Rago Auctions

In 1899, Susan Frackelton—by then a major figure in the ceramics world, having won a gold medal at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and published the third edition of her influential book, Tried by Fire—wrote George Ohr requesting to visit and work in his pottery for a time. Ohr obliged, and the two went on to create approximately one dozen collaborative works, he throwing the pots, she designing and decorating them. The present lot, with its wafer-thin walls, ribbon handles, classic form, and elegant inscription, exhibits the talents of these two titans of pottery. Frackelton later recalled:

I went down there for the express purpose of working in his pottery…Ohr himself seemed astonished at the request for permission to work there, but agreed to it. He had no assistant whatever, and as I have not the strength to turn the wheel, he agreed to turn it for me while I made the design. At first he protested vigorously—and ruined most of my things to my way of thinking, because he would not follow the form I wished. We had row after row, always good naturedly, always explanatory, and finally we settled down to an agreement propounded by Ohr himself: ‘You boss me and I’ll boss the clay.’ It was wonderful to see him at work…With this great strength he has extraordinary delicacy, and the two make him a master potter. The clay seems to be a living, breathing thing under his manipulation. He can make it do anything and everything but talk, it seemed to me, and some of it almost did that.