Nupe Gourd Water Vessel, c. 1900

The Nupe people of Nigeria were touted as some of the finest ceramicists in Africa. Everyday objects, like this water vessel, received detailed attention. The vessel's varied texture...

Inspired by the natural world, Nupe ceramicists fired this water vessel in the shape of a gourd. The vessel's varied surface textures and colors come from its functional design. The ...

Formed by pounding flattened clay around a convex mold, this oblong footed vessel is a water storage jar known as a jidaga, created by women of the Bambara people of Mali. The body o...

Receiving guidance from tribal ancestors was a central aspect of the Luba people's spiritual practices. This ceramic spiritually significant vessel is topped with a crossed leg figure whose head has an opening critical for a divination ritual. Known as an mboko, this handled vessel would have been filled with items like antelope horns, shells, dried beetles, human teeth...

This petite hand-formed vessel bears a richly textured surface of worn red clay slip and dark smoke marks. Likely intended for everyday use, the simple bottle-form vessel reflects th...

This petite hand-formed vessel bears a richly textured surface of worn red clay slip and dark smoke marks. Likely intended for everyday use, the simple bottle-form vessel reflects th...

Excellent vintage hand made Colombian water jug /container. Features a spherical shape.  

A beautiful hand thrown vase/vessel by renowned ceramic artist Stephen Polchert (1920-2008). Polchert attended Cranbrook Academy in the 1950s and was an assistant and friend of Maija Grotell.

A very stylish graduated trio of gourd shaped studio pottery vases decorated in turquoise glazes and probably dating from the latter 20th century. The stoneware vases are finely hand...

A truly wonderful design piece, and one of my favorite pieces, is this hand-built wood fired gourd shaped studio pottery bottle vase of sculptural form dating from the 20th century. ...

Studio organic pottery vessel brush pot vase with incised Geometric pattern. A very nice California studio pottery earthenware vase with beautiful grayish blue and brown earth tones. The vase has a wonderful free form design featuring abstract stroke...

A wonderful example of Otto Heino's famous Chinese Imperial yellow glaze - thought to have been lost for years and rediscovered by Heino. A very rare and highly coveted glaze and textured shape. Sure to brings years of aesthetic pleasure. This piece has a great feel and heft to it. A fantastic work by all accounts. Signed and dated (2002) by Heino on the base. Would make for a fantastic addition to any modern ceramics and pottery collection or an eye-catching Stand-alone work in about any setting.  Otto and his wife Vivika worked in ceramics side by side for many years until her passing. The couple is winners of the following awards: Gold Medal from the sixth Biennale internationale de céramique d'art, in Vallauris, France, (1978). Silver medal from the International Ceramics Exhibitions in Ostend, Belgium, (1959) Their work can be found in the following collections: American Craft Museum, New York City, NY County Art Museum and Craft Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Picasso Museum in Vallauris, France Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles Mingei Museum, San Diego Ventura County...