Images(3)

Stoneware Plate with River Pattern

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 NamePlate

Mediumstoneware

ClassificationsCeramics

DimensionsOverall (Height x Diameter): 29 × 184mm
Base (Diameter): 110mm

AcquisitionThe Sandy Dunbar Studio Ceramics Collection presented in 2023 by Crinan Dunbar and Rebecca Russell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS095708.26

Keywords

About MeThis stoneware plate is covered with black and red glaze and is decorated with a slip combed river pattern revealing a green glaze beneath. Combing is a technique that potters use to make parallel lines on the surface of a pot, often in a waved pattern like the one Cardew has created on this plate. The potter may choose to make the pattern by dragging a tool through the clay itself or by wiping wet slip (liquid clay) with a tool or fingers to reveal the surface below.
The plate was made by Michael Cardew 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.