miniature Moon Vase
By MONDAYS
Located in Brooklyn, NY
One-of-a-kind Raku-fired vase. Imperfectly round. Made in our Brooklyn studio then fired in a New Jersey back yard, All dimensions are approximate as each piece is handmade. Slig...
Category

2010s Organic Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

American Midcentury Studio Pottery Vase, Signed
Located in Miami, FL
Beautiful glazed decorated, stylized and graphic design vase revealing a contrasting matte blue green underglaze. Unique handcrafted piece. Signed.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Ceramic

Vase in Stoneware, Stig Lindberg, Gustavsbergs Studio
By Stig Lindberg, Gustavsberg
Located in Stockholm, SE
A vase designed by Stig Lindberg at Gustavsbergs Studio in Stockholm, it is 11 cm (4,4") in diameter and 9,5 cm (3,8") high. It has a black/purple color and It has a smaller mark in ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Antique Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Stoneware

Previously Available Items
Paul Soldner Signed Large Raku Fired Mid-Century Modern Vessel Sculpture Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
A rather unique and special piece by renowned American potter Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and later became famed for developing the technique now known as "American Raku", a practice of using low temperature salt firing...
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Soldner Vases and Vessels

Materials

Earthenware

Paul Soldner vases and vessels for sale on 1stDibs.

Paul Soldner vases and vessels are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of ceramic and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Paul Soldner vases and vessels, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original vases and vessels by Paul Soldner were created in the mid-century modern style in united states during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider vases and vessels by Warren MacKenzie, Rose Cabat, and Edwin and Mary Scheier. Prices for Paul Soldner vases and vessels can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,900 and can go as high as $3,800, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,950.

Recently Viewed

View All