The vase combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design through hand-pressed construction. Its black clay composition features a distinctive non-homogeneous texture with grey and earth tones, created using the Portuguese 'barro preto' technique. The firing process in an underground pit produces unique variations in each piece, while the rounded form provides timeless appeal.
Hand pressed by craftsman António Marques, the Christian Haas-designed 'Portal Vase' by Origin Made is an exploration of what it means to be 'hand formed'. Every handmade black clay piece is unique, thanks also in part to the application of the declining Portuguese art of 'barro preto', where a non-homogeneous texture of black, grey and earth tones emerge as a result of a firing process in an underground pit called a 'soenga'. What emerges are items likes this small rounded vase, which manages to feel both ancient and modern at the same time.
