Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MID-CENTURY MODERN STYLE
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
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Item Ships From: USA
Style: Mid-Century Modern
Beatrice Wood Signed Midcentury California Studio Pottery Luster Glaze Vase
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful gem of a piece by famed American/California ceramicist Beatrice Wood featuring her highly coveted, gorgeously radiant turquoise luster glaze. A beautiful design with a delicate long neck rising from a circular base. Classic and timeless.
Signed by Beatrice in her customary "Beato" on the underside of the base (with noted inventory number).
Would be an amazing addition to any Mid-Century Modern pottery collection or personal collectors of her work or a fabulous stand-alone accent piece in about any setting. One of the best Beatrice Wood's luster glaze vases we have come across in quite a while.
Know famously in the art world as "The Mama of Dada", Wood lived a long (1893-1998) and very fruitful, creative life and is considered by many experts and collectors alike to have been a centerpiece in the modern ceramic art movement of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. At one point in her career, Wood studied with master potters Otto and Gertrud Natzler and later become famed in her own right for her distinct luster-glazing techniques. In 1994, the Smithsonian Institution named Wood an "Esteemed American Artist".
Her other awards include:
1994 Governor’s Awards for the Arts (California)
1993 Recognition as A Role Model by Women in Film
1992 Gold Medal for Highest Achievement in Craftsmanship, American Craft Council
1988 Distinguished Service Award, Arizona State University
1987 Fellow of American Craft Council Women’s Art Caucus, National Award (NCECA Award)
1986 Women’s Building Award
1984 Living Treasure of California
1983 Symposium Award of the Institute for Ceramic History
1961 Goodwill Ambassador from USA...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging relatively large sumptuously glazed bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The high-fired porcelain bowl features a v...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain, Pottery
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a vast array of shifting...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware, Pottery
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a vast array of shifting, vibrant, and colo...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware, Pottery
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired porcelain bowl features a vast array o...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain, Pottery
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed closed-form sculpture with rattle by renowned Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu, famed for her use of color,...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain, Pottery
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging wonderfully glazed closed-form sculpture with rattle by renowned Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu, famed for her use of color,...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain, Pottery
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed closed-form sculpture with rattle by renowned Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu, famed for her use of color,...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain, Pottery
Mid Century Maroon Outsider Ceramic Studio Pottery Tray - Signed
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
An unusual ceramic studio pottery piece that will be fabulous on a coffee table or side table. The piece is created and painted by hand by presumably an outsider artist. It is in an ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic, Paint
Stan Bitters Signed Large Mid-Century Modern California Pottery Planter Vase
By Stan Bitters
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, sumptuously glazed planter/vase by American California studio pottery master potter/ceramists Stan Bitters whose work was instrumental in shaping the organic modernist m...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
Beatrice Wood Signed Mid-Century California Pottery Dark Lava Crater Glaze Vase
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully designed work by famed American California Studio master ceramist Beatrice Wood featuring a gorgeous, dark, iridescent metallic volcanic lava crater muted glaze. A cla...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Beatrice Wood Signed Rare Mid-Century Luster Lava Glazed Minature Small Vase
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, absolute gem of a piece by famed American California studio ceramist Beatrice Wood featuring her highly desired gorgeous iridescent luster volcanic (crater) lava glaze. ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Susana Espinosa Pottery Bird Plate
By Susana Espinosa
Located in Vallejo, CA
Pottery wall plate created by acclaimed Puerto Rican mid century modernist ceramicist, Susana Espinosa. Stylized bird design in the center created through carving and different colored glazes. Terra cotta with a yellow rim. Signed in the bottom right corner and dated 1974. A rare piece depicting an animal rather than her more commonly found designs of faces. Intended to used as a wall hanging with a wire on the back. Marked "PR" on the back indicating this was made in Puerto Rico. Please read her biography copied below.
Artist's Biography:
"Ceramist and draftswoman. She earned a bachelor’s degree in arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires in 1953 and worked in a ceramics factory until she opened her own workshop in 1958. She lived in Trinidad from 1961 to 1968, and then settled in Puerto Rico where she worked with Hal Lasky...
