Crafted in Clay: Studio Ceramics Exhibition

Pottery has been enjoying a resurgence in popularity and interest over the past few years with The Great Pottery Throw Down TV series and a renewed interest in crafting at home, visiting pottery fairs and collecting pottery.

Nottingham City Museums has a significant collection of mainly twentieth century British studio pottery; one-off pieces of pottery which are created in a studio or a workshop by an individual potter, in contrast to multiples of factory-made ceramics. These include loans from Derbyshire County Council and the celebrated Ballantyne Collection, collected by Nottingham couple Rollo and Marion Ballantyne from the 1970s to the mid 1980s.

Using the fireplaces and furniture within Newstead Abbey as a linking trail, these pots find a temporary resting place within the rich context of the Abbey’s historical rooms. Newstead was home to successive generations of Byrons, followed by the Wildmans and the Webb family, and pottery would have played an integral part in their daily lives and for special occasions. The trail imagines how these owners might have placed the pottery around their home.

Crafted in Clay features over 100 ceramics by around 30 potters, including Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Walter Keeler, Richard Batterham, John Ward, Siddig el Nigoumi and Judy Trim.

The interventions around the Abbey set up dialogues within the rooms and provide a new context for the pottery, breaking out of traditional ‘pots on plinths’ museum displays.

Standard House Admission.

Price: Adults: £12, Kids Go Free (with each paid adult)

Plan your visit and check out our accessibility page.

Image credits: Freddy Griffiths

A big thank you to those involved in ensuring this exhibition can be put together to showcase the Crafted In Clay Exhibition