Lucie Rie
British, born Austria, 1902 - 1995Untitled, 1968
On view
Stoneware
Dimensions4 x 7 7/8 in.
Gift of Dr. Robert and Deanna Harris Burger, 2021.216
Lucie Rie was one of Britain’s most eminent potters. Trained as a ceramicist, she operated an accessory business in London during World War II. Her stylish ceramic buttons and buckles appealed to high-end fashion designers but her ambition was pottery. In the 1950s she began making tableware with her characteristic subtle curves, thin walls, and textured surfaces. Over the next ten years her elegant ceramics were a popular fixture in many stylish department stores. By the late 1960s, her objects like this, made reference to a utilitarian vessel, or bowl, but were for display rather than for everyday use.
She used a technique known as raw glazing, where she would apply glaze directly onto the surface of unfired clay. Since the object is glazed and fired at the same time the process is quicker. Initially it was a practical choice for Rie, as she did not have easy access to a kiln, but it later became an essential feature of her pottery.
