Stoneware S&P Shakers - Scandinavian Style - John Buck, Japan?

On a whim I picked up a cute trio of stoneware salt and pepper shakers - 2 salt and 1 pepper.  I have very little info about where they came from a deceased estate, a house on the US West Coast (LA) that was involved in the art and design world for many years from the 40's through the 80's.  (For instance there were some high end items in the estate they had obtained because they were business associates of Ray and Charles Eames.)

Front/Girl side


Back/Boy side


Bottom/Top / Bottom


Anyway I'm clueless about these shakers.  They have hints of design elements from several Scandinavian designers from the 60's but that influence was far reaching so they could be from anywhere.  I thought Japan might be a possibility but owning several pieces of mid-century from Japan and closely comparing them I've mostly discounted that possibility.  The shakers I have are of a solid weight and usually the Japanese ceramics are very delicate and fine.

Much, much online searching has lead me to find one other similar pair, but they to came from an estate and the seller could not give any info about them either.

Any and all input and opinions welcome and much appreciated.

The faces look very like Lisa Larson's work.

NaomiM wrote:The faces look very like Lisa Larson's work.

Yes, that exactly who I thought of when I first saw them. They definitely share a lot of similarities with her style.

I know there have been some pretty comprehensive books done on Larson's work but I don't own them, so I have no idea if she would have done a line of S&P like this or not. I can't find anything online.

BTW if it's not obvious, these pieces are unmarked. I keep thinking there was probably a sticker on them at one time that would have saved me a lot of time and frustration.

I find that salt & pepper sets are often not marked because of the lack of space on the base. They may have come in a box with the maker's details printed on it.

not Scandinavian, I did have a couple of vases some time ago and tracked down the pottery but my brain isn't working today to remember it

Love them...i want

cookiepops wrote:not Scandinavian, I did have a couple of vases some time ago and tracked down the pottery but my brain isn't working today to remember it

Oh. please eat some protein or take a nap and see if you can get your brain recharged. When you say vases, were the vases similar to the shakers only larger? I had thought how cute these would look on a larger scale as a vase or something of the sort.

Please try to come back and jog your memory. The only other thing I can find remotely close (outside Scandinavian) were some Japanese import pieces, but while the simple face style is similar sometimes, none of it ended up being a match.

brin mcardle wrote:Love them...i want

Thank you, they are super cute. I intend to use them but if for some reason it doesn't work out I'll be sure to let you know.

(Unless you would know someone willing to part with Cathrineholm lotus pattern S&P shakers. I finally gave up all hope of ever finding a pair so that's what got me hunting for a set and coming across these. Since it would seem there are only 4 pairs of Cathrineholm S&P shakers in the entire known universe I won't hold my breath.)

MirnaMinkoff wrote:

brin mcardle wrote:Love them...i want

Thank you, they are super cute. I intend to use them but if for some reason it doesn't work out I'll be sure to let you know.

(Unless you would know someone willing to part with Cathrineholm lotus pattern S&P shakers. I finally gave up all hope of ever finding a pair so that's what got me hunting for a set and coming across these. Since it would seem there are only 4 pairs of Cathrineholm S&P shakers in the entire known universe I won't hold my breath.)

yes pretty much the same design and shape and they were unmarked which took me time to discover the pottery, which I did whilst looking for something else....as you do lol. You will have to leave it with me and hope that eventually it will pop into my brain when I am thinking of something else......as you do lol

right here we go, I didn't have a brainstorm but I have lots of stuff tucked away to sell and guess what??? I found the item I said I had and here it is, haven't done much research on it yet but someone might be able to decifer the sig

Francoise?

looks a little like Winwise to me but on searching absolutely nothing so far

found something very similiar in appearance, sig on my vase might not be maker's mark

http://www.rubylane.com/item/538624-RL1533/Whimsical-Giftcraft-Japan-Clay-Pottery

[quote="cookiepops"]right here we go, I didn't have a brainstorm but I have lots of stuff tucked away to sell and guess what??? I found the item I said I had and here it is, haven't done much research on it yet but someone might be able to decifer the sig



Aha!!! Thank you so very, very, much for getting back to me CookiePops! And even posting photos, excellent!! I'm assuming this is the vase you were referring to a few days ago? (I'm curious where the hole or opening is since I can't see it in the photo.) About what size is the vase? I think it's a super cute vase, so please let me know if you are going to sell it in the future.

