Two English Potters

Two of the English potters in our collection.  Alan Caiger Smith stayed with us in New Zealand in 1975 and gave us this blue decorated coffee mug.  The decorated dish is by Kenneth Clark and his wife Anne Wyn Reeves.  Kenneth is a New Zealander who works in London and we were lucky enough to have him visit us in 1970 when our house was being built.  We asked him to decorate some tiles for our bathrooms which have given us much enjoyment.

Snuff Bottles

The Chinese snuff bottle depicting two fish was a gift from friends in Japan.  I think it is quite old.  The taller snuff bottle is much more modern and was made in New Zealand by Chester Nealie who now lives in Australia

New Zealand Potters

Rick Rudd made this very unusual box which is an elegant and useful container.  The bowl is by Chloe King and is in use most days of the week to hold fruit or yoghurt..

Two Old Japanese Ceramics

These two pieces were given to us when we first visited Japan in 1978.  The round dish is Ko-Kutani (Old Kutani) and is about 200 years old. The signature underneath is said to be that of Kakiemon.  The oblong dish is an early Imari and, like the Kutani dish, is hand painted with a cobalt decoration.

Two Small Bronze Sculptures

These two small bronze sculptures are from my collection.  The cat is by a local bronze caster and artist, Kerk Taylor.  The title in "Sophisticat".  The Maori warrior is "Parahaka" and is an early piece by Terry Stringer, a well respected New Zealand bronze caster.

Two Japanese Tea Bowls

The lidded Oribe Tea Bowl in the top image is unusual as not often do you see lidded tea bowls.  It could, of course, be used for soup or food so it is really a dual purpose bowl.  The other Shino Tea Bowl is more traditional with its undulating rim and shape.

Pots from Koishiwara, Kyushu, Japan

After visiting Mashiko the next pottery we visited was Kumau Ohta Sans at Koishiwara in Kyushu..  The tea pot and drinking cups were from a very successful firing he had while we were in Japan.  The slip decorated soy jar we found at a flea market in Kyoto and is clearly marked with Ohta San's pottery mark.