John Ward Vessel
We are very excited to offer a John Ward vessel in this April's Welsh Sale! A highly sought after piece by a highly regarded and supreme ceramicist.
John Ward 1938-2023
Born in London in 1938, John Ward is celebrated as a premier figure in modern British ceramics. His professional journey began behind the camera at the BBC, but his path shifted toward pottery following studies at East Ham Technical College and the Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts, where he was mentored by the iconic Hans Coper and Lucie Rie. After opening his first London studio in 1971 and spending years balancing teaching with his craft, Ward moved to Pembrokeshire in 1979 to dedicate himself entirely to his ceramic practice.
Ward’s sculptural stoneware is a dialogue between the ancient and the modern, drawing from Egyptian and Chinese pre-glaze pottery as well as the contemporary influences of Ian Godfrey and his former teachers. His technical process involved hand-building vessels with flattened coils and pinched bases, often altering the forms at the "leather-hard" stage by cutting and rejoining clay to create distinctive ridges. These pieces were finished with scraped textures and matt glazes—applied through pouring and spraying—before being double-fired in an electric kiln. His work is instantly recognisable for its geometric decoration and complex, yet minimalist, structures.
The artist’s aesthetic was deeply tied to his environment; he aimed to capture a balance between "dynamic qualities and a sense of stillness." Living near the Welsh coast, Ward drew inspiration from the natural strata of cliffs and the movement of the sea, translating these into the banded decorations and the green, blue, and ochre glazes that mimic the textures of wet pebbles and stone. Today, his significant contribution to the arts is preserved in world-class institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, and the National Museum of Wales.
We last sold a John Ward vase in 2018 for £17,500 which (as of February 2026) is the third highest UK auction price for a piece by Ward.
This vessel comes with a very attractive pre-sale guide of £10,000-15,000. Please get in touch for further information.
