Alexander Weatherson (1930–2024) – Pair of Studio Ceramic Bowls

A striking pair of hand-thrown studio ceramic bowls attributed to British artist Alexander Weatherson (1930–2024), contrasting two markedly different treatments of form, colour and glaze.

The larger shallow bowl combines a lustrous black-glazed interior and upper exterior with an exposed cream lower body. Its broad, low profile and strongly defined division of colour give it an unusually graphic, almost architectural quality. The smaller bowl takes an opposing approach: an asymmetric rising form finished predominantly in warm cream, with a fine brown rim and subtly crackled, flecked interior glaze.

Alexander Weatherson studied at the Royal Academy Schools and the Courtauld Institute of Art and, from 1955, was represented by Victor Musgrave’s influential Gallery One, where his first solo exhibition was held in 1958. He subsequently participated in significant exhibitions of post-war British art, including British Painting in the Sixties at the Tate and Whitechapel Galleries in 1963 and an exhibition at the ICA in 1964. Six photographic portraits of Weatherson are held by the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Although functional vessels, the bowls have considerable sculptural presence. Displayed together, the contrast is particularly effective: one dark, horizontal and graphic; the other pale, irregular and organic. Visible throwing marks, glaze variation and firing characteristics retain the direct evidence of their making.

Neither bowl carries a visible signature or maker’s mark and they are therefore offered as attributed to Alexander Weatherson, rather than as documented works.

Date: c.1970s–90s
Medium: Hand-thrown glazed ceramic
Dimensions: Approx. 24 cm diameter and 20 cm diameter
Signature: Unsigned
Condition: Good vintage condition, with firing marks, glaze crazing and minor surface variations consistent with handmade studio ceramics and age
Offered: As a pair