Vase

Overview Vase William J. Walley ca. 1898–1918 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 William J. Walley was one of Grueby’s many followers in the Northeast. Working in his small pottery in West Sterling, Massachusetts, and inspired by Grueby’s leaf-based designs, Walley turned from historicizing shapes to vessels with richly modeled plant forms that are variations on Grueby’s inventions. Whereas the Boston pottery relied on decorators to apply thin ropes of clay to delineate the leaves, in many instances Walley created designs where the leaves are modeled with greater relief. Here, the bulbous base is encircled by leaves that part to allow the long, thin neck—a sort of stem—to emerge. View more