56. Jennifer Wyman, miniature lidded container

56. Jennifer Wyman, miniature lidded container

 

For Wyman, see item 54.

Brown clay, covered in reddish-brown slip and a blue-green glaze; bases of foot ring and of lid, edge of lid, and the gallery in the top portion. Weight: 168 g (6 oz).  Bottom part—rim diameter: 5 cm (2 in); maximum diameter: 5.7 cm (2-1/4); foot ring diameter: 3.7 cm (1-1/2 in). Lid—diameter: 3 cm (1-3/16 in). Height: overall, 8 cm (3-1/8 in); bottom part: 8 cm (3-1/8 in); lid: 1.7 cm (5/8 in).

The foot ring is 0.7 cm (5/16 in) high. The area within it has been hollowed out to about the same depth. Just above the foot the walls briefly curve in and then flair out at a sharp angle to the maximum width 1.2 cm (1/2 in) above the base. From there the walls slant inward in a straight line to the neck, which is 4.7 cm (1-7/8 in) in diameter and 6.3 cm (2-1/2 in) above the base. The walls then slant outward to the rim. The narrow gallery that serves as the resting place for the lid is recessed about 0.5 cm (3/16 in) below the rim. There are definite creases in the exterior walls at the neck and again about 1.2 cm (1/2 in) above the maximum diameter.

The lid is shaped like a teabowl. It has a “foot ring” about 0.6 cm (1/4 in) high and 2.3 cm (7/8 in) wide. A small area within this foot has been hollowed out. Above the foot the walls flare out in a straight line to the rim. The upper side of the lid is a concave bowl, with straight sides. In the center of this “bowl” is a round knob. The lid is recessed, and when it is seated in place, no part of it is higher than the rim of the bottom part. The lid sits securely on the lower part.

A reddish-brown slip is visible on the upper part of interior. From the mouth it extends downward past the gallery for a distance of 1 cm (3/8 in). Bits of red also show through around the circumference at the maximum width of the pot, along the top rim of the bottom part, and along the outside rim of the lid. The rest of the piece has a blue-green glaze, including the interior of the foot ring on both the bottom part and the lid. Only the bases of the foot ring of the bottom part and the lid were left unglazed.

This piece is all angles despite being round. It’s also a very balanced composition—the two encircling creases divide the body into three proportional parts, and the hollowed out interiors of the two foot rings are both glazed. The visible red lines from the slip highlight the edges.

Purchased at the annual spring sale at Feet of Clay Pottery, Brookline, Massachusetts, April 2018.