Gallery
Chinese Qing Dynasty Yongcheng octagonal bowl from the Butler Collection
A rich variety of different blue and white wares were produced during the Yongzheng period and Yongzheng Emperor personally approved every aspect of the ceramics produced in his imperial workshop. The Butler Collection, assembled by British diplomat Sir Michael Butler (1927–2013), is considered the finest collection of 17th century Chinese porcelain in the world. Sir Michael dedicated a copy of the catalogue raisonné Leaping the Dragon to Mary with the words: “For Mary Acton, Who has beautifully restored many of these pieces.”
Wimborne St Giles jug
A gorgeous piece of 18th century lustreware from a private collection in Dorset
Madonna and child
Restored glazed terracotta of Madonna & Child
Chinese Tang horse
Horses were an important part of Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), and are known for being depicted in a variety of art forms, including pottery, terracotta, and tomb figures.
Deruta maiolica plate
Maiolica is a type of painted tin-glazed earthenware that has become synonymous with exquisite craftsmanship and vibrant artistry. Deruta, a medieval hilltown in Umbria, Italy, was a major centre for the production of maiolica in the Renaissance was the first Italian centre to use lustreware pigments. Deruta still has over 200 ceramic workshops.
Quimbaya slab figure (13th-15th century)
The Quimbaya people inhabited the hills and valleys of the middle Cauca River in what is now Columbia during the centuries before the Spanish conquest in the 1530s. Their distinctive stylized ceramic figures, known as slab figures, were included as burial offerings. The figures are typically male, ranging in height from four to twenty inches. Square or rectangular slabs of clay make up the head and body and heavy coils of clay are attached for arms and legs. Typically, the septum is also pierced to hold a nose ring.
Luke Piper plate
Somerset-based artist Luke Piper, better known for painting than ceramics, is the son of the painter Edward Piper and grandson of Betjeman's Shell Guide illustrator, the artist John Piper.
17th century Majolica drug jars
The Majolica tradition flourished from the 15th to the 17th century. Italian potters transformed techniques they owed to the Islamic world into something entirely unprecedented, and in turn, laid the foundations for similar pottery traditions across Europe. Majolica was made by a tin-glaze process (dip, dry, paint, fire), resulting in an opaque white glazed surface decorated with brush-painting in metal oxide enamel colours. Potters and pottery painters exploited the innovations of the Renaissance goldsmith, sculptor, and painter in what was a relatively humble medium making highly decorative ceramics for both private and commercial use.
James Campbell jug
"When I started making ceramics again – initially utilitarian vessels for my own use – it was not long before imagery started to appear on the pots. I now make pots and drawings, sometimes combined, sometimes not. The imagery still informed by the landscapes of my childhood, remembered and observed.”
My heart beats
in a secret place
under the hill
Over my head the rivers run
My people's land
My father's bones
speak to me
through the ground
ploughed by my dreams
Majolica bird jardiniere
This richly decorated Majolica jardiniere was designed to hold small flower pots. The Majolica tradition flourished from the 15th to the 17th century when Italian potters transformed techniques derived from the Islamic world into something entirely unprecedented. Majolica was made by a tin-glaze process (dip, dry, paint, fire), resulting in an opaque white glazed surface decorated with brush-painting in metal oxide enamel colours.