Category
Mid-20th Century Puerto Rican Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
Mid-Century Ceramic Madonna and Child
Located in Chicago, IL
This ceramic representation of the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus is a beautiful example of mid-century modern European studio pottery. Handcrafted by a skilled artisan, this piece embo...
Category
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Mid-Century Modern Stylized Figurative Cross
Located in Chicago, IL
This ceramic cross, handcrafted by studio pottery artists in mid-century Europe, presents a stylized figurative scene within its bounds, evoking the rich tradition of religious art r...
Category
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Hand Painted Mexican Folk Art Hanging Wind Chime
Located in Costa Mesa, CA
Hand Painted Mexican Folk Art Hanging Wind Chime ,
Category
1970s Mexican Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Terracotta, String, Wood
Vintage Belgian Alms Box for Missionary’s in the Congo
Located in New Orleans, LA
This is an unusual, vintage 1950s Mission alms/money-box, which where placed in the shops in Belgium to raise money for the missionaries in the Belgian Congo.
If one threw a coin int...
Category
1950s Belgian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Plaster
Mid-Century Modern Ceramic Cross with Abstract Motif
Located in Chicago, IL
This captivating mid-century modern ceramic cross is a fine example of the era's innovative approach to traditional religious symbolism. Crafted by European studio artists, the cross...
Category
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Mid Century Thin Glossy Red Ceramic Wall Cross with Embossed Circles Pattern
Located in Chicago, IL
This modernist European Studio Pottery ceramic wall cross is characterized by its slender form and glossy red finish, adorned with an embossed circles pattern that spans the entire c...
Category
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Dora De Larios Signed Mexican American California Studio Pottery Art Plate
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully designed and gorgeously earth-toned glazed plate by famed Mexican-American California studio art potter Dora De Larios.
De Larios was born in Los Angeles to Mexican i...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
Dora De Larios Signed Mexican American California Studio Pottery Sculpture Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully designed and gorgeously executed sculpture/footed bowl by famed Mexican-American California studio art potter Dora De Larios featuring and Pacific West Coast oceanic de...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware
Doyle Lane California Studio Pottery Mid-Century Modern Ceramic Three Bead Set
By Doyle Lane
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully designed, gorgeously glazed, original ceramic three three-bead set (one burnt red, one ocean blue, one white crackle glaze) by famed mid-century American artist and potter Doyle Lane...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
Abstract Tortured Clay Studio Art Pottery Vase
Located in Las Vegas, NV
Incredible mid 20th century tortured clay art pottery vase in the style of Peter Voulkos / Otis School era. Creamy white and black glaze over twisted square tubing.
Stands 22in tall...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Terracotta
Vintage Signed Studio Pottery Vase from Mid-Century, Artist Stamped
Located in Norton, MA
The black and orange squared bottle-shaped vase stands 11.25". Incised details. The artist's stamp is on the bottom.
Category
1960s Unknown Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware, Pottery
Toshiko Takaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Glazed Pottery Chawan Yunomi Tea Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
An absolutely gorgeous and wonderful chawan tea bowl / yunomi cup by famed Japanese American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The work features a rich, matte black tenmoku glaze with ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
Stan Bitters Signed Large Mid-Century Modern California Pottery Sculpture Bowl
By Stan Bitters
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, unique, beautifully and sumptuously glazed sculptural bowl by American California studio pottery master potter/ceramists Stan Bitters whose work was instrumental in shap...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware, Pottery
Polia Pillin Signed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Yunomi Tea Cup
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, whimsical diminutive Yunomi tea cup by famed Polish-American master potter/artist Polia Pillin featuring a deep, rich cobalt blue glaze with streaks of green swirling ar...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Beatrice Wood Signed Midcentury California Studio Pottery Cat Charger Plate
Located in Studio City, CA
A relatively rare and wonderfully hand-painted charger featuring a mischievous cat by famed American/ California ceramist Beatrice Wood. The portrait of the feline features Wood's un...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Barbara Willis Signed Large Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully designed and gorgeously glazed large stoneware Mid-century Modern low bowl by California studio pottery artist Barbara Willis (1917-2011). The elongated curved contour...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery, Stoneware
Blue Ceramic Cross with Abstract Line-Drawn Christ
Located in Chicago, IL
A blue ceramic cross with an abstract line-drawn Christ swathed in a rust-colored fabric. This cross seamlessly merges the profound symbolism of religious iconography with an experim...
