Vintage studio pottery hanging bell, green & blue stoneware, Ø 16.5 cm, 1970s

This large hanging bell is a fine example of vintage studio pottery from the 1970s. Unlike the small, light wind bells of the period, it is so large and heavy at 16.5 cm in diameter and 18 cm in height that the wind barely moves the clapper: it is rung by hand, by pulling the leather strap and letting the ceramic ball swing firmly against the wall of the bell. It thus belongs to the tradition of yard, door and garden bells used to announce visitors or call people to the table. The body was thrown in stoneware on the potter's wheel, the throwing rings are clearly visible inside and out, and a hand-pulled strap handle is attached at the top. There is no signature or workshop mark, which is why we deliberately do not attribute the bell to a specific potter.

The form rises from a slightly flared mouth over a gently drawn-in waist to a rounded crown. The satin-matte glaze combines moss green, dove blue and petrol, pale blue runs flow down from the shoulder, and dense rust-brown iron speckles that rose from the clay body during firing are scattered across the entire surface. The unglazed rim reveals the light, speckled stoneware, while the interior is glazed in a dark blue-grey. The clapper is an unglazed ceramic ball on a leather strap that continues below the bell as a long pull; the bell hangs from a sturdy braided cotton cord with decorative knots.

Beside the front door, at the garden gate, under a pergola, on a porch or indoors as a sculptural object, the bell brings a calm, earthy presence and suits a mid-century interior just as well as a natural, contemporary setting. It measures 16.5 cm in diameter and 18 cm in height, with an overall height of 125 cm including the cord. The bell is in very good condition; irregularities in the glaze and speckling are inherent to the making process and are not damage.