Vase

Item

Title

Vase

Creator

Newcomb College Pottery

Date

1902

Dimensions

7 x 3 1/2 inches

Medium

Glazed earthenware

Object No.

2000.13.1

Marks

On Base: impressed Newcomb College monogram filled with blue; painted “M84;" impressed conjoined “JM;”impressed “U;”incised “E.I.”(?)

Description

Executed by Sara Bloom Levy in 1902, the decoration of this vase demonstrates Ellsworth Woodward’s announcement that same year that Newcomb Pottery was just beginning to overcome its initial period of experimentation and was producing professional wares. Echoing what Mary Sheerer called “simple, big designs and firm drawing,” Levy’s decoration used a bold, linear approach to conventionalize the plant form that adorns the vase while emphasizing the body’s shape through the rising S-curves of abstracted flower stems. The motif highlights the vase’s voluptuous form, as bulbs and stems accentuate the swelled and attenuated portions of the piece, respectively.

In 1902, Levy received her graduate diploma in Normal Art, a program designed specifically to prepare teachers of art. She went on to become a professional in the pottery field for a short time, working at Newcomb from 1909-12. In 1903, this vase was illustrated in The Art Interchange alongside other Newcomb wares, which were typical in their use of a glossy glaze over a floral motif painted under the glaze. The use of a light blue wash is also typical in pieces decorated in this period.
Description text by Catherine Whitney

Associated names

Sara Bloom Levy (decorator)
Joseph Fortune Meyer (potter)