Roger Calhoun Horsehair Raku Pottery Vase, Signed

A tall horsehair raku vase by Roger Calhoun, signed on the underside. The upper third carries a layered drip glaze — deep brown at the rim breaking down through ochre, mint, and a banded emerald collar where the glaze pools and crawls against the unglazed body. Below, the burnished clay surface is marked with the distinctive black carbon traceries produced when horsehair is laid against the vessel as it comes from the kiln still hot, the strands flashing and smoking into permanent linear patterns no two pots share.

Horsehair raku is a New Mexico studio pottery tradition with strong roots in New Mexico and Arizona, descended from Japanese raku practice but adapted to the regional aesthetic by potters working from the 1970s forward. The vase retains its original maker's hangtag describing the technique. A clean classical urn form — flared rim, high shoulder, tapered body — gives the smoke-drawn lines a generous field to run across.

CONDITION

Very Good. No chips, cracks, or losses. Glaze and carbon markings are intact and crisp.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Height: 18"
• Diameter: 8"
• Weight: 10 lbs 2.6 oz
• Material: Ceramic, horsehair raku-fired
• Signed: Roger Calhoun (underside)
• Original maker's hangtag present
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included