mid century vase signed - Mike (Maigons) Daga, USA

Picked this up last weekend.  I say "Scandinavian style" because I don't know how better in a brief post title to describe this type of aesthetic in pottery.

Any help much appreciated.





Vase is 7 inches tall, smooth glaze, glaze is brown glaze with earth tones. Signed on the bottom with a name or initials then the number "54" - not sure if this would signify the year 1954 or a design number.  It definitely is 40+ years old, but other than that I can't say anything else about it for sure.

I thought someone would have got this by now, as it looks familiar. Suspect that it is not Scandanavian but from Europe. France maybe?

studio-pots wrote:I thought someone would have got this by now, as it looks familiar. Suspect that it is not Scandanavian but from Europe. France maybe?

I do hope you're right. But I had the same thing - the signature looked so familiar I thought I would go right home and find it within a few minutes in my files. Sigh. The universe conspires against me to ensure that never happens. I could have sworn I had come across it and it wasn't some obscure mark either. I hope some one here can help.

Bumping in one last desperate bid for some knowledgable eyeballs that might recognize that oh so familiar seeming, yet unrecogniazable, signature.

Thanks to all who have taken a gander.

By Mike Daga -


Information from a fellow collector who had a similarly signed and numbered piece

Early piece by Mike Daga aka Maigons after he left Latvia after WWII, and immigrated to Australia where he had a pottery studio where this piece was probably made. He then immigrated to Minneapolis in the U.S. opening a studio there around 1970. At this time he became known for his sculptural animal forms (actually sold through Sears?), so it's always interesting to see how artists make changes in the art they create. More can be found at https://trove.nla.gov.au/list?id=90656.