Studio Pottery with Mysterious Label....Japanese or something else?

Bought this recently. 90 year old collector, yada yada. Anyway, the piece is not signed but it's kind a label made of old tape that looks almost like accession numbers, or item numbers, followed by a dash, and then PEIS. Under that looks like a notation for either $750 or $75. Does this piece or anything about the label look familiar or ring a bell to you guys? Thanks.

 

I like the design on the front. Is there a chip on the front, just to the lower right of the middle? Or is that a discoloration of the glaze?

 

I think it was a student project.
Janet

 

Given the uneven rim, I would agree with janetpjohn.

 

Thanks guys! Guess what? I think I'm staying AWAY from studio pottery for a while. I'm obviously no good at picking it! LOL 0 for three in the past month.

 

Don't give up! I've been buying studio pottery for over 10 years and have a couple bins of duds. After awhile of "study by purchase" it will all come together and along with other stuff we do to become more informed (books, exhibition catalogs,museums, this site!,etc). I approach any unknown studio pot purchase by asking these questions, not necessarily in order of importance. 1- any marks that can be researched, 2-quality of execution, 3-do I like it, 4-do I think it is saleable which includes condition. Sometimes, I will buy just on number 2 and 3. Many times, sometimes years later, I figure out the maker and bingo it was a good purchase.

 

Thanks trip, for the encouragement. Where do you store your duds? I HATE looking at mistakes and would rather send them the way of the thrift store than look at them "mocking" me, LOL. I will say that the man whose sale this was had very nice furnishings and he collected a lot of pottery. I don't think he was a potter himself. He had pretty good taste so there's a possibility this is more than just some random student work.

 

Could the PEIS stand for Prince Edward Island?

 

that's what I had asked the Studio Pottery board on FB, but I guess they didn't seem to think so. One of the members said it reminded him of Ruth Duckworth's work.

 

It has a lot of similarities to this piece
http://www.artnet.com/artists/ruth-duckworth/no-831704-a-teL_KIDWLrPwLjcMgOQuIA2

Since it is a hand built slab piece, the uneven rim doesn't bother me. I wouldn't give up on it yet. Google slab pottery and you will see a lot of different techniques and form. Some people love the perfect rim and others will even tear them to pieces.

 

If you go through the google images, she did a lot of hand built slab work and a lot of it is uneven. I think you should do more research on this piece before you designate it to the "dud" pile.

 

Thanks, Mill Cove. I will definitely do some more research on it. Not really sure how I would be able to authenticate it as hers, or to discount it. Is there any good or reliable way to do this?

 

That link above, they seem to carry a lot of her work. They might be able to help. There must be records of galleries or auction houses that sold her work. I would try and find someone that has dealt with a lot of her work and see if they would be willing to take a look.

 

Artnet shows a lot of auction results for her. I'm not a member so I can't see the prices

http://www.askart.com/askart/d/ruth_duckworth/ruth_duckworth.aspx

MutualArt.com has some information too.

http://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Rut...th Duckworth&gclid=CP35odqi5cICFetDMgodZm0Arw

 

thanks Mill Cove. Great info. Will report back if I find anything definitive about it.

 

Check out this video of 2 real estate agents tour her home/studio that was up for sale. You can see a lot of her work and there are a lot of uneven rims to be seen.

http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Dea...worth-rsquos-Home-amp-Studio-mdash-Lake-View/

 

That was interesting. I don't see how a woman of her age lived in a house constructed like that....all those stairs and such. I'll contact some websites specializing in her work and will get back to you and let you know what they say. Thanks for all your help and research...I truly do appreciate it

 

How sad to read that Ms. Duckworths' home was gutted.

 

Well, it kind of needed to be, IMO. It was like a huge work area, very cold and bare, not really conducive to a warm living space. The outside was lovely, though.