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Large Stoneware Baluster Vase with Inlaid Cobalt Decoration
Large Stoneware Baluster Vase with Inlaid Cobalt Decoration
Large Stoneware Baluster Vase with Inlaid Cobalt Decoration

Large Stoneware Baluster Vase with Inlaid Cobalt Decoration

Maker (born 1959)
Student (Tokyo, Japan, 1919 - 2007)
Collector (London, England, 1929 - 2012)
Datelate 20th Century
Object NameVase
Mediumstoneware, cobalt slip, wood ash and nuka glazes
ClassificationsCeramics
DimensionsOverall (Height x Width): 373 x 322 mm,
Base (Diameter): 177 mm
Rim (Diameter): 168 mm
AcquisitionThe Sandy Dunbar Studio Ceramics Collection presented in 2023 by Crinan Dunbar and Rebecca Russell.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS095708.359
About MeThis large stoneware baluster vase, or bottle, has been wheel-thrown in two sections which were subsequently joined together.

It is glazed all over in a pale green, brown-speckled, wood ash glaze with cobalt slip inlaid decoration over the outside, creating a random striped pattern. A white nuka glaze has been applied in a random manner over both the exterior and interior, pooling around the base and neck.

William Plumptre makes decorative stoneware platters, bowls and bottles, often made to a large scale as in this example. His work is inspired by the landscape and Japanese pottery and he specialises in the decorative technique of inlaying coloured slips (liquid clay) into a pattern of impressions made on the surface of the semi dry pot . His glazes are made of local materials, such as wood ash, found near his pottery in Witherslack, Cumbria.