Tall cobalt drip-glaze bottle vase by Marcello Fantoni, Florence

Tall square-section bottle vase by Marcello Fantoni (1915–2011), made in his Florence studio. A vivid cobalt blue glaze runs down over an exposed iron-rich clay body, so the colour reads against the raw warmth of the clay rather than sitting on it as a uniform coat. The upright, architectural form gives the glaze four faces to move across, and the piece changes character as you walk round it. Signed. Acquired directly from the Fantoni family in Florence. 32 cm high × 13 cm × 13 cm.