Category
1950s European Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Beatrice Wood Signed Iridescent Luster Glaze California Studio Pottery Face Vase
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful gem of a piece by famed American/California ceramicist Beatrice Wood featuring her highly coveted iridescent luster glaze and highly desi...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
California Design Stoneware Weed Pot / Vase by Wayne Chapman
Located in San Diego, CA
An absolutely stunning California design stoneware weed pot / vase by noted San Diego, CA potter Wayne Chapman, circa 1970. The pot is in very good vintage condition and measures 4.5...
Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware, Pottery
Hand-Painted Terra Cotta Vintage Danish Pottery Decorative Plate
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Romanian Ceramika hand-painted terra cotta pottery decorative plate.
Highly detailed marbleized pattern in shades of green, rust, yellow, ivory and dark brown.
Vintage Handmade ceramica de Horezu pottery...
Category
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
William Wyman Signed Massachusetts Midcentury Herring Run Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful work by East Coast/ Massachusetts master potter William Wymann. This piece features a fantastic texture and rich, sumptuous, deep ocean-like blue crackle glaze that chang...
Category
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware
Polia Pillin Signed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Yunomi Tea Cup
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, whimsical diminutive Yunomi tea cup by famed Polish-American master potter/artist Polia Pillin featuring a deep, rich cobalt blue glaze with streaks of green swirling ar...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Modernist Vintage Ceramic Vase, Italy 1960's.
By Bitossi
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Modernist Vintage ceramic vase, Italy 1960's.
Beautiful Bitossi style etched vase.
Handcrafted Modernist Minimalist vintage Mid Century Modern studio pottery ceramic Vase in brown ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Marcello Fantoni Signed Midcentury Italian Raymor Glazed Ceramic Table Lamp
Located in Studio City, CA
Beautifully designed and textured yellow green glazed studio ceramic lamp by Italian ceramics master or designer Marcello Fantoni for Raymor. Very rare and hard to find style and color. Would be stunning in any setting.
Signed on the base.
Comes with shade as shown.
Fantoni's ceramic works are held in many private collections and museums throughout the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Dora De Larios Signed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Large Vase
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous, rare, and unique large stoneware vase by famed Mexican American California studio art potter Dora De Larios.
De Larios was born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrant parents. She grew up in the artistic Silver Lake district near downtown Los Angeles amongst Mexican and Nisei Japanese immigrants. As a result, De Larios was heavily influenced by ancient American...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware
Laura Andreson Signed Glazed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully crafted and beautifully glazed bowl by renowned American California master potter Laura Andreson. An uncommon form for Andreson with a high gloss glaze featuring a dark ocean deep blue / aqua color with delicate splashes of greens. Gorgeous in its Mid-Century Modern design.
Signed on the base by Andreson (and stamped).
A special and scarce work. Would be a great addition to any midcentury ceramics/ pottery collection or a very eye-catching stand-alone accent work in about any setting. This piece has a fantastic feel and heft to it.
Andreson, who studied under Glen Lukens, founded and headed the ceramics department at UCLA from 1933 to 1970. Her work can be found in many collections and museums worldwide including:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Smithsonian Museum of American Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Walker Art Center
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.
