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Four To Watch

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South African potters are doing such exceptional work at the moment that it's difficult to highlight only a few. But if you're looking to collect, these are the artists to keep your eye on.

Nesta Nala

The most revered of the traditional South African potters, Zulu artist Nala digs her own clay and builds her famously pristine black pots by smoothing coils of clay into shape (forsaking the potter's wheel), then baking the pieces in a kiln or on an open fire. Such vessels were originally used for storing beer and in ceremonies, but Nala's pots have a timeless quality that allows them to fit into any interior as decorative works. Find them at Kim Sacks Gallery.

Ian Garrett

Garrett's double-burnished pots (hand-built by stacking clay, a technique he gleaned from an apprenticeship with Nesta Nala) retain the form of traditional Zulu pots but incorporate intricate surface decoration and a glossy glaze. With his work now moving in a new direction—toward porcelain—those classic burnished pots will be ever more difficult to come by. Find them now at Africa Nova, Clementina Ceramics, and Kim Sacks Gallery, or make an appointment to visit his studio in Swellendam along the Western Cape's Garden Route (call 27-28/514-3282 for appointments).

Majolandile Dyalvane

A member of the Potter's Workshop in Cape Town, Dyalvane often reinterprets functional artifacts like the beer pots of his native Xhosa culture. His superbly finished work—tall vases inspired by wooden milk pails; hand-built pots and platters—is now finding critical success; one piece is exhibited at the South African National Gallery. Lately he has branched out to a range of frosted-porcelain hanging lights. Look for Dyalvane's work at Kim Sacks Gallery, Africa Nova, the Potter's Shop, and Clementina Ceramics.

Barbara Jackson

Self-taught Jackson is one of South Africa's most accomplished ceramists, renowned for her curvaceous, hand-built earthenware pots decorated with bold dots, stripes, and geometric patterns; her work is in several public collections, including Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts. Find it in Cape Town at Africa Nova and Monkeybiz gallery (43 Rose St., Bo-Kaap; 27-21/426-0145; www.monkeybiz.co.za), or in New York at Carrol Boyes (118 Prince St.; 212/334-3556; www.carrolboyes.co.za).

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