Large Ceramic Vase with Banded Glaze by John Ward

A large stoneware vessel with distinct form by British studio potter John Ward (1938-2023) circa last quarter of 20th century. The form of the vase as in the artist's repertoire may be known as a "Disc Pot" due to its unique shape. It features a round flattened body that organically morphs into a tapering neck with a slightly dipped neckline. It calls to mind the Chinese "moon flask", whose origin was likely attributed to the nomads of the Islamic Central Asia. The pot is covered with a mottled cream glaze specked with brown marks, mimicking the earth deposits on an archeological object buried underground. The front and back disc is brushed with such brown specks but left mostly blank. By contrast, on both sides, multiple parallel green glaze bands follow the contour of the vessel. The harmonious form and the subtle design evoke a sense of quietude, iconic to the artist work. A great example. Underside the pot, there impressed the artist's seal with initials.
Reference: Emma Crichton-Miller, The Pottery of John Ward, London, 2022, p. 167 for a comparable form.
John Ward’s ceramic artwork is found in the permanent collections of many leading art museums including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Biography (courtesy of Oxford Ceramic Gallery):
"The leading hand-builder John Ward (1938-2023) was trained at Camberwell College of Arts in the 1960s. He is one of a number of significant modern potters to have concentrated on the pared down individual vessel form, most particularly the bowl, as a touchstone for exploration. His generally simple work has been augmented by more complex structures, the shapes cut and altered, perhaps with abstract, geometric decoration and cut-away rims that give some of his pieces an architectural quality. In addition to urban surfaces, his work evokes honed natural forms, the kind of bonier, elemental landscape he has lived in since he moved close to the Welsh coast in 1979. His best pots speak eloquently of the limitless language of the bowl and globular jar, their sculptural and metaphorical resonances."