Works by Kate Shea
August 2026
About Kate Shea's practice & process
Kate Shea’s ceramic sculpture grows from a lifelong fascination with the Near East, Central Asia and Afghanistan, and with the archaeologists, explorers and ancient cultures she encountered through her travels and studies. Her architectural forms draw on this deep interest in the origins of architecture, from ancient temples to buildings encountered along the way. Domes, towers, courtyards and imagined structures become vessels for stories, memory and ritual, each with its own history and often an esoteric backstory.
Kate builds each work intuitively, working from the base upwards using slab work, coiling and custom-made moulds. Guided by proportion, balance and the practical requirements of candlelight or incense, a single structure can take up to six weeks to complete. She rarely uses glaze, allowing the natural character of the clay to remain visible. Long firings become an essential part of the process, with heat, chemistry and chance contributing to the final character of each piece. As Kate describes it, “Ceramic is one of the oldest art forms we have and one of the most future-proof. It bridges sculpture, function, and ritual in a way few materials can.”
Kate Shea
13th Century Tower Houses, Sana'a, Yemen
$3,890
Kate Shea
Russian Orthodox Church
$3,450
Kate Shea
Church of Santa Maria Consolazioni, Todi, Umbria
$2,490
Kate Shea
Armenian Eastern Orthodox Church
$1,890
Kate Shea
The Basilica of Santa Corona
$2,200
Kate Shea
Dervish Compound, Samarkand
$1,790
Kate Shea
Detail from Orvieto Cathedral
$1,690
Kate Shea
Silk Road Caravanserai
$1,490
Kate Shea
Mardin Mosque
$1,390
Kate Shea
Tomb of the head of John the Baptist
$1,250
Kate Shea
Compostela Bell Tower
$1,250
Kate Shea
Hammam, Constantinople
$950
Kate Shea
Literate Candlestick
$950
Kate Shea
The Beach Shack
$890
Kate Shea
Tangier mosque
$890
Kate Shea
Delphi, Small Classical Rotunda
$890
Kate Shea
Mughal Pavillion, Udaipur, Rajasthan. 16th Century
$890
Kate Shea
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford
$890
Kate Shea
Untitled Pavillion, Rajasthan
$890
Kate Shea
The Treasury, Great Umayyad Mosque, Damascus. 8th century
$850
Kate Shea
Mughal Pavillion, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 16th century
$890
Kate Shea
Small Neo-Classical pavilion
$850
Kate Shea
Tuscany, small Italian Pavilion
$790
Kate Shea
Aleppo Bell Tower 3
$690
Kate Shea
Aleppo Bell Tower 2
$690
Kate Shea
Small Compostela cupola
$650
Kate Shea
Gaza Minaret
$650
Kate Shea
Small Spanish Bell Tower
$690
Kate Shea
Small Spanish Bell Tower No. 2
$690
Kate Shea
Small Italian Cupola
$790
Kate Shea
Cherub Tureen, Fruit Bowl
$890
Kate Shea
Astana
$890
Kate Shea
Balkh
$690
Kate Shea
Palmyra
$690
Kate Shea
Kyz Kala
$650
Kate Shea
Kashgar
$590
Kate Shea
Ctesiphon
$690
Kate Shea
Adana
$650
Kate Shea
Small Cupola, Compostela Northen Spain, 16th Century
$690