1990s Large Newcomb College Art Pottery High-Glaze Vase; Sara Bloom Levy, Joseph Meyer

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An exceptional early Newcomb College Art Pottery vase dating to 1901, decorated by Sara Bloom Levy (1884–1955) and thrown by … Read more An exceptional early Newcomb College Art Pottery vase dating to 1901, decorated by Sara Bloom Levy (1884–1955) and thrown by celebrated Newcomb potter Joseph Fortune Meyer (1848–1931).

Standing an impressive 12 1/4 inches high, the vase features a beautifully attenuated trumpet form with a gently flared mouth and broadening foot, its elegant silhouette complemented by a highly stylized floral design executed in shades of blue beneath a lustrous high glaze.

This was in the collection of Barbara McIlhenny Parsons of the McIlhenny family that developed and runs the historic Tabasco empire on Avery Island in Louisiana. So it has a fine provenance.

The decoration is particularly characteristic of Newcomb's important early period. Long, sinuous stems rise vertically along the body, culminating in dramatically simplified blossoms near the neck. Rather than attempting botanical realism, Levy transformed the plant forms into sweeping linear elements that emphasize the architecture of the vessel itself. The result is distinctly Art Nouveau, yet unmistakably Newcomb: organic, restrained and closely integrated with the hand-thrown form.

The coloration is equally striking. Layers of slate blue, indigo and soft blue-gray create a subtly variegated ground, while the lighter floral forms emerge almost as silhouettes. The glossy surface identifies this as an example of Newcomb's desirable early high-glaze period, before the matte and carved surfaces for which the pottery later became famous came to predominate.

This approach closely parallels other documented works by Sara Bloom Levy. The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms owns a Levy vase of 1902 and specifically notes her use of bold linear, conventionalized plant forms and her ability to integrate the decoration with the three-dimensional shape of the vessel. Levy received her graduate diploma in Normal Art from Newcomb in 1902, a program intended to prepare women as professional art teachers, and subsequently worked professionally in pottery. Her work is represented in major American museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which owns a 1903 vase created by Levy and Meyer, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, whose collection includes a Levy-decorated Newcomb jug dated 1901.

Dimensions: 12 1/4 in. high × 4 5/8 in. diameter.
New Orleans, Louisiana, 1901.
Decorator: Sara Bloom Levy.
Potter: Joseph Fortune Meyer.
Registration: F18.
Provenance: Collection of Barbara McIlhenny Parsons, South Bristol, Maine; Brunk Auctions, Asheville, NC, October 23, 2021, lot 642. See less