Green Vase

The Van Briggle Pottery Company was one of America’s most important and longest lasting art potteries, quintessentially associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. At the same time, few American designers responded to the international styles of Art Nouveau as did Artus Van Briggle. This vase synthesizes those influences, but especially highlights its European influence. The "Lorelei" was Van Briggle’s first figural vase form, the design of which he originally created while working at the Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio. This early model signaled the artist’s trademark of modeled decoration, whereby the motifs were rendered in relief rather than painted on the surface. While the majority of his motifs were drawn from plants and birds, his vases embodying the human figure are among his rarest, and similarly the most coveted.