Vase

Arts and Crafts potteries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries fell into two categories—those that threw or molded their own ceramics for glazing, and those that glazed and decorated pre-made, even factory-made, ceramics. Mary Chase Perry Stratton’s Pewabic Pottery, founded in Detroit with business partner Horace Caulkins in 1903, was of the former variety. Although Stratton did not throw her own pots, she took considerable pride in her firm’s commitment to handicraft, and sought complete control of its output, from the modelling of the clay by her assistants to the surroundings in which her tiles would finally be installed. Stratton continued her work as a ceramist, teacher, and leader of Pewabic Pottery until her death in 1961.

This vase, acquired by George Booth before 1914, was one of the earliest Pewabic pieces to enter the collection at Cranbrook House. Its elongated neck, round body, and iridescent green and copper surface exemplify the qualities of meticulous craftsmanship, simple form, and richly varied color that distinguished Stratton’s ceramics, as well as her tiles. Her iridescent ware, which she developed through years of research and experimentation, enjoyed widespread acclaim. The fame of her iridescent glazes was such that Stratton once said she regretted having created them, as they had wholly eclipsed her other ceramic work. The Cranbrook collection includes several other iridescent pieces from Pewabic Pottery (see CEC 22 and CEC 362).

Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
January 2024

Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (founded 1906):

Founded on June 26, 1906, the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts provided an environment where artists, craftsmen, architects, and designers could share ideas and coordinate activities to raise the level of American craftsmanship. Out of their showroom, works by major craftsmen active in Europe and America were exhibited and sold. George Booth was not only one of the founders of the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts, but also its first president.

The Society’s showroom operated from 1916, when it opened a new building on Watson Street in Detroit, until 1958, when the mission of the Society shifted toward design education (the Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts had been established in 1926). George Booth worked closely with the Society’s Secretary Helen Plumb sourcing objects for display and sale in the showroom; George Booth also filled his home, Cranbrook House, with items he purchased or commissioned for the showroom. Beyond George Booth, Ellen and the entire Booth family patronized the Society’s showroom for gifts and furnishings for their respective homes. The Booth family continued support of the Society well into the second half of the 20th century, as it reincorporated as the Center for Creative Studies - College of Art and Design (1975 to 2001) and later the College for Creative Studies (2001-present).

Kevin Adkisson
Curator
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
November 2021