Troika Pottery, 11.5 cm

Modern art speaks loudly through this 1970s Troika Pottery (U.K.) “wheel” vase. The figure’s single, enlarged eye gives an unwavering gaze while his spindly arm beckons you to him — a bit haunting. I always wonder about the artist’s inspiration for pieces such as this. The eye reminds me of Ancient Egyptian paintings on tomb walls, such as those housed in the Louvre; the figures in the paintings are always watching, always moving, as they serve their master eternally in the world of the dead. So it seems with this figure, standing against his ocean of blue.