Vase thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Vase

ca. 1924 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

During the 1890s Reginald Wells trained as a sculptor at the Royal College of Art, and later studied ceramics at Camberwell School of Art (both in London). Around 1900 he set up his own pottery at Coldrum, near Wrotham in Kent, before later moving it to London. Wells was one of the first true studio potters (i.e., a non-factory potter), working on an entirely independent basis. His interests lay in exactly those areas that were to preoccupy studio potters in later decades, namely English slipwares and Chinese stonewares. Wells's work has a somewhat amateur and experimental look when compared to that of the next generation (B. J. Leach, Michael Cardew, William Staite Murray) who were to follow in his path.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Stoneware, opaque white glaze with crackle, thrown
Brief description
Vase, stoneware with opaque, crackled white glaze, designed and made by Reginald Wells, England, about 1924
Physical description
Stoneware vase with opaque, crackled white glaze. Surface marked by rings produced by the potter's fingers as he threw the pot on the wheel. Probably influenced by traditional Chinese ceramics.
Dimensions
  • Depth: 10.00cm
  • Height: 15.00cm
Marks and inscriptions
'S', incised
Credit line
Given by Sir Amhurst Selby-Bigge, Ernest Marsh and Bernard Rackham
Object history
Acquisition details: given by Sir Amhurst Selby-Bigge, Ernest Marsh and Bernard Rackha

The rings produced by the potter's fingers as he threw the pot on the wheel have been made into a decorative feature, as has the cracking of the glaze in the kiln. Like many studio potters of the time, Wells was much influenced by traditional Chinese ceramics.

RF number: 25/2104
Production
Wells' own 'Soon Ware' pottery
Summary
During the 1890s Reginald Wells trained as a sculptor at the Royal College of Art, and later studied ceramics at Camberwell School of Art (both in London). Around 1900 he set up his own pottery at Coldrum, near Wrotham in Kent, before later moving it to London. Wells was one of the first true studio potters (i.e., a non-factory potter), working on an entirely independent basis. His interests lay in exactly those areas that were to preoccupy studio potters in later decades, namely English slipwares and Chinese stonewares. Wells's work has a somewhat amateur and experimental look when compared to that of the next generation (B. J. Leach, Michael Cardew, William Staite Murray) who were to follow in his path.
Bibliographic references
  • Watson, Oliver. British Studio Pottery : the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, Oxford : Phaidon, Christie's, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990
  • Curtis Penelope. Wilson, Keith. Modern British Sculpture. London: Royal Acadamy of Arts, 2011. p.ill. 142 + 143. ISBN978-1-905711-72-7
Collection
Accession number
C.60-1925

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Record createdJanuary 14, 2000
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