1990s Warren MacKenzie Cut Sided Lidded Box With Mark

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Warren MacKenzie (1924 - 2018) was one of the most famous functional potter in this country. How would he classify … Read more Warren MacKenzie (1924 - 2018) was one of the most famous functional potter in this country. How would he classify this lidded box? He had made it known that he wanted his pottery objects to serve a function, to be used everyday. I did hear it personally from the great master himself, on a few occasions in the late 1990's when my late husband and I used to stop at his studio in Stillwater, Minnesota. He lived on a country road away from the city, in a farm like property. He had a self service shop where he displayed his pottery, along with the works of some of his students. It was a congenial way of doing business.

This cut sided lidded box is fired stoneware and glazed in a light gray glaze with iron spots on the exterior and Shino glaze in the interiors. The surface is not smooth. On the lid are small parallel ridges and diagonal ridges are made on the bottom box. It is masterfully made and Professor MacKenzie's love of minimalism shows off well - it is devoid of decoration except for the double stamp of his signature mark.

This is in excellent condition and was never used. The lidded box was one of the last pieces of pottery bearing his mark before he made the decision of not stamping his wares sometime in the early 2000. See less