This striking piece was made by Lee Rosen for Design-Technics, a small but influential studio founded in Greenwich Village by Sam and Lee Rosen in 1940. The name reflected a merger of two aspects of ceramic design--art and engineering--with projects including studio pottery pieces made by Lee, from tile to lamps to bowls, etc., as well as larger scale site-specific collaborations with architects and builders (including for the interior of the Eastern Airlines building at Kennedy International Airport, the Banco Populaire in Puerto Rico, and for Piggly Wiggly supermarkets in Wisconsin, for example.) From what I understand, production was concentrated in Stroudsburg, PA, with showrooms in New York, first the shop in the Village and later a showroom in Midtown.
I have found a few other pieces very close to this one in form, c. 1950--but none with this fantastic aqua glaze. This one is also unusual for its underside, with two holes in the bottom rather than a foot, which makes me think perhaps this was made as one piece of a larger sculptural wall installation? In any case, it makes for a great coffee table piece now, or it would make a stunning tray for a few perfect rocks--or amuse bouche!
10 1/2" l x 5" widest x 1 1/2" tallest. There is a little chipping to the glaze on the far end edges and in one area on the underside--documented in detail photos. While I think these are fairly minor flaws, they are reflected in the price; equivalent Design-Technics pieces are usually listed at 2 to 4 times as much.