Antique Pottery and Ceramic Vases: Sascha Brastoff

Being an avid collector of vases and antique pottery by Sascha Brastoff it was not difficult to pick an artist to write about in this article. Sascha Brastoff fit all of the criteria as he designed and created antique pottery and vases in the mid century modern period. The antique pottery vases he created are highly sought after today and collectors of Sascha Brastoff are growing by the day.

Sascha Brastoff was born in 1918 and died in 1993. When he was old enough, he went to Cleveland to study art and design and ballet at Western Reserve School of Art. Sascha actually danced with the Cleveland Ballet for a number of seasons. One of the first jobs Sascha held, after graduating from Western Reserve, was to work as a window dresser for Macy's in New York City.

Sascha had varied interests in art mediums and explored using them with the vases and ceramic pottery he designed and created. Sascha excelled in watercolor, metal and ceramic sculpture, enameling, charcoal, pastels, resins and fabric. In fact, some knowledgeable critics refer to Sascha as the modern Celline because of the breadth of his interests and talents.

The famous dancer and actress, Carmen Miranda, played a pivotal role in getting Sascha to relocate from New York City to California. Sascha met Carmen Miranda while he was in the United State Air Force, serving in the Special Services Events Division, where he designed costumes and scenery for USO shows. During his stint with the USO, Sascha impersonated Carmen in a character he created called GI Carmen Miranda. After arriving in Hollywood, Sascha signed a contract to design costumes for 2Oth Century Fox. Besides Carmen Miranda, Sascha designed costumes for Betty Davis and many other actresses.

After requesting a release from his 20^th Century Fox contract, Sascha set up his own art studio company called Sascha Brastoff Products Incorporated. He received backing for this venture from the politician and philanthropist Winthrop Rockefeller. In 1953 Sascha opened a fantastic art studio and hosted a grand opening that was later referred to as the party of the year. Sascha's friends included Joan Crawford and Donna Reid. At this time, a statue made by Sascha sold for $500 or more and a Sascha B lamps could sell from $200-300.

With the expansion of the studio, Sascha hired artists to make his pottery designs. The signature used on these pieces was Sascha b. Earlier, when Sascha was creating his own art pieces, he used the signature Sascha Brastoff. Finding an antique pottery piece with the original signature is a rare great treasure.

The antique pottery and art vases of Sascha Brastoff has been rediscovered in recent years. It wasn't too long ago that running across of Sascha b or Sascha Brastoff antique pottery vase or piece was not necessarily interesting or anything of note. This has all turned around since the publication of the book - Sascha Brastoff by Conti, deWayne, & Seay.

Check out the links in the articles to learn more about Sascha Brastoff and the really cool antique pottery and vases he produced. His name is spelled in a couple of ways, so if you are going to Google him try these spellings -Sascha Brastoff, SASHA B, Sasha Brastoff.

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