Sculptural Studio Pottery Vase with Lid and Organic Cutouts

This exceptional studio pottery vase is a sculptural ceramic work of art, featuring an intricate pierced design and a matching lidded form that elevates its architectural presence. Handcrafted in richly speckled stoneware, the vase showcases a stunning palette of layered glazes — a creamy off-white base transitions into a warm ochre band before culminating in a deep oxblood red at the neck. The carved, organic cutouts are not merely decorative but reveal a dynamic interplay between light and shadow, giving the vase a fluid, almost kinetic energy as you move around it.

The body of the vase is wheel-thrown and meticulously hand-carved, resulting in a rhythmic pattern of arches, flame-like openings, and flowing contours that reference both natural forms and mid-century modernist abstraction. The lid, equally sculptural, completes the form with a pierced finial that echoes the design language of the body. It sits neatly atop the vase, transforming it into a unified vertical composition.

This piece is unsigned aside from an impressed maker’s mark on the base, suggesting it originates from a skilled but as-yet unidentified ceramicist working in the American studio pottery tradition. With its bold presence, rich glaze variation, and balanced asymmetry, this vase would make a compelling centerpiece on a console, shelf, or pedestal. It is well-suited for displaying dry arrangements or as a standalone sculptural object. Ideal for collectors of artisan ceramics or those with an eye for earthy, modernist design.