82. Rachel Lecker, vase

82. Rachel Lecker, vase

For Lecker, see item 79.

White clay, black glaze; base left unglazed. Weight: 940 g (2 lb). Rim diameter: 8.8 cm (3-1/2 in); maximum diameter: 9.5 cm (3-3/4 in); base diameter: 7.5 cm (3 in). Height: 20 cm (8 in).

This sits directly on the flat base. “Rachel Lecker 2019” was incised into the base. The the diameter of the lower bulge, 8.8 cm (3-1/2 in) is only slightly less than that of the upper bulge, 9.5 cm (3-3/4 in). Viewed side on, the upper bulge is only an eighth of an inch larger on either side. From the base, the walls rise at an outward angle in a straight line for 4.3 cm (1-5/8 in). A flat-bladed tool was used to shape shallow, irregularly spaced, vertical grooves in this area. Above this area, the first bulge curves outward to its maximum diameter 7 cm (2-3/4 in) above the base and then inward to a short, shallow concave indent, centered 11.4 cm (4-1/2 in) above the base. The maximum diameter of the upper bulge is 13.8 cm (5-1/2 in) above the base. The neck is 9 cm (3-1/2 in) in diameter and begins 18.2 cm (7-1/8 in) above the base. The neck is 2 cm (7/8 in) high. The top half inch or so of the neck has grooves like those on the bottom section of the walls.

A black glaze was applied to the interior and the exterior, with the exception of the base and a narrow band around the circumference of the walls just above the base.

The vase is carefully structured—the maximum diameter of the lower bulge is a third and that of the upper bulge two-thirds of the way up. The solid, dramatic color emphasizes the shape.

Purchased at the annual spring sale at Feet of Clay Pottery, Brookline, Massachusetts, April 2019.