Very Large Brutalist Middle Eastern Ceramic Planter 1970s

About the Item

This wonderful footed earthenware planter can be used as a vase or bowl. It presents as an impressive object in it's own right, or can be used as a plant pot holder. Based on ancient Middle Eastern hand-building and mineral glazing techniques, it has wonderful Organic Modern styling potential, but will also interest those who like ancient pottery and/or the Brutalist aesthetic of the 1970s. It was purchased in the late 1960s or early 1970s from Israel by a dedicated collector of ceramics for use as an Ikebana vessel, and shipped to Australia. It's been in a single family collection ever since. It is signed to the base in Hebrew script, 'Yocheved Marx'. Reference with kind assistance from the Israeli Museum Information Centre, Jerusalem: Yocheved Marx as born on Kibbutz Emek HaYarden. She studied pottery with Hedwig Grossman, and even served as her assistant in Jerusalem. While she was studying pottery with Hanna Harag Zunz, she met Yehudit Meir. In 1958 the two of them moved to Beersheba, where they founded the ceramic studio that was called at first “Kadan” and later “Yocheved and Yehudit.” The coloring of her works is subdued and close to the colors of the desert. The ceramic studio made use of local materials from the Negev (loess soil and clay-Timna), heating them to very high temperatures of 1200-1300 degrees, which was unusual for that period of time. Education: 1954-55 Ceramics with Hedwig Grossman, Jerusalem Ceramics with Hannah Harag Zunz, Haifa This planter has impressive scale, a lovely honesty of form, deep textural hand built markings and neutral, organic mineral glaze and colouring. This vessel can set off a Brutalist interior, sit comfortably in a Mid-Century Modern interior or will fit beautifully in a minimalist interior where Organic Modern textures are needed. Super-versatile and brings its own magical, monumental, living presence. Just wonderful. In both the West and the Middle East in the 1970s, ceramic artists closely studied archeology and ethnography. They were interested in returning to the ancient roots of pottery via the essentials - hand building, understanding clays and earthenware, basic firing techniques and ancient natural glazes. This is particularly true for Israeli potters, many of them women, who were exploring ancient Middle Eastern techniques and traditions, styles and forms. This vase originates from that time and place - an attempt to bring back ancient traditions but with a modern eye.

Dimensions:

Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)Diameter: 22.84 in (58 cm)

Style:

Brutalist (In the Style Of)

Materials and Techniques:

Earthenware

Place of Origin:

Israel

Period:

1970-1979

Date of Manufacture:

1975

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. MORE INFORMATION HERE. A 1.5cm wide, shallow chip to the upper edge of the lip. This can be coloured to match the glaze if you wish. It will be hard to spot on this complex surface once coloured.

Seller Location:

Melbourne, AU

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU2656326951272

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