Ardmore Hand-Painted Bird Egg Cup 1997

Ardmore Ceramic Art, founded in 1985 in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands of South Africa by Fee Halsted-Berning, is one of the most internationally recognised names in contemporary African studio ceramics, and this hand-painted bird egg cup, dated 1997 and bearing the maker's mark, is a characteristic example of the Ardmore tradition at its most expressive.

Made by Ardmore in 1997, this ceramic egg cup is modelled as a stylised bird and decorated with vivid hand-painted floral, feather, and patterned detail in blue, green, black, and pink tones. The Ardmore style, which draws on Zulu and Sotho decorative traditions and combines them with a distinctive figurative and narrative approach, is immediately recognisable, and the level of hand-painted detail on this piece, with its layered patterning and expressive colour, is characteristic of the studio's output from the late 1990s. The painter's mark is present to the base. Ardmore pieces from this period are actively collected internationally.

• Maker: Ardmore Ceramic Art, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Dimensions: 9 cm (H) x 11 cm (W)
• Condition: Excellent
• Features: Bird-form egg cup, hand-painted floral and feather detail in blue, green, black and pink, painter's mark to base
• Dated: 1997
• SKU: CBD-0099

A dated and marked Ardmore piece from the studio's established mid-period. Pairs naturally with the Jan Du Toit bowl (CBD-0087) and the wider South African Ceramics collection.