Her exhibitions include:
1937 Rene Rosenthal Gallery, New York City, New York
1938 First California Ceramic Exhibition, San Diego, California
1940 Honolulu Academy of Art
1947 Eleventh National Ceramics Exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art
1970 Fredric Art Gallery, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
1970 Laguna Beach Art Gallery
1971 Mills College Art Gallery, Oakland, California
1971 Hoover Art Gallery, San Francisco, California
1971 San Diego Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, California
1971 Utah State University, Logan, Utah
1972 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, California
1972 Ceramics West, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
1972 Ogden Art Center, Ogden, Utah
1972 Bower Museum, Santa Ana, California
1973 Utah Museum of Fine Art, Salt Lake City, Utah
1973 Clay and Fiber Gallery, Taos, New Mexico
1973 California Crafts VIII, Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, California
1974 California Ceramics...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Beatrice Wood Signed Pink Lava Glaze Midcentury California Studio Pottery Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
Famed California Mid-Century Modern artist Beatrice Wood signed bowl featuring a unique pink lava glaze and piercing blue crackle glass in the cente...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Stan Bitters Signed Large Mid-Century Modern Ceramic Pottery Haniwa Sculpture
By Stan Bitters
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, unique, beautifully glazed, quite rare, and special double-faced "Haniwa" pottery sculpture by American California studio pottery master ceramists Stan Bitters whose work was instrumental in shaping the organic modernist movement in the 1960s.
Bitters received his Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1958.
He also studied under Peter Voulkos at Otis College. After graduating, he worked for Hans Sumpf as the company's resident artist. During this time he created architectural murals, tiles, birdhouses, planters, and sculptural objects – designs that would earn him recognition later on as a pioneer of the organic modernist craft movement - many still some of the most iconic designs today.
Stan Bitters' work was featured as a part of the prestigious California Design series of exhibitions and annuals that chronicled art and design in California from 1954-1976. His works were also featured as part of a group show entitled Golden State of Craft 1960-1985 at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA. This show was part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, an unprecedented collaboration of more than 60 museums and other cultural institutions in Southern California, celebrating the birth of the Los Angeles art scene. Bitters' work was also exhibited at Heath Ceramics' Boiler Room...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Clay, Pottery
Janet Leach Signed British Studio Pottery Japanese Chawan Tea Bowl with Box 1971
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully designed and glazed Japanese Mingei style Chawan tea ceremony bowl with ears by esteemed American born/ British potter Janet Leach, wife of f...
Category
1970s British Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery, Stoneware
Round Ceramic Brown Unusual Studio Pottery Vase, Signed
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
Glazed in an almost metallic-looking paint, this petite round vase will be fabulous on a nightstand, bookshelf, or side table. Studio Pottery is a...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic, Paint
Rupert Deese Signed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Pedestal Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeously crafted, beautifully yellow glazed, Mid-Century Modern pedestal bowl by California master ceramist Rupert Deese who worked closely with pottery legend Harrison Mcintosh.
Signed with Deese's cipher/ stamp on the base as well as the original label.
Would be a great addition to any collectors of Deese's work or Mid-Century Modern ceramics/pottery collection or a very eye-catching stand-alone accent piece in about any setting.
Deese's work can be found in numerous collections and museums including:
Museum of fine Arts, Boston, Boston
Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Maloof Foundation, Alta Loma, California
Millard Sheets Collection, Gualala, California
Mingei International Museum, San Diego
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, Utah
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Richard & Alice Petterson Museum, Claremont, California
Roger Corsaw...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Paul Soldner Large Raku Fired Mid-Century Modern Vessel Wall Relief Sculpture
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
An amazing and unique piece by renowned American pottery and ceramic master Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and who later became famed for developing the technique now known as "American Raku...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Rupert Deese Signed Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Ceramic Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeously crafted, beautifully glazed, Mid-Century Modern curved bowl by California master ceramist Rupert Deese who worked closely with pottery legend Harrison Mcintosh.
Signed with Deese's cipher/ stamp on the base.
Would be a great addition to any Mid-Century Modern ceramics and pottery collection or a very eye-catching stand-alone accent piece in about any setting.
Deese's work can be found in numerous collections and museums including:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston
Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Maloof Foundation, Alta Loma, California
Millard Sheets Collection, Gualala, California
Mingei International Museum, San Diego
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, Utah
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Richard & Alice Petterson Museum, Claremont, California
Roger Corsaw...
