Posts tagged ‘St. Ives’

Jul 30

Alfred Meakin Seaside Series

The very mid-century looking “seaside” themed design featured in this post is “Clovelly” by Alfred Meakin Potteries, U.K. c1950.

Seaside themes were very popular in the 1950s and early 1960’s – some that immediately come to mind are the Midwinter Pottery designs “Cannes” and “Riviera” by Hugh Casson.

It isn’t as well known however that Alfred Meakin Potteries produced a number of series with seaside themes. They were all very popular and have now become very collectable, as much because of their smart designs as increasing rarity. The designer of the series doesn’t seem to be documented anywhere but I would love to know.

Amongst the seaside themes produced by Meakin were Fisherman’s Cove, Polperro, Regatta, Brixham, Clovelly, St. Ives, and Nice. Stylistically they are very similar with use of similar motifs in similar colours. Some of the wares are back-stamped with a colourful stamp and the name of the design, other times just the Alfred Meakin stamp….making it difficult to tell which seaside pattern you have. There is also a pattern called “Sea Breezes” – but this a little stylistically different from the above patterns, although from the same time.

I was only able to identify the design below as “Clovelly” by finding the identical pattern with images of the clovelly backstamp on it, for sale (sold) online here . You will often find discrepancies with identification of this series because they are so difficult to tell apart.

Some of the individual motifs are repeated in the seaside themed patterns…….also, to add to the confusion, designs in a setting appear to have been sometimes combined e.g. further down is an image of what appears to be the Brixham and Clovelly designs combined in one dinner set. This could have occurred at the original point of sale, or further down the track as a replacement piece.

Unless pieces have the backstamp with a pattern name it can be sometimes very difficult to tell the “Seaside” patterns apart.

As well as the white bone china, the designs were also put on a very pale Venetian blue body.

Alfred Meakin Clovelly – Photo Ray Garrod

Alfred Meakin Brixham – Photo via ebay.

Jan 4

Carn Pottery Cornwall

Carn is the only surviving pottery out of the iconic 1960’s and 1970’s Trio of Cornish potteries – Carn, Tremaen and Tremar. The Pottery was established in an old chapel by John Beusmans in 1971 in the village of Nancledra near St. Ives in Cornwall.

John studied at Redruth Art College with his parents encouragement. His parents owned a retail pottery shop which exposed John to a lot of Cornish pottery styles. (Incidentally his parents also made the lamp shades for the renowned Troika lamp bases.) John quickly developed his own very recognisable style. John’s work displays an artist’s skill in his use of sculptural shape and form – and most pieces have many different viewing angles, as does good sculpture.

John defines himself as “A potter who makes his living from pots, not someone who just does it for pleasure – my pots have to be commercially viable – that’s part of the equation”

Every piece of Carn Pottery has at least 2 distinctly different sides, and in between these two sides you often see interesting morphing into other shapes. All of the pieces are slip cast and stoneware fired in electric kilns to at around 1200c. The pieces are glazed a plain white on the inside, and to accentuate the textures on the outside – John uses oxides, applied then rubbed off the high relief.

Carn Pottery Chimney Vase

Carn Pottery Chimney Vase Reverse Side

The colour comes from either copper for the green tones, or cobalt for the blue. The colours resulting are cool – like the changing colours of the Cornish sea and Cornish Landscape which has influenced John. The overall feel is almost primitive Celt or Norse like much Cornish pottery, and as John has said “ Getting back to the runes on the stone that basic primeval consciousness …there is something of that in my pots” Read more