6 tenmoku glazed cups and saucers - Jos Pottery, Nigeria

by **styleinvasion** Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:44 am

there is a sticker underneath one of the cups written Henry Thommen 1976 on it.
I can't find any information about a potter named that way.
Therefore I'm not sure the sticker belongs to the cups?
I think one of you will know...
thanks anyway

by **studio-pots** Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:25 pm

They look to be from the Abuja Pottery in Nigeria that was started by Michael Cardew.

I don't think that I know the actual potter but the pictures are not "blowing up" on the site at the moment. I'll look again later.

by **studio-pots** Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:32 pm

After writing the above I was immediately able to see the images in larger format.

I can tell that they are not Cardew but can't confirm the potter - possibly Gugong Bong but I wouldn't put money on it.

Do any other piece have clearer marks?

by **styleinvasion** Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:16 pm

I think this was the clearest mark... but I will have a look!

by **styleinvasion** Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:06 pm

thanks so far for trying to id...
i hope the new pictures are a little help but unfortunately the marks are covered by the glaze...
would be my first abuja pottery... Jos Pottery, Nigeria 234527

by **studio-pots** Tue May 01, 2012 10:15 am

Covering marks with glaze seems to be something that potters love to do. So all I can say for certain is that they are a set of Abuja Pottery cups and saucers with an unidentified potter's personal seal.

To be honest the only personal marks that increase the value of Abuja items to any extent and those of Michael Cardew and Ladi Kwali and the personal seal isn't one of those two.

by **styleinvasion** Wed May 02, 2012 11:55 am

and lots of potters just scrawl their signatures to obliterate....

may I ask if you know when my cups and saucers might have been executed?

I don't know much about Abuja and how to determinate an age.
it's hard to find any international pottery in germany, just incredible lot's of ugly wgp stuff.

and I've never seen an abuja pottery item here before, can abuja be found in england easily?

I'm happy to own it and even it's not of value, the cappuccino seems to taste better than before...

anyway thanks a lot for helping me attributing I would never been able to.... Most Excellent

by **studio-pots** Wed May 02, 2012 12:29 pm

There is a fair bit of it around in the UK but I wouldn't call it common. In the late 1950s/early 1960s there were a few exhibitions of the work in London and it might have been sold on occasions at various outlets over the years.

The pottery was up and running from the mid 1950s and Michael Cardew was there until 1965. Upon his return to England the management of the pottery was taken over by Michael OBrien, who still spends much of his time in Nigeria. However, when the military took over Nigeria in the early 1970s the pottery was taken over and run by high ranking officers, becoming less successful. I believe that there is still a pottery on the site but it is known as "Dr Ladi Kwali Pottery, Suleja."

Sometimes Abuja appears unmarked but the dark stoneware body is a good indication of it being from there.

As for age of your cups and saucers I think that the sticker might be a good indication. During the two Michael's time in charge this glaze was used but often it had a blue tinge ( a yun/chun glaze), which they both liked. The early "Abuja" marks are in Arabic script or ABUJA in full and your cups seem to have a mark that I see around and think is post 1972 - therefore I would date your set as 1972-1976. Most of the customers for the work were non-Nigerians working in foreign embassies etc. so I would guess that Henry Thommen was such a person and that is how they ended up in Germany.