Redlands Pottery

Chevy Chase, Maryland Estate
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Shapes of Clay, Redlands Pottery sales brochure, Redlands, CA, n.d. (for a similar bowl in the form of a crab)
Leslie Greene Bowman, American Arts & Crafts, Virtue in Design, Los Angeles, 1990, p. 175, cat. no. 167 (for a similar bowl in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

Overall in very good condition. This piece recently came out of an estate in Chevy Chase, Maryland and is in as found condition. There is no evidence of any prior restoration to the bowl. The glazed surfaces show variation throughout, displaying a distressed and aged surface appearance. The glaze treatment within Trippet’s repertoire shows great variation, from very evenly applied monochromatic glazes to more varied and distressed glazes. It is possibly that the present lot was slightly misfired, or that this distressed appearance was the original aesthetic intent of the artist. The exterior surfaces throughout with a few light surface scratches, and with surface soiling and residue to the recessed contours of the crab. There is a small surface scratch to the upper portion of the bowl in between the two crab claws (approximately ½ inch long), and very light and minor surface scratches to both claws. With a small dark drip mark (3/16 inch) at the mid-section of the bowl opposite the crab. The interior with considerable surface soiling, but no evidence of any water lines. A wonderful object that feels great in the hand. The scale of the bowl is surprisingly large and substantial, with tremendous sculptural presence. The distressed surfaces are quite attractive, imparting the piece with a rich aged-looking patina.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Wesley H. Trippett began his career working for Tiffany Studios in New York as a designer of architectural and decorative metalwork.  Although never formally trained as a potter, Trippett became acquainted with clay as a medium for creating models.  Plagued with tuberculosis, he moved to California for his health around 1895 and settled in Redlands.  After experimenting with local clay deposits and building his own potter’s wheel, Trippett founded Redlands Pottery around 1904.

A Redlands Pottery sales brochure provides an anecdotal account of Trippett's inspiration: "About three years ago, while looking for a damp place where some tadpoles, that had served science and amused a group of children, might continue their evolution and in course of time reach frogs' estate, the writer, who was accompanied by W. H. Trippett of Redlands, happened upon a surface bed of damp clay.  This discovery at once suggested to Mr. Trippett the possibilities of such material,-modeling, pottery, Redlands Pottery,-why not?  He acted upon the suggestion."

Working entirely on his own, Trippett produced a small repertoire of bowls and vases inspired by animals and plants indigenous to the west coast.  Trippett employed bisque finishes for most of his vessels in order to reveal the color and quality of the local California clays.  The Paul Elder Company of San Francisco retailed Trippett's figural wares in their 1905 trade catalogue, illustrating "flower bowls" available in "various sizes, nearly round in shape, with figures of crabs and frogs in relief" and vessels "with covers ornamented with figures in relief of horn-toads, crabs, frogs, lizards, and rabbits."  The burnished surfaces of these simple forms with applied naturalistic depictions of local wildlife were in line with the Craftsman ideals that Trippett adopted, which for him were a reaction against the contemporary Art Nouveau style that had dominated his early career.

Trippett probably closed Redlands Pottery in 1909.  In 1911 he moved to National City (near San Diego) to head the art department of the California China Products Company, and in 1913 he died of tuberculosis.  Surviving examples of Trippett's distinct figural vessels from his brief career as a potter are scarce and are represented in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Oakland Museum of California.