Rudi Stahl studio pottery bottle vase, brown speckled glaze, signed, 1960s/70s

This bottle vase comes from the art pottery of Rudi Stahl (1918–1987) in Höhr-Grenzhausen, the historic centre of Westerwald stoneware. The unglazed base bears the hand-incised inscription "Handarbeit Rudi Stahl" together with the number 1065/20, which, following Stahl's usual system, indicates the form number and approximate height. Born into a family of potters, Stahl trained under Wim Mühlendyck, attended the State College for Ceramics in Höhr-Grenzhausen and ran his own workshop there from around 1940; he later became chief master of the potters' guild of Rhineland-Palatinate. The vase was probably made in the 1960s or 1970s, when his wheel-thrown vessels with earthy glazes were among the sought-after works of West German studio pottery.

Thrown on the wheel, a spherical, slightly compressed body rises into a long, slender neck that ends in a flat, flared and rounded lip. Fine throwing rings remain visible on the wall and give the form a crafted rhythm. The satin-sheen glaze ranges from warm tobacco to hazelnut brown and is densely interspersed with dark iron speckles and small pores rising from the coarse, grogged clay body. Towards the foot the glaze deepens into a dark chocolate-brown band, while the base reveals the red-brown clay unglazed.

With its calm, archaic silhouette the vase works as a solitaire on a sideboard, shelf or windowsill as well as with a single branch or dried grasses, and suits a mid-century interior, a collection of vintage studio pottery or a minimalist setting with a Wabi-Sabi feel. It measures approximately 19.2 cm in height and 13 cm in diameter and is in very good condition with no chips, cracks or restorations. Speckles, pores and small irregularities in the glaze are inherent to the making and part of the character of the piece.