107. Andrew H.S. Mazzaschi, lidded jar

107. Andrew H.S. Mazzaschi, lidded jar

 

 

 

For Mazzaschi, see item 103.

Reddish-brown clay, blue and white glazes; base and those portions of the lid and the gallery on which the lid rests were left unglazed. Weight: 540 g (1.2 lb). Bottom section. Rim diameter: 6.7 cm (2-5/8 in); maximum diameter: 8.8 cm (3-1/2 in); base diameter: 6.8 cm (2-3/4 in). Height: 12.5 cm (5 in).  Lid. Rim diameter: 5.3 cm (2-1/8 in). Height: 3.3 cm (1-3/8 in).  Overall height of jar: 16 cm (6-3/8 in).

This sits directly on the base. The artist’s mark, his initials, AHSM, inside a square, was stamped inside this area. Above the base, the walls move in a continuous convex arc to the break at the shoulders, 9.3 cm (3-3/4 in) from the base. The maximum diameter of 8.8 cm (3-1/2 in) lies 5.3 cm (2-1/8 in) above the base; The diameter at the shoulders is 8.2 cm (3-1/4 in). From the shoulders the walls angle upward and inward in more or less a straight line to the neck, which has a diameter of 4.3 cm (1-3/4 in) and lies 11 cm (4-3/8 in) above the base. From the neck the walls angle outward and upward in a straight line to the rim. A downward slanting gallery was created inside the rim to serve as a rest for the lid. The underside of the lid is concave. The upper side rises in a convex arc to the central post, which supports a cone-shaped knob. The lid fits snuggly into the bottom section.

The body of the pot between the base and the shoulders was shaped into an octagon with outward bulging sides and decorated with patterns of slanting grooves to form nested diamond shapes. The artist gives this explanation of the process: the jar “was thrown on the wheel as a cylinder, faceted with a wiggle wire, then stretched from the inside. Then the neck and gallery were thrown and the little lid was thrown separately and the knob carved out of excess clay attached to the lid.”

The inside of the pot and the underside of the lid were glazed in cream. A thin blue glaze was applied to the outside; the glaze pooled in crevices and pulled away from edges, accentuating the facets in the diamond pattern. The color of the clay shows through in many places, giving the surface a mottled appearance. The base and the areas of the lid and the gallery inside the rim were left unglazed.

Purchased at the annual spring sale at Feet of Clay Pottery, Brookline, Massachusetts, May 2021.