Optical pot thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 142, The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Gallery

Optical pot

Vase
1980 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This object plays with our expectations about perspective - the rim is shaped to make it appear rounded, but it is actually extremely shallow. The complex decoration emphasises the frontal surface, while making the overall shape hard to judge. The result is both a pot and a picture of a pot.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleOptical pot (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Stoneware, with coloured matt glazes
Brief description
Vase by Liz Fritsch, stoneware, Britain, 1980.
Physical description
Vase, flat handbuilt stoneware form with coloured matt glazes forming a geometric decoration of intersecting bands.
Dimensions
  • Depth: 23.20cm
  • Height: 31.10cm
Object history
Acquisition details: given by ... see memo.
Summary
This object plays with our expectations about perspective - the rim is shaped to make it appear rounded, but it is actually extremely shallow. The complex decoration emphasises the frontal surface, while making the overall shape hard to judge. The result is both a pot and a picture of a pot.
Bibliographic reference
Watson, Oliver. British Studio Pottery : the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, Oxford : Phaidon, Christie's, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990
Collection
Accession number
C.13-1981

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Record createdJanuary 14, 2000
Record URL
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