Lucie Rie

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner, circa 1980

Tony Birks, Lucie Rie, London, 1987, p.177 for a similar example of this technique and colourway

One of the true masters of her craft, Lucie Rie made her reasoning for forming a lifelong relationship with the earth clear: ‘… my dream was to become a sculptor. But when I first saw a pottery wheel, I decided at once to become a potter.’ Initially influenced by the Vienna Seccesionist movement, Rie developed a new, modern visual language in each of her designs. Rie’s consideration of her materials was thorough. She developed many of her own clay mixtures and glazes, the details of which she rarely divulged. When throwing her works on the wheel, she used a sparse amount of water. Her glazes were much thicker in consistency and were directly applied to unfired works. This practice was not without risk. It was a technique that could potentially damage the pieces whilst in the kiln, yet it allowed her to achieve the colour, texture and form she so desired.