Stoneware Tankard
MakerMade by
Michael Cardew
(Wimbledon, London, England, 1901 - 1983)
MakerMade at
Pottery Training Centre
(Abuja, Nigeria, founded 1951)
StudentTaught by
Bernard Leach
(Hong Kong, 1887 - 1979)
CollectorCollected by
Sandy Dunbar
(London, England, 1929 - 2012)
Date1951-1965
Object NameTankard
Mediumstoneware
ClassificationsCeramics
DimensionsOverall (Height x Width x Depth): 140 × 170 × 140mm
Base (Diameter): 89mm
Base (Diameter): 89mm
AcquisitionThe Sandy Dunbar Studio Ceramics Collection presented in 2023 by Crinan Dunbar and Rebecca Russell.
Copyright© the copyright holder
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS095708.10
About MeThis stoneware tankard has an ovoid body and is decorated with a green glaze with patches of opaque white on the handle, around the rim and on the interior. A repeating abstract pattern of dashes, also in white glaze, runs around the main body of the tankard.
The tankard was made at the Teaching Centre for the North of Africa at Abuja in Nigeria, which Cardew established in 1951, whilst he held the post of Pottery Officer. Here he used materials from the surrounding area and concentrated on making stoneware, making some of his finest pieces. Cardew left Abuja in 1965 and returned to his pottery at Wenford Bridge in Cornwall.
