Mid Century Elizabeth Ann MacPhail Miniature Sculptural Form II

Guernsey, c.1960s–70s
 
A small, stacked form built from curved and circular elements rising out of a textured cylindrical base.
 
The surface is finished in a warm iron-toned glaze with soft speckling and pale interior breaks, giving it that familiar mid-century studio pottery feel. The lower section carries applied, wave-like decoration, while the upper section moves upward through a circular band into a folded, dish-like top. It’s compact but considered — balanced without feeling rigid.
 
There’s something quietly playful about this one. The proportions are slightly off-centre in a way that feels intentional rather than accidental. It reads as a miniature sculpture rather than a vessel, with negative space doing as much work as the clay itself.
 
Small scale, but confidently built.
 
About Elizabeth Ann MacPhail
 
Elizabeth Ann MacPhail worked at Briglin Pottery, London, in the late 1950s before establishing her own studio at Grandes Rocques, Guernsey, from 1961. Her work sits within the British studio pottery tradition of the mid-20th century, combining functional form with confident hand-decoration. Pieces attributed to her Guernsey period were produced on a smaller scale and remain comparatively scarce on the market today.
 
Condition: Exellent
Size: W 2.5cm x D 4cm x H 6cm