The bowl is wheel-thrown porcelain — the foot ring unglazed, the clay body a warm cream from Ann Arbor stock. The form is wide and shallow: a broad interior field framed by a gently rising rim, proportioned for both use and looking. The interior carries a wax-resist composition of real care: fern fronds, daisy-form flowers, and pinecone clusters arranged in a loose naturalistic field around a central geometric lattice — a grid of hatched diamonds and starburst forms that anchors the botanical surround. The palette moves between Equestrian Moss pooling against cream, warm Walnut on the botanical forms, and a shifting teal that reads differently in different light. The exterior glazes run: teal, moss, and amber-brown dripping toward the unglazed foot — the behavior of a proper gas firing.
Apple Lane Pottery was founded in 1973 by Bill Nagengast in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in the sheep barn of a hundred-acre apple orchard that gave the studio its name. The clay Nagengast used was porcelain sourced from JT Abernathy of Ann Arbor — a material decision that kept the studio's roots in southeastern Michigan. Nagengast had trained at Central Michigan University and had studied under Marguerite Wildenhain — a Bauhaus-trained master — at Pond Farm Pottery in California. That lineage is present in this piece: the discipline of the form, the precision of the resist work, the structural intelligence of the glaze.
The date mark on this bowl — 7/76 — places its making in July 1976, in that original Bloomfield Hills sheep barn. The following February, a studio fire destroyed the barn entirely. This bowl comes from the first studio.
Condition: Excellent honest condition. Glaze pinholes and minor crawling at the rim are standard characteristics of gas-fired reduction work, not damage. No chips, no cracks, no repairs. The unglazed foot ring shows surface contact wear consistent with 49 years of careful use.
Hunter's Notes
Found at a yard sale in Lyon Township in the Ann Arbor area. Drawn to the glazing and the botanical craftsmanship — the way the wax-resist work held its detail. A Michigan potter, Michigan clay, found in Michigan.
The Archive Record — JLM-250021
| Maker |
Bill Nagengast, Apple Lane Pottery, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan |
| Established |
1973 (Apple Lane Pottery, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) |
| Object |
Wide shallow serving bowl with wax-resist botanical and geometric interior decoration |
| Material |
Porcelain; Ann Arbor clay stock (JT Abernathy); wax-resist decoration; gas-fired reduction glazes |
| Construction |
Wheel-thrown; unglazed foot ring; wax-resist interior; gas-fired reduction; exterior running glazes |
| Era |
July 1976 | confidence: confirmed (date mark 7/76) |
| Country of Origin |
United States — confirmed (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) |
| Condition Tier |
Excellent |
| Condition |
Glaze pinholes and minor crawling at rim — standard gas-fired reduction characteristics, not damage. No chips, cracks, or repairs. The unglazed foot ring shows surface contact wear consistent with age and careful use. |
| Hunt Provenance |
Yard sale, Lyon Township, Ann Arbor area, Michigan — July 2025 |
| Authentication |
Date mark confirmed — 7/76; Apple Lane Pottery studio mark on base; pre-dates February 1977 Bloomfield Hills studio fire |
| Comparable Sold |
$45–$165 (eBay / Etsy — May 2026) |
| JLM Price |
$75 |
| Food Safe |
yes — porcelain body; interior glazed; exterior running glazes food-safe; recommend standard vintage caution |
| Lead Risk |
no — age-appropriate caution |
| Child Safe |
unknown |
| Gift Idea |
Michigan Collector, Studio Pottery, Heirloom Gift |
Product Specs
| Dimensions |
11″ D × 11″ W × 3″ H |
| Weight |
3.25 lb |
