Vintage Pisgah Forest Pottery - Baluster Vase With Turquoise And Aubergine Glaze

Overview
A striking Pisgah Forest Pottery baluster vase combining three of the pottery's most distinctive glaze effects: luminous turquoise, deep aubergine, and a contrasting pink interior. The vase has a full rounded shoulder, gently waisted lower body, narrow neck, and subtly flared rim. Fine crackling is especially visible through the turquoise glaze at the neck and shoulder, while the glaze deepens through the transition into a rich, nearly black aubergine across the body. The pink interior provides an unexpected and particularly attractive contrast when the vase is viewed from above.

Style: American Arts and Crafts / Southern Appalachian art pottery, with a streamlined mid-20th-century studio pottery form.
Material: Glazed ceramic.

Dating / Background
Pisgah Forest Pottery was established by Walter B. Stephen in North Carolina and became an important expression of the Southern Appalachian art pottery tradition. This example is dated circa 1945 on stylistic grounds. The impressed mark on the underside includes an indistinct four-digit date; the surviving impression appears most consistent with either 1940 or 1949, placing the vase securely within the 1940s unless further examination resolves the final digit. The turquoise crackle glaze, aubergine body, and pink interior are characteristic of the colorful glaze experimentation associated with Pisgah Forest production.

Why Collect
The appeal of this vase lies in the unusually dramatic relationship between its glazes. The turquoise neck immediately draws the eye, then gives way to a dark aubergine body that emphasizes the vase's strong silhouette. The pink interior adds a third color visible at the mouth and from above. At more than eight inches high, the piece has enough scale to display independently while remaining easy to incorporate into a collection of American art pottery. Its impressed Pisgah Forest mark and period date impression provide the historical context collectors look for in identified Southern studio pottery.

Dimensions (inches)

• Height: 8 1/4
• Width: 5
• Depth: 5

Weight: approximately 2.5 lbs.

Condition
Good condition overall, with a small chip/loss at the foot of the base as shown in the photographs. The loss is localized at the lower foot and does not materially interfere with the vase's primary display. Expected glaze variation and fine crackling are present. Please review all photographs for a complete understanding of condition.