Flower Vase

Copied Cheever Meaders, Flower Vase, early 1960s, alkaline glazed stoneware, 10 1⁄8 x 10 in. (25.7 x 25.4 cm.) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.32

Artwork Details

Title
Flower Vase
Artist
Date
early 1960s
Location
Dimensions
10 1⁄8 x 10 in. (25.7 x 25.4 cm.) diam.
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
alkaline glazed stoneware
Classifications
Object Number
1986.65.32
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.32

Artwork Description

The Meaders family pottery uses ash, or "Shanghai" glazes on their vases and jugs. These are similar to ancient Chinese glazes, and Cheever Meaders's son, Lanier, named them after Shanghai because "if anybody mention China in this country, Shanghai is the first word that comes to mind" (Nancy Sweezy, Raised in Clay, 1984). They mix wood ashes with locally dug clays ("settlin's") and ground glass jars or windowpanes. Only the top and inside of this piece were dipped in the mixture before firing, leaving the bottom unglazed and rough.