Collecting British Studio Ceramics

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Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the importance of ceramics in Britain has grown exponentially. Numerous factors contributed to its development: early art pottery by important firms such as Martin Brothers and Moorcroft, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the renewed appeal of traditional artisan pottery and the arrival of large quantities of Chinese pottery all laid the foundations for a nation ready to embrace ceramics.

Considered as the ‘Father of British studio pottery’, Bernard Leach took things to the next level. He founded the Leach Pottery in St Ives in 1920 alongside his friend Shoji Hamada, and together became major international figures for their innovative, utilitarian approach to ceramics in a style which led them to be called ‘ethical pots’. This style was disseminated across the United Kingdom through the Leach Pottery’s production, Bernard Leach’s seminal 1940 text A Potter’s Book, the advocacy of independent galleries and large institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, and through teaching in art schools internationally.

Other important ceramicists established themselves at this time through teaching too, including a selection of names associated with the finest of studio ceramics including Lucie Rie and Hans Coper who taught at the Camberwell School of Art, and William Staite Murray who taught at the Royal College of Art.

^{▲ Dame Lucie Rie (Austrian, 1902-1995). Sold for £32,500 (inc. fees)}

Following the Second World War, the trend for studio ceramics benefited from the end of a wartime ban on decorating manufactured pottery. Makers also hit the cultural zeitgeist with their simplified, modern, industrial works perfectly timed to coincide with the 1951 Festival of Britain, which took place in the summer across the nation and reached millions of visitors.

In the 1960s, a new generation of ceramicists emerged who were influenced by the works of Leach, Rie, and other teachers at these art schools: Ewen Henderson, Alison Britton, Emmanuel Cooper, Magdalene Odundo, Elizabeth Fritsch, Richard Slee, and Gordon Baldwin to name a few. This new generation embraced the independent, unique aspect they had been taught and began to experiment with abstraction in form, glaze, and general approach, firmly cementing themselves as the inheritors to their predecessor’s tradition.

^{▲ Richard Slee (b.1946). Sold for £2,210 (inc. fees)}

Studio ceramics are now well-established with collectors and form large parts of important private collections and international public institutions, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, and The Museum of Ceramic Art in New York.

Here at Sworders, we have a long record of handling studio ceramics. Amongst others, in 2024 we were thrilled to sell a Lucie Rie bowl for £32,500, a Shoji Hamada vessel for £2,340, and a Richard Slee jar for £2,210. This is an area of our business that we are passionate about expanding, embracing the history of studio ceramics and exploring the future of where it is taking us with the emergence of the contemporary craft movement. In our spring Design auction, which takes place on 30 April, we are delighted to include a curated selection of studio ceramics from some of the most prominent names in the industry including works by Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, and the contemporary ceramicist Akiko Hirai.

^{Shoji Hamada (Japanese, 1894-1978). Sold for £2,340 (inc. fees)}

If you have studio ceramics that you would like to sell, get in touch now for a free valuation from one of our specialists.

_{All sold prices shown include fees.}

design@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778

Wednesday 30 April | 10am

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