William Daley 'Shang Remembrance II' 1979 Signed Slab-Built Unglazed Stoneware Vessel, 21 Inch

A major studio ceramic vessel by William P. Daley (American, 1925–2022) — "Shang Remembrance II," dated 1979, slab-built in unglazed stoneware, signed, titled, and dated by the artist on the interior wall ("Wm Daley July 1979 Shang Remembrance II"). A substantial 21-inch-tall vessel: ovoid in plan, with the architectural relief band of triangular pendant teeth and the stepped, lipped collar that are signatures of Daley's mature work — direct sculptural quotations of the Chinese Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE) ritual bronze vessels that Daley revisited throughout his career.

About the artist. William P. Daley is one of the most important American studio ceramicists of the second half of the 20th century, with work held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Renwick Gallery, Carnegie Museum of Art, and Detroit Institute of Arts. He taught for nearly four decades at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), where he trained generations of American studio potters and sculptors. His distinctive language — slab-built, unglazed, deeply sculptural vessels that reference ancient Chinese, Pre-Columbian, and architectural sources — is widely regarded as one of the most original contributions to American ceramics of the studio craft movement era. Daley passed in 2022 at the age of 97; his work is now increasingly collected at auction (Rago, Wright, Bonhams, Phillips) and through specialty studio-craft dealers, with prices for his major vessels in the $5,000–$30,000+ range and steadily appreciating.

About the Shang series. Daley's "Shang" vessels are his most-recognized body of work — explicit reinterpretations of the Shang dynasty bronze ritual vessel tradition (the ding, gui, hu, you, and related forms) in slab-built unglazed stoneware, with the architectural relief, vertical flange channels, and stepped lipped collars of the original bronzes restated in clay. "Shang Remembrance II," dated 1979, is from the mature period of this series and shows Daley working at full confidence — confident slab joins, considered geometric relief, the ovoid plan, and the warm unglazed terracotta-pink ground that characterize his best work of this period.

Signature & date. Incised on the interior wall: "Wm Daley July 19[79] Shang Remembrance II." Signed, titled, and dated by the artist. The terminal digits of the year read clearly as 1979.

Condition. Overall very good. One small chip with associated minor loss to the upper rim (visible in our close-up photograph and in our dealer dossier). No structural cracks. No repairs. Surface clean with normal age-appropriate variation. The chip is small relative to the scale of the vessel and is documented honestly here so the buyer purchases informed; pricing is set with the chip taken into account.

A serious piece for a serious buyer. This is a documented, signed, titled, dated, single-owner-provenance William Daley vessel from the mature Shang series at substantial scale. We provide a full dealer dossier (artist, title, dimensions, medium, signature, provenance, condition) with the sale, suitable for collection records, insurance scheduling, or future resale documentation. Suitable for serious private collections of American studio ceramics, museum acquisitions, and design-driven contemporary interiors where a single major sculptural object becomes the focal point.

Reads beautifully solo on a plinth, on a mantel of appropriate scale, on a substantial console, or in a contemporary or transitional interior where the warm unglazed terracotta surface plays against pale walls, plaster, limestone, and modernist or organic-modernist furniture.

Dimensions: 21" H × 23.75" W × 22" D

This item ships via private carrier. Properly crated and fully insured for transit. Please allow several weeks for delivery. Expedited shipping available for an additional fee. Full dealer dossier provided to the buyer.

Reach out directly with any specific questions, condition inquiries, or for a copy of the full dealer dossier in advance of purchase. We'll do our best to reply within 24 hours. Please check out our other listings for amazing estate items.

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