Joan Faithfull (nee Crawford), Scotland

Here's a wee selection of some pots by Joan Faithfull (Joan Crawford in the 1950s before marriage) who made pots at Tormore, in Mull, and at Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, between 1950 or so, and the late 1990s. Her pots were sold on Iona, and in shops on Mull, and in Oban, as well as Mellis Sim, The Scottish Craft Centre, and other venues in Edinburgh. She specialised in small domestic wares, and functional pieces which easy for her to transport to shops by hand, and easy for tourists to buy, and transport home when travelling by public transport. I'll post a range of her pottery marks later.

Disclaimer: she was my mum :)

Thanks, John, I have seen your Mum's pottery before and am pleased to now know who made it.
I would love to see more examples of her work.

Watch this space over the next few days and weeks :)

Lovely pieces, thank you for adding to our knowledge base.

As somebody requested Scottish stoneware, here's a small stoneware lustre-decorated box by Joan Faithfull. She became interested in lustre decoration in the late 1980s, and used it regularly after that. I'd guess this wee box is from around 1990, and may have been made in Mull, or Dalkeith. She used similar bird designs all her life as a potter, almost always standing, and simplified to varying degrees. Through her life as potter, her works tended to become simpler, and smaller.






She used little squarish impressed JF stamps (or pigment written) with fused "J" and "F" letters on most pots after she got married in 1958. Before that, "JC" was usually written in dark pigment.  I'll post examples of different marks soon...

She made new stamps periodically, usually just out of earthenware clay, which was then fired. Here's one that might even have been used on this pot.

Except this stamp is circular, so not this exact one... :|

Here's a beautiful earthenware box, made on Mull in 1960 by Joan Faithfull. The body, glaze, and copper oxide (+- cobalt oxide) pigment use for the abstract floral design are very typical of a style she produced throughout her life as a potter. This pot does not have any "JF" stamp on it, but has a written "Mull" mark which is distinctive. She used this type of written mark mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, and became more consistent in her use of stamps after this period. At this stage her Mull pots were made of both commercial (Wengers/Potclays) clays, and locally sourced Mull clays. Later she consistently distinguished these by use of stamps. I'll post an example of a Mull clay stamp soon.

I love this wee stoneware bowl, probably made in the late 1980s at Dalkeith. Written JF monogram mark on base. Her pots tended to get smaller through her career, and small bowls and boxes tended to form a larger proportion of her output. In the 50s most of her output was functional domestic earthenware - cups, mugs, bowls, plates, jugs. I suspect the survival rate of these early pots is quite low.

Here's an early 1950s pot made by my mother. She used the "JC" mark, usually written like this, for pots made up to about 1959 (although she got married, and took the name surname Faithfull in 1958). She made a lot of these pale earthenware pots in the 1950s, using pale clear glazes to give effects like the shallow sandy sea colours around the Sound of Iona, where her Tomore pottery was situated.

I wonder why we have so little info on Scottish potters. The quality is excellent

Hello

My mum was a professional studio potter in Mull, and near Edinburgh, from the early 1950s to the 1990s. She mostly made small domestic ware: jugs, mugs, bowls, and especially small stoneware and earthenware boxes.

Among some old unsold stock of hers, I recently found these stoneware pendants. I'd forgotten she produced these - I think they may have been a short-lived experiment in the 1970s(?). But now I think they're rather great.

Does anybody know anything about ceramic pendants at this time? Were all potters making them? Did somebody specific start a fashion for them? Any info, or other examples gratefully received!

John

Stoneware plate with a copper lustre decoration.
I'm as interested in the design as finding the maker. If anyone can shed light on either I'll be grateful.
Dated 1976 - 1986, three names which are Edna, Wands & Roxburgh,  along with the word Trio and three doves to the centre.
I'm not usually a fan of copper lustre, but I love the doves and the inscription interested me.

With regards the potter, I've been through the bible, big mistake, it doesn't appear to be there.
The impressed marked looks like a J, with a dash coming off it and a dot below.

Any help appreciated.

This is by my mum - Joan Faithfull (was Crawford before marriage).... She did quite a few named plate commissions (and gifts) for births, weddings, or just general family celebrations.Sometimes mugs too.

She really only used lustre late in her career: around 1980 and 1990s, before she lost her eyesight and had to give up pottery.

More on her here: https://blog.nms.ac.uk/2022/02/11/joan-faithfulls-mull-pottery/

:)

John

You must be proud of your Mum. This plate is lovely. A tribute to her really high levels of skill!

There are some lovely pots on the museum blog. I love her bird pottery.

Dear John, thank you for your detailed response, I am extremely grateful. Very kind of you to go into such detail.
As philpot states above, you must be very proud.
I'm about to click on the link and learn a little more.
Many thanks again

Going through some pot photos and found this lovely wee selection of stoneware and earthenware pottery boxes made by my mum. They date from around 1960, to the the early 1990s, and were produced in Mull, and in Dalkeith.

Very typical ware - these boxes were one of her favourite forms. Early ones tended to have bird or flower decorations with varying degrees of abstraction, but later ones were often geometric, sometimes with lustre decoration.

Lovely pieces. Some beautiful work on those small pots.