I agree that it certainly has to be the same artist that did my shakers - and its excellent that yours is signed. What a nice bit of info to uncover. Do you have the faintest idea what country they might have been from? (I know you said they weren't Scandinavian in a previous post, so I wondered how you knew that or what origins you were aware of.) I know it's not easy to read signatures but have you figured out the name on the vase to any degree? Do you have any further info on he artist from your initial research?

Your avatar info says you are in the UK so I'm assuming you got your vase in the UK somewhere? I'm curious how the shakers popped up on the West Coast of the US. I found one other set of them that sold a few years back from an estate in Portland, OR. So I'm guessing whoever made them must have had at least a descent size production in operation and/or had a bit of a reputation if his work turns up in various countries.

Alright, back to work, but thank you so much for posting the info and photos. Also, thanks to others providing input - I will try to reply a bit later.

it's 6.5" high and the opening is at the top, can't really see from the angle of the pic. Yes I am in the UK hon....oooo that's interesting that you are in the States, it might be another angle to look at when researching although I haven't researched them yet but the nearest I found was the image I uploaded previously. As you have them over there they might in fact be cheapy export stuff and the sig on the bottom of mine might not be authentic. Will do more research when I get time and see what else I can find

cookiepops wrote:it's 6.5" high and the opening is at the top, can't really see from the angle of the pic. Yes I am in the UK hon....oooo that's interesting that you are in the States, it might be another angle to look at when researching although I haven't researched them yet but the nearest I found was the image I uploaded previously. As you have them over there they might in fact be cheapy export stuff and the sig on the bottom of mine might not be authentic. Will do more research when I get time and see what else I can find

I'm kind of shocked you would even think the signature on your vase is faked. Must be a very different scene in the UK than in the US. I can't imagine anyone taking the trouble to forge a NON - famous-designer signature on some piece of pottery here. I know people forge signatures like "Lisa Larson" or "Bagni" or "Fantoni", etc...on pieces that resemble their work on occasion- but it seems very odd to forge a name that isn't famous or well-known, why bother?

In fact forging signatures or fake (as in made in china) vintage pieces is pretty rare here - except for professional ebay shysters. The only real risk with forgery or fakes here comes with the very well-known designers/pieces that are fetching high prices at auction or on ebay. I've never encountered purposeful forgery or fakes in person here at the antique/vintage stores, flea markets, etc... Ebay is the only place I've seen any evidence of it and half the time I chalk it up more to hopeful ignorance than purposeful fraud. The chinese only seem to get in on the action when they can do it on a massive scale, and in the vintage pottery world there aren't really that many opportunities.

Is vintage pottery/ceramics really so popular in the UK that fakes and forgeries are such a problem that even on minor pieces the worry is there?

faking stuff is pretty much rife in all parts of the world, I see fake stuff all the time at auctions, car boots and on ebay and even copied stuff being sold new in charity shops, especially lookalike Scandinavian and Whitefriars glass. I am always suspicious of handwritten sigs on pieces, just me I suppose It is now driving me nuts in not ID'ing this piece, its obviously well made so probably not a cheapy import/export piece

they are even forging silver hallmarks now

The signature might be a previous owner's, rather than the potter's. The piece looks more like the work of a company, rather than a one-off or limited edition by a studio potter where one would expect to see a signature.

The sig is obviously not the norm for the piece , elsewise it'd be on the lot IMO

They might be Japanese.
Came across an import? retail? company called 'John Buck' who's sticker is on items from Subtil majolica, Portugal, to Japan Art Studio Ceramics. Sometimes just marked 'John Buck Studio', so it might be a designer who's having their ceramics made in Japan.
There's a John Buck Japan Art Studio figure of a child looking into a well on ebay (completed listings - RARE JOHN BUCK JAPAN STUDIO ART POTTERY FIGURAL GIRL CHILD HANDLE MUG), that has very similar features to these items, and made of the same sort of stoneware.

thought about john buck some time ago as I see lots of those types of mugs around but never anything like the vase or the shakers

forgot it had another figural side to it lol

Just did a little more research and found one or two similar items with references made to Japan. Such a lovely well made piece was hoping for NOT Japan