Lucie Rie - The Art of Fire: Selections from the Dr John P. Driscoll Collection London Wednesday, November 10, 2021 | Phillips

The Art of Fire: Selections from the Dr John P....

London Auction in association with Maak

  • Artist Biography

    Lucie Rie

    Austrian • 1902 - 1995

    Dame Lucie Rie studied under Michael Powolny at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna before immigrating to London in 1938. In London she started out making buttons for the fashion industry before producing austere, sparsely decorated tableware that caught the attention of modernist interior decorators. Eventually she hit her stride with the pitch-perfect footed bowls and flared vases for which she is best-known today. She worked in porcelain and stoneware, applying glaze directly to the unfired body and firing only once. She limited decoration to incised lines, subtle spirals and golden manganese lips, allowing the beauty of her thin-walled vessels to shine through. In contrast with the rustic pots of English ceramicist Bernard Leach, who is considered an heir to the Arts and Crafts movement, collectors and scholars revere Rie for creating pottery that was in dialogue with the design and architecture of European Modernism.

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92

Lucie Rie

Footed bowl

circa 1978
Porcelain, pale yellow glaze with bands of manganese inlay repeated inside and out, a running band of bright gold to the rim.
11.3 cm (4 1/2 in.) high, 22.8 cm (8 7/8 in.) diameter
Impressed with artist's seal.

Estimate
£30,000 - 40,000 ‡♠

Sold for £113,400

Contact Specialist

Antonia King
Head of Sale, Design
Antonia.King@phillips.com

Ben Williams
Ceramics Consultant
BWilliams@phillips.com

Marijke Varrall-Jones
Director, Maak
marijke@maaklondon.com

The Art of Fire: Selections from the Dr John P. Driscoll Collection

London Auction in association with Maak