Category
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Paul Ami Bonifas Signed Large Early Midcentury Swiss Studio Pottery Art Bowl
By Paul Bonifas
Located in Studio City, CA
A truly gorgeous and wonderfully crafted large art bowl by Swiss American sculptor/artist/ceramicist Paul Ami Bonifas (1893-1967). The glaze on this par...
Category
1930s Swiss Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware
Clyde Burt Signed Large Mid-Century Modern Studio Pottery Ceramic Art Bowl
By Clyde Burt
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful and quite impressive large, heavy, hand-decorated bowl by Ohio-born Midwest American master potter/ artist Cyde Burt who early in his career studied under Maija Grotell...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery, Stoneware
Otto & Gertrud Natzler Signed Soft Pearl Green Blue Glazed Midcentury Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
Another sublime work by famed pottery masters Otto and Gertrud Natzler. This round-shaped, eggshell thin-walled bowl was hand thrown and formed by Gertrud and glazed by Otto with a beautiful pearl green/blue glaze. The bowl radiates in the light.
This work is sure to give aesthetic pleasure for years to come and would be an amazing addition to any Natzler or modern ceramic collection...
Category
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Mosaic Art "Winter Sun" Signed by Joyce Dittermore
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mosaic Wall artwork Sculpture Inlaid of colorful squniteuare rocks, colors like blue, gradients of pinks and purples, and blues. There is a sun figure in the middle of the frame with a sad face...
Category
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Beatrice Wood Signed Monumental Midcentury Queen Elizabeth Pottery Charger
Located in Studio City, CA
An extremely rare and wonderfully hand-painted monumentally large charger featuring a portrait of Queen Elizabeth - a quite unique and bold work by famed American/ California studio ...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware
Eugene Deutch Signed Mid-Century Modern Studio Pottery Ceramic Vase, 1950
Located in Studio City, CA
Wonderful work my well-known Hungarian-born, Midwest potter Eugene Deutch.
This magnificently glazed vase/ vessel features a dark, rich glaze that drips freely down the inside of the work.
Signed and dated (1950) on the underside.
Would make for a great addition to any midcentury pottery collection or eye-catching Stand-alone work in about any setting.
Deutch's work is held in many private collections and museums and he was exhibited in solo shows at the Dallas Museum of Art...
Category
1950s North American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Glen Lukens Signed Early Midcentury Glazed California Pottery Weed Pot Vase
By Glen Lukens
Located in Studio City, CA
A very rare early work featuring a dark chocolate brown glaze by master Mid-Century Modern ceramist/potter Glen Lukens whose work has become quite collectible and relatively scarce and difficult to find.
The work is signed and dated (1924) by Lukens on the underside (we have only seen one other piece dated this early and that piece is in the Forrest Merrill Collection).
Lukens was the founder of the University of Southern California (USC) Architectural School’s Ceramics Department where he helped establish and promote clay pottery as a universally acceptable art form. The current popularity of Studio Pottery and ceramics is widely accepted to have started with Lukens who is oft credited with being one of the first artists to raise the stature of Mid-Century Modern Studio Pottery within the art world.
Lukens is famed for his experiments with various glazes and glazing techniques. His influence and glazes can be clearly seen in the works of Otto and Gertrud Natzler, Beatrice Wood, James Lovera, etc. He was also known for combining bright, colorful textile glazes (using natural, organic materials and elements he found in the Mojave Desert, Palm Springs, and Death Valley to make what he referred to as "California Colors") with the rough and raw clay surfaces of his often rudimentary forms and vessels.
Lukens currently has an award in his name (Glen Lukens Award) at the University of Southern California's School of fine Arts.
A very rare, unique, and truly special work This piece would be a tremendous stand-out addition to any collectors of Lukens' work or Mid-Century Modern ceramics collection or eye-catching accent piece in about any setting, modern or otherwise. A must-have.
Lukens work can be found in various museum collections including:
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
Huntington Library...
Category
1920s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Earthenware, Pottery
Laura Andreson Signed Monumental Glazed Mid-Century Modern Ceramic Pottery Bowl
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully crafted and beautifully glazed (in Fall greens and browns) large bowl by renowned American potter Laura Andreson. Gorgeous in its Mid-Century Modern design and shifting colors.
