Ambleside Pottery

Your welcome 22 Crawford st…….All good Ambleside deserves a loving home and I’m pleased those 3 pieces found theirs….I will post a few of my pieces on here to share…..Brian…

This is an early slab built on stilt feet from the “cook” period 1948 1968 and most probably made be Eva Makay

This is an early slip decorated long tray signed for Eva along with the Ambleside mark….One of my favourite pieces

3 tri footed vases all from the “cook” period…..

Purchased from a family manager of the Jackson family who purchased the pottery from Cook in 68….
Any guesses as to what thy were made for…….again two of my favourite pieces….

Brian - those Eva Makay pieces are so quirky - reminds me of Stig Lindberg or even Terry Gilliam. Love the to birds , doves? Again you never know quite what you ill see next with Ambleside. Very creative. Thanks for posting - we don't see a great deal of quality items

Any guesses as to what thy were made for…

Nope

Then let us up the quality of the Ambleside pottery and show what they were all about….creative and way ahead of their time…
The two sleeve pieces were made to humidify a room on the new fangled radiators that were put in “modern” homes….they were filled with water and hung by wires from the holes on to the radiators thus releasing water vapour when the radiators heated up….rare items…

Rare Ambleside dragon teapot……..painted by Gill Aldersley…..hedgehog in second image

Rare hand painted Ambleside coffee pot by Gill Aldersley…..often on gratin painted pieces you will find a hedgehog running around……as seen in the second image

Hand painted tray…..early “cook” period…..

These trays are usually slip decorated with dots and dashes of coloured slip….this is the first piece I have ever had which was slip hand painted…..

Yes when you see that piecrust you expect to se that linen (fabric?) pattern on the back and that rectangular stamp. Unusual. What date approx are these please?

Must be 1950s, I think it's probaly Hessian/Sackcloth. Fantastic designs!

Mid 50s will be spot on…….possibly later but definitely cook period (48/68) and distinctively different from the hand painted pieces produced during the Jackson period (68/82)

This piece is also cook period but shows a much finer style of sgraffito work than most pieces…..with a hand painted surface also…..marked for Ambleside and a large size nearing 13”.

Just don't see this sort of stuff any more, perhaps once or twice a year on Ebay [if you are lucky] and it's just not in mainstream auctions

This thread is growing by the day, great examples, there is a mention in the V & A
studio pottery book that none other than Bernard Leach critisized Cook for using
"industrial" chemical glazes to get the blues, rather than using natural substances.

That’s right George Cook was often criticised by the more establishment potters with his techniques and colours used….I for one champion him for not conforming to cream on brown….and for ploughing his own path….under rated still but not for too much longer….

Ambleside pottery slipware tankards with the much derided colours shown to great effect.Noting the two different shapes and the little thumb stop to the handle of two of the tankards but not the other.All signed Ambleside and “cook” period 1948/68

A selection of the scarce Ambleside pottery slipware egg cups.I have a large collection of Ambleside egg cups but only 9 are slipware.All signed or incised Ambleside all “cook” period 1948/68 again showing his much derided colours.More power to him I say.

Not seen a single slipware eggcup come up on Ebay. Not slipware. Very unusual. The blue goblet is not my fav, but the black two are very strong decorations, not a fan of that tapering base - looks impractical? Do they dink OK?

The eggs cups are scarce items but do come up sometimes….the tankards are nicer in the hand than the images.The off shape and tapered base of two of them is their charm but they are all stable and fit for purpose.I would imagine they were all used and thus got binned once chipped etc….

A George cook piece from the Ambleside pottery.Fully marked for both the pottery and himself.A classic piece of his sgraffito work.I prefer his work over the Jackson period pieces for several reasons one being the more simplistic but equally effective work.