Porcelain, thrown and blown, matt white dolomite glaze, crackle in stained glazed pink. 13cm high. Stamped ‘DL’ to base.

David Leach was much more experimental in porcelain than his father, Bernard Leach. The ‘Egg’ became his signature piece, a rounded thrown bottle form with a narrow base and a small opening at the top. David Leach commented ‘It’s form is like a Barbara Hepworth sculpture, very simple, and literally blown up on the wheel.’ By ‘literally blown up,’ David Leach is referring to the development of the vase’s final tension, which is achieved by blowing into the pot while it is still on the wheel, a process that leaves a white clay lipstick round the mouth.

Literature: ‘David Leach’ a biography by Emmanuel Cooper, pages 52-53.