Arthur and Carol Rosser were a husband and wife duo who practised in North Queensland (Townsville and Mackay), quietly dedicating their careers to the production of wood fired pottery. Masters of their medium, they are recognised as part of a dispersed community of artists that contributed to the revival of stoneware pottery in Australia, a movement that slowly gained momentum from the late 1950s.
Over forty years the Rossers’ created a prolific body of work. Often self-sourcing and mixing clay bodies from local deposits, they built and experimented with their own kilns suitable for salt and later, long wood firings. This included an Anagama kiln (from Japanese for cave kiln) and their hybrid design Oztrain kiln. Over their careers they mastered salt glazing and developed their own natural ash glazes. Earthy red, brown and subtle green dribbles, minimal decoration, and robust, functional forms became the signature aesthetic of their oeuvre. In their later years they pursued pure wood firing—exploiting the natural, random effects of ash in the kiln to allow for unexpected decorative effects.

This bottle was created at the Rosser's pottery in the Mackay hinterland during the years following their relocation from Townsville to pursue a life as full time potters. By this stage Arthur and Carol had built their first salt kiln and had begun use the glazes mixed by Arthur. This small bottle includes minimalist incised line decoration and demonstrates Arthur Rosser's preference to focus on form and firing method as the decorative aspect of his wares.

Artspace Mackay 2023