Horse Hair Pottery Lizard by Tom Vail

Sku 5240

Horse Hair Pottery Lizard by Tom Vail Sr 1.75”h x 10”l x 6”w

The Vail family is well known for their horse hair style pottery. Initially horse hair pottery was discovered as a result from an artisan whose hair got caught on a piece of pottery while it was being removing from the kiln. To create these beautiful pieces of pottery they start by making a ceramic pot in a mold that sits to dry. After the pottery is dry, they clean and polish the piece. Next the pottery is fired in a kiln at a low temperature. Randomly horse mane hair or tail hair is thrown onto the heated pottery. The hair then sticks and carbonize leaving beautiful lines that create different designs and patterns. The smoke from the flammable horsehair additionally results in unique shading on the glaze. No two pieces of horse hair pottery are alike.