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This beautiful wheel-thrown and hand-glazed porcelain vase was made by John Mankameyer (California and Montana) and is both signed "Manka" and dated 2013. It measures about 6.75" t. x 4.5" and is in original condition. Note that the under layer has multicolor striations, a new layer of complexity that the artist appears to have developed late in his career.

Fascinating irregularly sized and placed crystals make each piece unique, in addition to the fact that they are all thrown on the potter's wheel. (I have several examples for sale on ebay at the moment, all purchased directly from the artist.)

An extremely detailed biography of John Mankameyer (1933-2015) appears on this web site, and I quote a few excerpts below: https://potteryartscrafts.com/early-1984-john-mankameyer-manka-crystalline-glaze-studio-pottery-jar-arts-craft.htm.

A native to Miles City, Montana, John was born November 12, 1933, and spent part of his childhood living in different places with his mother, which included Spearfish, South Dakota, Mineral, Washington, Tacoma, Washington, and finally Eugene, Oregon where he graduated from high school in 1952. John then attended junior college in Eugene until he joined the United States Air Force at the beginning of 1955. Upon his honorable discharge in 1963, John moved to San Francisco where he worked at various technical jobs for about one year before moving back to Miles City.

With his training in electronics during the war, he decided to open a television and radio repair shop just off of downtown's Main Street. However, a side interest at that time was collecting Montana Agate, which he then made into jewelry. Within a few years this became his full-time business known as John's Agate Shop. John's interest in making jewelry continued the rest of his life. Following the dissolution of his one and only short-lived and childless marriage during the early 1970s, John found the true passion of his life clay! For many years afterward, he worked in California, where he lived and breathed the art of making crystalline glazes on porcelain.

Between 1975 and 2015, John developed a national reputation for his accomplishments with crystalline glazes and sophisticated ceramic forms. And because he signed his pottery with the moniker of Manka (short for Mankameyer), John became known within the ceramic field by this nickname. Numerous museums have acquired his work for their permanent collections, including the Everson Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Oakland Museum of California.

John is credited with being one of the primary artists who helped to revive the interest among potters and collectors alike in crystalline glazes during the late 1970s well into the 1990s. Today, John is considered an iconic figure for this type of ceramic art. In the year 2000, at age 67, John moved back to Miles City, Montana, where he entered a semi-retirement phase. He essentially began experimenting for the sake of experimenting, keeping meticulous records of each new crystalline glaze. One of the more fascinating of his accomplishments during this later period was a crystal that mimicked the appearance of a Montana moss agate quite a visually stunning glaze.

Between 2004 and 2010 his pottery activities nearly ceased altogether. Ill health kept him from undertaking the labor-intensive activity of throwing new forms (all of his pottery is hand thrown) as well as the concentrated effort of firing his kilns. Heart surgery, which fortunately went very well, gave him renewed strength to return to what he loved for the last five years of his life -- creating the art of crystalline glazes which he continued to create up until the time of his death in 2015.

I'm Mark Bassett, author and collector. For years, I sold here under the name "potterybooks."

I frequently recommend the group Pottery Collector on Facebook. Great place for beginners and advanced collectors to mingle and learn more about American art pottery. If you need to ask me a question, contact me on FB as marktbassett.

Buy with confidence! As an American Art Pottery Association (AAPA) member, I abide by their Code of Ethics. Buyer is entitled to return this piece if dissatisfied. Please let me know within 3 days, if you want to return the piece. Unless I have made a major error in describing the item, buyer will also be liable for all costs (including seller's original shipping costs, paypal costs, and ebay costs), in addition to return shipping.