In this review, we look to Lucie Rie, an Austrian-born British potter well known for her glaze treatments and Sgraffito ornamentation. In this issue, we have a simple thrown vessel with hand built grip reminiscent of a Turkish coffee pot.
Lucie Rie (England) 1965. Jug, oxidised stoneware body, white glaze inside, manganese outside with sgraffito decoration, white glaze with heavy magnesium. Courtesy of the Ceramic Study Group.
Its internal patina is of a milky porcelain white, in stark contrast to the external cool blacks and deep oxide reds that weather the surface. This subtle yet nuanced glaze characteristic of Rie is peeled back through deft excavation to reveal the pale clay below.
Rie’s sgraffito is first asserted as a firm and crisp halo separates the vessel lip, likely drawn while still on spun on the wheel. Below her more expensive markings are broken into delicate vertical groves, each barely breaking through the black slip; Two loose bands intersect the upper edges creating a single figure that reinforces the position and curvature of the off-centre grip.
Lucie Rie - ‘Oil & Vinegar’ - from Katharina Klug Ceramics
As seen in another work of Rei’s, she exhibits an elements of playfulness with her typographic handles for this pair of salad adjacent vessels. We can observe a similar set of delicate verticals that demarcate the concave portions of the pieces; Perhaps as a method to accent the tapering through to it’s lip. These two works however are missing the masterful glaze of the first, favoring a more uniform black to draw focus to the white highlights and featured stoppers.
Within this trio, we cannot see the breadth of Lucie Rie’s impact on the British ceramic scene, instead, we get a understanding of a motif typical of her work, restraint. To identify where one may provide ornament, and where you allow form to speak for itself. The work need not be entirely capitalised, just some well place punctuation may suffice.