Vase with gingko
Decorated by Kataro Shirayamadani American, born Japan
Manufacturer Rookwood Pottery Company American
It was at the Rookwood Pottery that the drive toward more organic, plant-based forms found fruition in American art pottery. Whether it was a result of the general zeitgeist of 1900 or more specific influences from Europe, some Rookwood artists gradually freed their designs from the constraints of wheel-based forms and painted decoration. Kataro Shirayamadani, a Japanese decorator, led Rookwood to embrace a more organic repertoire, seen in this large vase decorated with gingko leaves and nuts. It is a thrown vase with an essentially cylindrical shape, but heavily modeled relief decoration covers and disguises the vase’s symmetrical walls. As a final touch, at the top, a branch of gingko extends upward, beyond the lip, creating an organic silhouette. This small organic gesture parallels ideas in French Art Nouveau pottery.
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