Guy Sydenham

When goblets are back in fashion (last was 1455CE ) you will be forced to conform. Goblets are the best you can chill them in the summer to keep your drink cold, if you all have a different one then it's a talking point and a good way to get people to take an interest in ceramics. Far better than things you just look at, you can use them and get pissed at the same time

I had a brief whimsical vision of serving mead out of the bellarmine into the goblets but even whimsy is subject to budgetary constraints these days.

SALT-GLAZED MERMAID 22 INCHES
hand thrown then modeled on Long or Green Island

as above but seated

Now those are impressive

I bought them this morning

Nice. You got the seat for the 2nd one. First is my favourite. So are the legs hollow? Thrown?

arms, legs, bodies, and heads are all thrown, Even the tail fins are thrown and then cut open.
I never liked or trusted the seats that guy made for the mermaids so I will find a really interesting rock next time we visit Skegness

He always did things the hard way coz he had the skill. Getting the form with thin walled clay...

I like the way the salt glaze looks like sea foam

check out the barnacles and seaweed in the hair!

He was really good with bottoms

I'm not sure if this will be of interest to anyone but I saw a bit of broken Bellarmine on Ebay recently and it looked so similar to my Guy Sydenham one that I had to buy it just to compare the two together. The broken one was dug from a tip in Frechen and should be late 16th/early 17th Century. They're not exactly brothers from another mother but for 300 or so years apart you can see the family resemblance. The older one is clearly mass produced as a disposable item and not too much care was taken applying the face mould, whereas the GS one is craftsmanship in every detail. They both have their own charm and character though. Knowing now that GS had originals to work from I would be very surprised if the original he copied for this Bellarmine wasn't from the same pottery as my broken one.

Green Island cheese dish and cover