Bernard Leach

An early earthenware teapot  with strap handle. Circa 1920. The slip bird decoration is unusual. circa 1920. 18 cms high. BL & St Ives seals

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A rare and early earthenwareflagon of bulbous form. Moulded in relief with a dragon motif on either side and a large St Ives mark circa 1930. BL & St Ives marks. 28.5 cms high.






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A shallow stoneware dish. Impressed St Ives,painted BL mark.

A fine stoneware pear-shaped bottle,waisted neck and everted rim. Grey gloss glaze peppered with green. Body painted with white flowers circa 1960. 33.4 cms. BL & St Ives marks

A Pilgrim bottle circa 1957.Decoarted with a flying bird  on each side and wavy incised lines. 30.5 cms high.

a porcelain dishwith the raised image of a running deer. Impressed BL & St Ives seals. circa 1967, 19.6 cms diameter.

A Bernard Leach cream stoneware vase with sgraffito pattern of foliate with a background of impressed of small rings and dents. BL & St Ives and BL marks, made circa 1932. 17,2 cms.

A stoneware charger  with wax resist painting of a fish. BL & St Ives marks. 32 cm diameter. BL & St ives marks.

A Pilgrim bottle with Tenmoku glaze and foliate design. BL & St Ives seals. circa 1955. 35 cms high.

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A stoneware handled pitcher with olive green glaze and dark brown glaze of a lion rampant.. Painted St Ives emblem. Painted BL and St Ives seal on the base. c 9 in circa 1930.

The famed pilgrim motif .  BL Aand St Ives seals.

From a Penzance 1981 auction. Bernard Leach died in 1979.
A Stoneware Daffodil Bowl. The everted rim with running blue underglaze ,the centre scrafitto and iron slip decoration of daffodils. BL and St Ives seal. The bowl was purchased in 1962 and still from the St Ives Studios and still had the original price tag of £12.

From the same 1981 Penzance auction as above.
A stoneware vase with celadon 'Ying-Ching' glaze over white slip, with narrow neck and everted rim, the spherical body with incised decoration of grey swirls within bands.10.5 ins high. BL and St Ives seals.
This pot was believed to have beenone of the last pots made by Bernard Leach, having been one of only five that were kept from a batch. circa 1975.
The above comes from the auction Lot description. The claim is probably true, as Janet Leach is thanked at the beginning of the catalogue for her assistance in the cataloguing of the sale.
A process with probably became a good side -line for her, as she did the same for lots of the major London auction houses as well.

An exceptionally important and rare Raku lidded jar of footed spherical form, with underglaze decoration in red, brown and blue with 'Armenian Bole' slip trailed upon a transparent copper wash forming stylised floral designs. 7.5 ins high. Impressed BL script seal and St Ives seal.
Similar pieces are recorded to have been made in Bernard Leach was working in Japan. but thisis the only known example from  St Ives pottery.

Above taken from the auction Lot description,

A set of 30 tiles with decoration in blue and iron. Each 4 ins by 4 ins. All have the St Ives pottery marks. Most of the decorated tiles having BL signatures either in Brushwork or incised. Circa 1936

A  stoneware teabowl of Traditional Japanese form with 'Tessai' iron glaze breaking to plum read. 3.5 ins high. BL & StIves impressed seals. Circa 1932

An early 1920's earthenware milk jug 4 ins  high. Copper green slashed with pure copper to the shoulders. BL and St Ives marks. Believed to have from the first wood fired kiln at St Ives.
Above from the same 1981 auction as the previous items.

A rare and important Raku bowl of ogee form. Circa 1923. BL AND St Ives seal. 4 ins high, 9 in in diameter. Believed to have been the only known example from the St Ives pottery.

A Rare slip decorated earthenware charger, 16 ins diameter. BL in script and St Ives marks. Circa 1940.
In the Lot auction description the centre  motif in brown slip is described as the 'Leach Crest'
The Latin around the edge is a Heraldic phrase meaning 'Yet hope is not broken'. Which is a Very intriguing usage in 1940 with Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain.

An early stoneware cottage with green glaze and gabled ends 3.5 ins high. Incised 1925 and impressed BL script seal and St Ives Seal. Note to catalogue description: 'This is a model of the house once belonging to Reg Turvey. It was built behind the St Ives studio and was designed by Bernard Leach for his close friend, fellow artist and one time fellow student at the Slade School of Art.'
             They did produce some unusual items at the Leach St Ives. Lot 242 in this sale (no photo) was  A rare and early earthenware Rabbit, the model with dark brown glaze 1,5 ins high. Incised script signature with original price tag for 5 shillings.
              Lot 241 was a stoneware Ink Pot 2 ins high with BL and St Ives seal. Circa 1960.
              Lot 275 was a large Jardiniere with celadon glaze and melon form 7 ins high, 11,5 ins in diameter, BL and St Ives impressed marks. Circa 1950.
             There is occasionally a lot of dispute about Salt glazing at St Ives. Lot 219 is of particular note because  in a note it states; 'Janet Leach built a salt glaze kin in 1956 at St Ives and this pot  is one of the several made by Bernard Leach while trying out this kiln in its first firing in 1957.'
Bear in mind that Janet Leach assisted with the creation of the catalogue.
          The actual Lot was an unmarked  Salt glaze 3.25 inch vase.
           Furthermore in this sale Lot 246 was a very rare Salt glaze vase with spherical body and short waisted neck in stoneware with mottled glaze. It also had three applied porcelain leaves to the body.
BL and St Ives seals circa 1957.

            So salt glazing WAS tried in 1956/57 at the Leach Pottery!

Lisa Sainsbury had a major collection of modern pots, including many Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. Interestingly enough, she had only one Bernard Leach in her collection. This one which is 32 cms high. In the Sainsbury collection Norwich

Its interesting looking at Cyril Frankel's book on the Lisa Sainsbury collection. She did collect a fair number of potters relatively early in their careers, John Ward 1972 and 1974, Val Barry 1978 and 1975, Deidre Burnett 1970, Julian Stair three pieces from 1983, Sara Radstone 1986 to 1988, Christine Jones 1985, and a whole host of Rupert Sipra in the 1990's.