Description
This signed Reg Preston Australian studio pottery dish displays remarkably well, combining rich red-brown colour with deep black outlines and contrasting areas of muted grey-green glaze.
Although modest in size, the dish retains the visual strength and bold abstract character associated with Preston’s larger decorative pottery. Its compact circular form concentrates the decoration, allowing the interlocking shapes, dark linear divisions and warm iron-rich colours to create an immediate and energetic composition.
The decoration is particularly recognisable as part of Reg Preston’s artistic vocabulary. Rather than relying on a conventional repeated pattern, Preston allowed areas of colour, glaze and exposed surface to interact freely across the form. The result is expressive and individual, with enough variation in tone and texture to reward closer inspection.
At 17.5 centimetres in diameter, this is an appealing size for display in a cabinet, on a shelf or as part of a grouped Australian studio pottery collection. It offers the impact and distinctive decoration of Preston’s larger work in a more accessible and easily displayed format.
The underside carries Preston’s painted signature, providing clear identification and making the dish a desirable example of twentieth-century Australian studio pottery.
Details
- Maker: Reg Preston
- Country of origin: Australia
- Type: Studio pottery decorative dish or shallow plate
- Style: Abstract Australian studio pottery
- Colours: Red-brown, black and muted grey-green
- Material: Glazed ceramic
- Mark: Painted “Preston” signature on the underside
- Diameter: 17.5 cm
- Height: 2.5 cm
- Weight: 493 g
- Provenance: The Collector, Melbourne; Sale 1253, Lot 198, 13 August 2026
- Storage reference: Cupboard D
Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description and show the individual glaze character, signature and handmade nature of the piece
Explore more Reg Preston Australian pottery and ceramics.
Read our Reg Preston Australian Potter – History, Marks, Ceramics & Collecting Guide
About TMC Emporium
TMC Emporium offers an evolving collection of vintage, collectable and decorative items sourced throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria. Each item is individually photographed and described, with care taken to accurately represent its condition.
TMCEJC-0000046 D
