Stunning American studio pottery earthenware charger with vibrant turquoise crackle glaze and scattered grey veining. Hand-thrown, over 13" diameter, with the primitive, tactile edge that defines 1930s California art pottery. Incised underneath "Adele Wayland SF."
Why this matters: Adele Caillaud Wayland studied at the California School of Fine Arts in the 1920s–30s, exhibited with SF Women Artists (1929–38) and at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, and sold portrait busts through Gump's San Francisco. She maintained studios in San Francisco and on the Russian River — the same milieu as Marguerite Wildenhain's Pond Farm.
Wayland is listed in Edan Hughes Artists in California 1786–1940, Falk Who Was Who in American Art, and Davenport's Art Reference — the same references used for Wildenhain and Glen Lukens.
Scale & condition: Measures over 13" diameter x approx 1.5" high. Several rough areas to the rim are in the making, adding to the hand-crafted character. No repairs. Found in Sebastopol, California.
Market context for collectors: Large California studio bowls by Wildenhain (Pond Farm) regularly bring $900–$2,160 at auction for 12–15" forms, and exceptional Glen Lukens bowls (18¾" dia, c.1940) have sold for $4,410. Peer California woman potter Laura Andreson's 13–13½" bowls from the 1930s–40s have hammered $250–$313 at Rago, with later glazed examples $688–$1,098. Wayland is considerably scarcer at market, making this a rare opportunity for a documented pre-war California woman ceramist.
A fine, decorative example of American art pottery — perfect as a centerpiece charger, wall hanging, or for the California modern collection.