GWYN HANSSEN PIGOTT (1935–2013), A Rare and Important Seven Piece Service, Circa 1974

Comprising a tall tapering vase and six matching stemmed goblets. Each vessel is wheel-thrown in stoneware, finished in a luminous cream-white satin glaze, and decorated with a hand-applied horizontal band of translucent cobalt blue wash.

Dimensions:

Vase: 30 cm high.

Goblets: 16.5cm high (slight variations).

Condition: Mostly in very good condition, the glaze has minor craquelure commensurate to age, slight discolouration and variation to some small areas and minor wear to edges of goblets - (full condition report images available upon request).

Marks:

Vase: Impressed with the square ‘c’ (Casson Gallery) seal to the lower body; incised cursive ‘Gwyn’ signature to the base.

Goblets: Each goblet impressed with the square ‘c’ seal to the body.

Cataloging Note

This service is a definitive example of Hanssen Pigott’s transitional 1970s period. It was executed shortly after her return to Australia from France and London, a time when she was shifting from purely functional "Standard Ware" toward the refined, sculptural minimalism that would later define her career. The presence of the Casson seal across the entire service confirms it as a unified commission or studio suite. Intact sets from this pivotal era are rarely seen on the market and represent a significant opportunity for the collector of Australian Modernism.

Essay:

The Markings: The presence of the Casson Gallery seal, a small, square 'c' marks a final usage of her London-based institutional identity. While Hanssen Pigott had technically returned to Australia (Tasmania) by 1973, she famously continued to use specific stamps and local clays brought back or sourced immediately upon her return. Finding this seal alongside a hand-incised 'Gwyn' signature is rare; the signature often suggests a piece she felt transcended mere "standard ware" production.

Aesthetic Parallel: The hand-applied cobalt banding is an early iteration of the blue geometric patterns she would later refine at the Jam Factory in Adelaide (c. 1980). Similar "Banded" examples from the late 60s and early 70s are held in the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), specifically from her time in France (1966–1973), where she developed the "Vierzon" porcelain and stoneware bodies that share this luminous cream-white finish.

The Rarity of the Set: Most recorded examples in museum catalogs consist of individual bowls, beakers, or teapots. Intact functional services from the early 1970s, especially those appearing for the first time on the secondary market are virtually non-existent in private circulation.

Public Collections and Museum Holdings

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott’s work is highly institutionalised, with her 1970s functional wares and later "Still Life" groups being cornerstones of international ceramic collections.

Australia:

National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra: Holds an extensive survey of her career, including early functional stoneware.

National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne: Significant holdings of her French and London-era breakfast sets and porcelain.

Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Sydney: Features key works from her later Australian period.

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), Victoria: Home to one of the most comprehensive regional collections of her developmental works.

Powerhouse Museum (MAAS), Sydney: Holds several important functional pieces demonstrating her craft legacy.

International:

Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London: Holds several works from her influential UK and European period.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), New York: Features her later porcelain groupings in their modern design wing.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), USA: Important examples of her minimalist sculptural vessels.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam: Significant holdings representing her international teaching and exhibition history.

The British Museum, London: Holds select pieces reflecting the influence of the Leach/Cardew tradition on her early work.