1984 Lebanon County PA Glazed Redware Vase Green and Brown Sponged Decoration by Jeff White

Description:   Very beautiful classic shaped vase with flared and ruffled rim. The vase has a flat base which rises at a slight angle outward towards a shoulder. The shoulder then curves inwards to a neck which further curves outwards to a flared ruffled simple rim. The side of the vase is decorated with a sponged decoration over a yellow glazed background with green highlights. The vase is glazed with two colors, brown for the bottom and top and yellow for the middle. Very interesting design you do not see often and rather unusual and very modern. The inside of the vase is glazed, while the bottom is unglazed. 

Date:  1984. 

Origin:  Lebanon County, Pennsylvania 

Size:  4 1/4" in diameter at top, 4" diameter at the bottom, and 6 3/4" high.  

Maker:  Jeff White 

Marks:  "M. E. L. 1984 White" in cursive calligraphy on the bottom. As we understand it the initials M. E. L. stand for Museum Editions Limited, a sort of "subscription" service, where you signed up to receive one piece of redware each month for a year. It was run by the old Early American Life magazine.  

Distinguishing Characteristics - Most Interesting About The Piece:  This is a rather nice and substantial piece and weighs 2 pounds. A definite beauty deserving of a prominent spot in any redware collection.  Condition:   Vase is in excellent condition. It has no cracks, chips, repairs, or hairlines. It does have general crazing, but nothing to distract from its beauty or quality. Please see photos to appreciate its beauty and condition. It does have a small firing crack on the base and has the usual defects you would see in the making of such pieces such as pops, unglazed areas, areas where the color splotched to places where it was not supposed to be,  and uneven spots (See the last photo). These are all original to the piece and give it character. 

In Closing:  This is a beautiful and great redware vase made by a master potter with Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. It deserves a prominent spot in your redware collection.