Identifying Ceramic Object from Guy Ngan Estate

Hi all,

A friend of mine put me onto the NZ Pottery website after a few conversations with him about a piece I acquired last year at the Cordy’s Guy Ngan Estate auction in Auckland. The piece is a salt-glazed group of intermeshing vaulted forms and was sold with the maker unidentified. I have spoken with Guy’s daughter Liz, who mentioned it used to sit outside the entry of their Stokes Valley home. There are no identifiable markings to suggest the maker, but we were curious whether it might be affiliated with either Roy Cowan or Juliet Peter, as formally it displayed some similarities to the lantern forms they were exploring. Some of Roy’s work featured in the auction and it was my understanding that the families were friends.

Can anyone shed some light on this mystery?

Photos to come.




Thanks,

Brad Balle

That is a big question !!

I don't feel qualified to say either way, but I have seen a lot of Roy's work that is signed by him.
This doesn't appear to have the flair and finesse that Roy bestowed on his pots.
However he may have inspired this piece.

I like this piece very much for the way it surprises and keeps on going.

Thanks for the response Ev.

Was there anyone else that was making objects of a similar style you or any others have come across that are worth looking into?

I came across this photo of a sculpture by Roy Cowan in New Zealand Potters Their Work and Words and it reminded me of your post Brad.

Thanks for the response - there are definitely a lot of similarities in the styling, most of his lanterns I have come across have a regular base, with the upper half to 3/4 more ornate, using the vaults and circular openings to punctuate the form. Another little detail that seems consistent are the ‘sills’ that project forward of the base below the vaulted forms above. This said, I’m sure everyone was influenced by everyone else and some of these details would have been used in other potters works.

I still am very curious as to how I might identify it’s maker, especially as I suspect it will have a great story as to how it entered Guy Ngan’s personal collection. I will continue to quiz his daughter Liz and see what we discover!