Signed on the base by Andreson.
A quite special and rare work. Certainly, one of the best pieces of Andreson's work we have had the pleasure to come across. Highly collectible. Would be a great addition to any midcentury ceramics collection or a very eye-catching stand-alone work in about any setting.
Andreson, who studied under Glen Lukens, founded and headed the ceramics department at UCLA from 1933-1970. Her work can be found in many collections and museums worldwide including:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Smithsonian Museum of American Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Walker Art Center
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.
Her exhibitions include:
1937 Rene Rosenthal Gallery, New York City, New York.
1938 First California Ceramic Exhibition, San Diego, California
1940 Honolulu Academy of Art.
1947 Eleventh National Ceramics Exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
1970 Fredric Art Gallery, UCLA, Los Angeles, California.
1970 Laguna Beach Art Gallery.
1971 Mills College Art Gallery, Oakland, California.
1971 Hoover Art Gallery, San Francisco, California.
1971 San Diego Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, California.
1971 Utah State University, Logan, Utah.
1972 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, California.
1972 Ceramics West, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.
1972 Ogden Art Center, Ogden, Utah.
1972 Bower Museum, Santa Ana, California.
1973 Utah Museum of Fine Art, Salt Lake City, Utah.
1973 Clay and Fiber Gallery, Taos, New Mexico.
1973 California Crafts VIII, Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, California.
1974 California Ceramics...
Category
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware
Mid Century Modern Ceramic Lion Figurine in Brown
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A ceramic lioness figurine glazed in brown and cream. This mid-century statue will be a fabulous addition to a bookshelf or side table. Created from ce...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic, Paint
Peter Voulkos Signed Mid-Century Modern Stoneware Pottery Vase, circa 1950s
Located in Studio City, CA
A fantastic early work (circa early 1950s) by Master Greek-American potter Peter Voulkos.
Signed on base with incised signature by Voulkos.
Voulkos is widely considered to be the most important and impactful ceramists of the modern era. He won the Rodin Museum prize at the first Paris Biennale in 1959 and was the winner of a Guggenheim fellowship in 1984. Voulkos received the College Art Association’s Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1997. He was made an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 2001. He also received six honorary.
Doctorate degrees as well as three National Endowment for the Arts awards.
His work can be found in many prominent collections and museums including:
Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Nagoya, Japan
Albany Mall, Albany, New York
American Museum of Ceramic Art...
Category
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Stoneware
Mid-Century Modern Green Yellow Lava Glazed Studio Ceramic Pottery Table Lamps
Located in Studio City, CA
A pair of fabulous Mid-Century Modern green and yellow lava-glazed ribbed ceramic table lamps. Quite fantastic, beautifully colored, and designed. Caught o...
Category
1970s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Metal
Robert Maxwell Signed Large Mid-Century Modern California Studio Pottery Charger
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderfully made and beautifully designed Mid-Century Modern pottery charger by famed California potter and sculptor Robert Maxwell.
Maxwell co-founded Earthgender pottery with fellow potter David Cressey.
This charger/platter was made at his Venice beach, California Pottery studio in the early 1960s as verified by his wife. It is a very rare piece in respect to design, pattern, and sheer Size/heft (it is a very heavy work). We have not seen another quite like it.
Apparently, he only made a few with some filled with melted glass to create the design/pattern.
Signed by Maxwell on the base.
Would clearly be a great addition to any mid-century pottery/ceramics collection...
Category
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Materials
Pottery
Mid-century Modern ceramics for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Mid-Century Modern ceramics for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage ceramics created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include folk art, decorative objects, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with ceramic, pottery and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Mid-Century Modern ceramics made in a specific country, there are Europe, North America, and United States pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original ceramics, popular names associated with this style include La Borne Potters, Beatrice Wood, Gertrud and Otto Natzler, and Laura Andreson. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for ceramics differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $41 and tops out at $25,000 while the average work can sell for $1,053.
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