Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

 

Large Ceramic Twin Octopus Vase by Shayne Greco, NC, USA

etsy

 

Artifacts from the ancient cities of the Grecian Archipelago and Asia Minor have depicted numerous examples of decorative motifs representing the octopus. They were a very popular artistic theme with the pottery of Crete, Cyprus, Mycenae and Troy and they were generally regarded as a sacred symbol. Octopus art also appeared in Peru and Brazil and was believed to have originated from the ancient Pacific ocean continent of Mu. Having eight legs coming from a central hub, the octopus was aligned to the mystical eight sided ‘Pa Qua’ configuration. This was also known as the Magic Square to the Egyptians or the Lo Shu square  by the Chinese, as it was first observed in China carved on the shell of an elderly tortoise which came from the Lo Shu river. The spider was also given a sacred status due to also having eight legs radiating from a central point.

 

Moss green octopus – Wax & Bing Studio

Having exceptional polymorphic powers of camouflage due to being boneless and possessing a remarkable skin able to change colour, texture and patterns in a split second, the octopus can shape shift and adapt its appearance to practically anything it wants in the ocean (see video below) They were admired because this reflected the ancient esoteric belief in the metamorphic potential of human beings. Also being colour blind, they must have possessed psychic abilities to be able to interpret their surroundings so accurately. The most rigid part of their body is the eye and they can fit through anything if their eye does. They are blessed with three hearts and like to collect shiny objects off the ocean floor to make ‘octopus gardens’ around their lairs. They are considered the most intelligent of all the invertebrates.
Erik Pontoppidan, the Norwegian historian claimed that the giant kraken (octopus) posed a real danger to sailors due the whirlpool left in their wake and if the creature’s arms were to lay hold of a ship, they had the abiltiy to pull it down to the bottom of the sea. In his ‘The Natural History of Norway’ he described the kraken as “incontestably the largest Sea monster in the world” who had the ability to wrestle with a whale.
The sinuous, malleable and diverse forms of the octopus make its easily adaptable to numerous shapes, hence its popularity with artists and creators.

 

Octopus, cephalopods, kraken and tentacle spectacles

 

Giant pacific octopus – arm span up to 6 metres

 

 

 

Kraken attacking a sailing ship

 

 

 

‘Skin Changers Closet: octopus’  wall art – Kate MacDowell 2015

Sold @Mindy Solomon Gallery

 

 

 

Red ceramic octopus – Beth Allison

 

 

Ellen Jewett

 

 

Octo mudka pot – Sue Anderson

 

 

Art Nouveau octopus vase by Amphora

 

 

A mural by Belgian artist ROA is part of the street art project ‘Djerbahood’

Photograph- Mohamed Messara-EPA

 

 

 

It’s hard to keep a good octopus down !

 

‘Inky’ looks content in this photo because he knew he would soon be back in the sea again at Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand.

The morning staff at the National Aquarium of New Zealand arrived recently to see that ‘Inky’ had done a runner in the night. The telltale tentacle tracks were on the floor, he had ‘got kraken’ through the 50 metre drain pipe which led to the sea and his freedom.

 

 

 

Ancient Pompeii-Herculaneum octopus mosaic

Neil Weightman flickr

 

 

Austrian Art Nouveau Octopus Vase by Stellmacher for Amphora

1901-02

 

llustration for Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea – Alphonse de Neuville & Edouard Riou

1871

 

Giant Kraken illustration from the original 1870 edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by author Jules Verne

 

 

Octopus mosaic by Carrie Wilson

 

 

 

Octopus wash basin by Shayne Greco

 

 

 

Chilling out cephalopod

 

 

Diana Fayt Scrimshaw platter

 

 

Bronze Octopus Sculpture by Paul Harder, California, USA

 

 

 

Ancient Greek coin with octopus

Eretria, c. 500-465 BC

 

 

Tracey Porter

 

 

 

Octopus chest tattoo

 

 

 

Large glass mosaic octopus by LucyDesignsonline

 

 

 

Black vase with surface relief octopus – Tammy Garcia

 

 

Octopus plate – – Ruchika Madan

 

 

 

‘Octochair’ – Maximo Riera new edition of animal chair collection

 

 

 

Orange octopus plate – Monica Pharr

 

 

 

Red Octopus vase  – Moorcroft Pottery

 

 

Large octopus floor mosaic at Gumalimba Park, Roatan, Honduras

Susan Ward—flickr

 

 

Glazed ceramic octopus pen toothbrush holder by Miss Mog Devian Art

 

 

 

Octopus on Face vessel by Mitchell Grafton

 

 

 

Red mosaic octopus at the museum entrance

Musée océanographique Monaco

 

 

 

Glass Octopus Sculpture

Glassnfire — etsy

 

 

 

Suzuki Miyagi vase

 

 

Roman mosaic in  villa in Pompeii

2nd century BC

Charles Catteau octopus homage to Minoan artists

 

 

 

Sandra Bryant octopus mosaic

 

 

 

Sarah Farrelly

 

 

 

Octopus sculpture in seafoam and red by P.Y Simpson

 

 

 

Tentacled server cake stand – BHLDN

 

 

 

 

Minoan clay flask showing an Octopus, Palaikastro,

( 1500 B.C.E.) Archaeological Museum in Herakleion.

 

 

 

Octopus art by Alexis Diaz

 

 

 

Octopus tea candle lamp sculpture –  Scott Musgrove , Seattle

 

 

 

‘Octopus Jar’  – Jennifer McCurdy

 

 

 

Zoe Friend, Boston

 

 

Cast octopus desk ornament – Wangstone

 

 

 

Seattle Country Day School mosaic mural octopus

 

 

 

Wall bronze octopus key holder

 

 

 

‘Oliver the Octopus’ — Kyle Guymon  – sager fired ovoid vase

 

 

 

Ephraim Faience Pottery, Wisconsin USA

 

 

Lady Gaga adorned in an octopus outfit

Artpop Tour Madison Garden

 

 

 19th Century drawing of a colossal octopus by Pierre Denys de Montfort

This depicted a French ship reportedly attacked by a kraken off the coast of Angola.

 

 

Bright pink octopus Paris street art by Vinnie

 

 

 

Octopus yes mural – Yuko Shimizu

80 ft long – Dumbo, Brooklyn

 

 

 

Octopus salad bowl – Cornwall

 

 

 

Octopui polymorphism

 

 

 

 

 

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