1970s Tonalá Mexico Ceramic Pillar Candle Holder by Ken Edwards

Description

"The Tonalá Museum stands on what was once the workshop of Ken Edwards who, along with his partner Jorge Wilmot, … more "The Tonalá Museum stands on what was once the workshop of Ken Edwards who, along with his partner Jorge Wilmot, set up the town’s first high-fire ceramics oven between 1959-60. By 1985, the building was functioning as a museum, and the acquisition of a significant collection of indigenous ceramics lead to its establishment at a national museum level.

Born in the USA, Ken Edwards was educated in the Arts in Kansas City, Missouri and studied his art in Japan before migrating to Mexico in the late 1950s and establishing "El Palomar", the workshop in Tonalá, Mexico. Along with Wilmot, Edwards established a veritable mecca of Western Mexican pottery."

Signed "K E" on the bottom, this hand painted ceramic pillar candle holder was made in the Mexican state of Jalisco by the artisan. The candle holder has a wide cylindrical base topped by a slightly domed square platform outfitted with a short sharp metal spike at the center. The domed platform has a circular depression at the center ringed with a series of demi-lune depressions arranged in a circular orientation, giving the platform a floriform accent. The center has been hand painted with a classic blue bird native to the region. The outer edges of the platform bear blue and brown and green paint flourishes.

The candle holder stands 2.75" tall and is approximately 5.75" by 5.75" at the top. The circular foot is 3.625" in diameter and bears the word "MEXICO" and initials, "KE". It weighs 1lb 3oz. less