Beyond being a Raymor product (they of the Arthur Umanoff product fame) this is just a seriously beautiful piece of pottery. It had me at that glossy Yellow and Black glaze and asymmetric design.
I'm guessing that with those two huge divots that this must have been intended as a cigar ashtray. I
wish that I could find another like it on the web but this one is playin' hard to get. There's not a lot of
comparables out there.
This is yet another lucky piece that has managed to survive the thrift donation process. There's not a
chip or flea bite in sight. Any weirdness is just a manufacturer flaw...such as it may be. But I didn't
see any. Anybody have any idea how old this might be?
I was originally going to flip this but now I'm thinking about keeping it and displaying it on one of
the shelves of the Raymor / Umanoff pieces I've recently acquired. I don't know if it's just a rare and
unusual ashtray or if it's so mundane that no one else has bothered to try and sell one or even share
theirs on a blog, but I think it's fantastic in a pop art / Kartel sorta way.
Raymor existed from about 1940-1980. Most-- but certainly not all-- of the Italian ceramics Raymor imported to the US in the 50s and 60s were quite a bit more decorative than your ashtray. Given the excellent condition, I'd guess your ashtray's 70s/80s.
ReplyDeleteRaymor existed from about 1940-1980. Most-- but certainly not all-- of the Italian ceramics Raymor imported to the US in the 50s and 60s were quite a bit more decorative than your ashtray. Given the excellent condition, I'd guess your ashtray's 70s/80s.
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