Abuja Pottery, Nigeria

Thanks SP for asking Michael, all very interesting and at least I know what to use it for now : )

maybe one day the mark will turn up again with a name.

Wanted to show this off. Just picked it up and I personally think it is great. It is a covered mug by Bawa Ushafa. It carries his stamp and the stamp of the Abuja pottery in Nigeria. You can see the blending of styles in this piece of pottery, it carries bits of both the African and English tradition of pottery.  Made some time in the early 60's. I'm a fan.

Here is some blurb from pottery studio about Bawa.

[Bawa Ushafa
Bawa was the first trainee at the Abuja Pottery. He was senior potter of the ten throwers working at Abuja with Michael Cardew in the early 1960s.]

Although they did make lidded cups at Abuja they didn't make lidded mugs, as far as I am aware. Also the pouring spout suggests a lidded jug. Smaller than the hot water/hot milk pots they made so I'm not sure what use Cardew had in mind but it would have been specific.

I recently purchased this large vase and would appreciate any info about it.  Marked Abuja but with no makers mark. Found a similar style item also unsigned on the Internet but ID'd as being by Ladi Kwali, late 60s.  Can anyone give me more info?  Thanks in advance

There were a number of potters at Abuja. Unfortunately without a personal mark i don't think it's possible to say who made it.

Not sure exactly when the mark changed but the earlier (1950s/early 1960s) Abuja pieces had the mark in Arabic script. Therefore a late 1960s date for your vase seems correct.

As for something similar on the internet being ID'd as being by Ladi Kwali but without her mark, my answer is that is what the owner would like it to be.

Ladi Kwali had been a village potter before going to work with Cardew at Abuja and she was skilled at decoration of a traditional nature e.g. stylised birds, reptiles and traditional patterns similar to those on native fabric.

On the other hand your vase has patterns that appear to be based on Cardew/OBrien patterns i.e. introduced from the UK and then not terribly well executed, so, if anything it points to the vase being made by anyone other than Ladi Kwali.

Sorry about that.

Thanks both for your help. Much appreciated.

this is the other. A fine mark which means nothing to me.......

Second mark may be Abuja

Edited to add, TA mark could be Tanka Ashada

I like that thought....
Thanks.

The jug has what appears to be two glazes on the surface; a grey glaze, and a tenmoku brown(without the darker breaks). I have made similar colour glazes to the grey glaze in the past with ash from my coal-fired boiler. Mine was coarser because I didn't strain it as well as they have but it was exactly that shade.

Helps to have a photo of the base. Abuja bases are very distinctive

I have had a couple of Abuja in the past and the bases looked like chocolate, very dark clay. The second mark you have on this jug after the T.A does look them.

There is often a circle of glaze on the slightly concave bases of Abuja pots. This base looks less concave but there is a trace of glaze in the middle. I think it's right for Abuja. The bluish glaze over the brown glaze is also similar to Abuja

This is definitely a keeper then. Apart from the Abuja connection it is a thoroughly sound piece of work. The spout pours well, the neck is wide enough to get your hand in to clean it properly and it holds a sensible amount of milk for early morning tea-for-two. It is well thrown and even in the body, well glazed in a subtle mix of colours and has no damage.
I will continue to look for the potter on the Abuja sites although I have had no luck yet. Whoever made it was well-practiced and confident: it is an understated little gem, and I thank them.

It's not a typical Abuja base but the second mark plus the shape look right. I don't know the potter's mark.

Nigerian jug. No stamp but handwritten and numbered (dated?) on the base. Classic Cardew shape but Michael OBrien has suggested "the clay doesn't look like Abuja or Maraba, but it does look just like the clay Stephen Mhya uses at Bwari, just outside Abuja". I'm sending him some photos for confirmation

A small casserole dish apparently made by Peter Bruce Dick (later of Coxwold Pottery) while working for Michael Cardew at Abuja in 1961-'62. I'll also post it on the Coxwold thread for completeness.



 

In case anyone's interested, I've posted a new blog piece on my Random Treasure blog comparing an Abuja Pottery jug by Tanko Mohammud with a Winchcombe Pottery jug by Pat Groom.

You can read it here

r-and-f wrote:In case anyone's interested, I've posted a new blog piece on my Random Treasure blog comparing an Abuja Pottery jug by Tanko Mohammud with a Winchcombe Pottery jug by Pat Groom.

You can read it here

thanks for that

Looks like the potters mark could be A T T Something unfortunatley the rest has been glaze covered - Any ideas my Abuja is not the best...









Thanks for any advice

Hi
I have this rather handsome Abuja coffee pot from the late 50’s.
Despite much searching for the potter, I can’t find a name. Please can anyone help with this? I’ve been looking for CBG but this may be incorrect.
Many thanks