Viktor Schreckengost for Cowan Pottery
vase
Rocky River, OH
glazed ceramic
artist signed, impressed mark
6.5"h x 5"dia

VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST, THE AMERICAN DAVINCI, COWAN POTTERY VASE 1931 
Magnificent Cowan pottery dry point decorated fish vase by Viktor Schreckengost. c. 1931. V-91. Blue over black glaze. 
Having impressed Cowan mark on bottom dating it to 1930 and a very light "V" can be seen. 
6 1/2" high 
3" across the base 
5 1/2" at the widest point 
2" opening at the top 
Born into a family of ceramic workers in 1906, Viktor Schreckengost began his long association with Cleveland when he moved to the city to study art in 1929. An artistic turning point came when he saw the work of Michael Powolny in an exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art and earned a scholarship to study with the European artist at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna. Some of his earliest designs, including the “Jazz” bowl, were made for the Cowan Pottery in Rocky River, a town on Lake Erie east of Cleveland. The pottery had opened in 1884 but closed in December 1931 as a result of Depression economics. Schreckengost went on to found the department of Industrial Design at the Cleveland Institute of Art and remained on the faculty until his death.

Schreckengost worked as an artist for Cowan Pottery for only 2 years from 1930 to 1931. This piece reflects the same blue over black glaze style of "The Jazz Bowl" which now sits in the Smithsonian.

Nicely executed vase in very good original condition. A few minor scratches.