Vase
Steeped in ceramics from birth, Hugh C. Robertson pursued his craft with fierce devotion and a passion for experimentation. From a family of trained English ceramists, he honed his skills in New Jersey before settling in Massachusetts as one of the founders of Chelsea Keramic Art Works and later, Dedham Pottery. Robertson’s lifelong explorations in glazes, particularly their color and texture, make him one of the key figures of American art pottery at the turn of the twentieth century.
From Chelsea to Dedham, Robertson continued to pursue his passion for innovation, employing the grayish-white stoneware used for Dedham’s dinnerware to throw simple forms covered with bold combinations of colored and textured glazes. Despite his financial backers’ stipulation against further research into sang-de-boeuf, or oxblood, glazes, Robertson did not entirely abandon that costly pursuit. Many of his Dedham vessels have brilliant layerings of red and purple glazes. Experimenting with a daring, difficult-to-control method, Robertson tried painting designs with glaze onto glaze, layering one over the other. The propensity for the glazes to flow together or even run off the vessel made this technique very challenging. One of the most successful of these efforts is this vase with red fernlike fronds set against a deep green glaze streaked with blue.
This vase is from the Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection of American art pottery donated to the Metropolitan Museum in 2017 and 2018. The works in the collection date from the mid-1870s through the 1950s. Together they comprise one of the most comprehensive and important assemblages of this material known.
From Chelsea to Dedham, Robertson continued to pursue his passion for innovation, employing the grayish-white stoneware used for Dedham’s dinnerware to throw simple forms covered with bold combinations of colored and textured glazes. Despite his financial backers’ stipulation against further research into sang-de-boeuf, or oxblood, glazes, Robertson did not entirely abandon that costly pursuit. Many of his Dedham vessels have brilliant layerings of red and purple glazes. Experimenting with a daring, difficult-to-control method, Robertson tried painting designs with glaze onto glaze, layering one over the other. The propensity for the glazes to flow together or even run off the vessel made this technique very challenging. One of the most successful of these efforts is this vase with red fernlike fronds set against a deep green glaze streaked with blue.
This vase is from the Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection of American art pottery donated to the Metropolitan Museum in 2017 and 2018. The works in the collection date from the mid-1870s through the 1950s. Together they comprise one of the most comprehensive and important assemblages of this material known.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vase
- Manufacturer: Dedham Pottery (1895–1943)
- Artist: Hugh C. Robertson (1844–1908)
- Date: ca. 1896–1908
- Geography: Made in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Stoneware
- Dimensions: 9 5/8 x 5 5/8 in. (24.4 x 14.3 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2018
- Object Number: 2018.294.73
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Dedham Pottery
Joseph Lindon Smith
ca. 1895
Dedham Pottery
Hugh C. Robertson
ca. 1896–1908
Dedham Pottery
Hugh C. Robertson
ca. 1896–1908
Dedham Pottery
Hugh C. Robertson
ca. 1896–1908
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ca. 1896–1908
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