{"product_id":"apple-lane-pottery-bill-nagengast-serving-bowl-wax-resist-botanical-forest-green-walnut-original-bloomfield-hills-studio-july-1976-michigan-studio-porcelain","title":"Apple Lane Pottery Bill Nagengast Serving Bowl | Wax Resist Botanical | Forest Green \u0026 Walnut | Original Bloomfield Hills Studio | July 1976 | Michigan Studio Porcelain","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApple 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHunter's Notes\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFound 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.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eThe Archive Record — JLM-250021\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaker\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBill Nagengast, Apple Lane Pottery, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEstablished\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1973 (Apple Lane Pottery, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWide shallow serving bowl with wax-resist botanical and geometric interior decoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePorcelain; Ann Arbor clay stock (JT Abernathy); wax-resist decoration; gas-fired reduction glazes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eConstruction\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWheel-thrown; unglazed foot ring; wax-resist interior; gas-fired reduction; exterior running glazes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eJuly 1976 | confidence: confirmed (date mark 7\/76)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCountry of Origin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eUnited States — confirmed (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition Tier\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eExcellent\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGlaze 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.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHunt Provenance\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eYard sale, Lyon Township, Ann Arbor area, Michigan — July 2025\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAuthentication\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDate mark confirmed — 7\/76; Apple Lane Pottery studio mark on base; pre-dates February 1977 Bloomfield Hills studio fire\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eComparable Sold\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e$45–$165 (eBay \/ Etsy — May 2026)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eJLM Price\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e$75\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFood Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eyes — porcelain body; interior glazed; exterior running glazes food-safe; recommend standard vintage caution\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLead Risk\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eno — age-appropriate caution\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eChild Safe\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eunknown\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGift Idea\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMichigan Collector, Studio Pottery, Heirloom Gift\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eProduct Specs\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e11″ D × 11″ W × 3″ H\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3.25 lb\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Jolene Le Mille","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48975668805860,"sku":"JLM-250021","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0801\/3175\/2164\/files\/5B44F26B-E616-4C58-BCDD-720063D18603.jpg?v=1779593197","url":"https:\/\/jolenelemille.com\/products\/apple-lane-pottery-bill-nagengast-serving-bowl-wax-resist-botanical-forest-green-walnut-original-bloomfield-hills-studio-july-1976-michigan-studio-porcelain","provider":"Jolene Le Mille","version":"1.0","type":"link"}