Flemish earthenware vase from Torhout, dating to the early 1900s. The simple, attractive shape and incised design are typical of the Flemish pottery or 'Poterie Flamande' of the region and period. A lovely design and now officially an antique, at over 100 years old.

The geometric and stylized floral patterning is characteristic of Flemish and Dutch design of the early 1900s, sitting somewhere between fluid floral patterns of the Vienna Secession movement and the geometric style of the 'De Stijl' movement, which explored pure geometric pattern.

Torhout pottery production focused on utensils and domestic pottery throughout it's 500 year history, and developed a distinctive style, tending to be warm in color, simple in design, and modest or homely in appearance.

On a base of earthenware clay, patterns have been incised by hand. The motifs have been loosely colored and the whole vase drip-glazed. The colors have a lovely, earthy simplicity - loosely applied creamy yellows, burnt umber, denim blue, with a subtle iridescent sheen to the surface, especially in areas of built up glaze.

MEASURES

32cm H x 13cm Diam

CONDITION

Very good. Small glaze nibbles. No major chips, no cracks. Glaze crackling natural to this style of pottery.

A little history of Torhout Pottery:

Torhout pottery reflects the early craft origins of Flemish pottery. There's a hint of the Persian/Ottoman design traditions that swept Europe during the Ottoman empire. That influence lasted from the 15th century right up to the early 20th Century. This is visible in the both the shape and the style of decoration in this vase.

Flemish pottery has a long tradition dating to the middle ages. Torhout pottery is mentioned as early as 1542 in archives. Typical colours were obtained by mixing clay with metallic oxides: lithium cobalt oxide for blue; copper oxide for green; manganese oxide for brown. The pottery was baked in coal and wood-fired ovens.

From 1895 the potteries of Torhout, began to manufacture mainly art pottery, such as vases, jugs, tobacco jars and other ornamental pieces. A common decoration of this period is flowers in a flat relief, as seen in this vase, prepared with incised outlines.