Hannah Arnup for Ballymorris Pottery – Green Stoneware Jug with Spiral Decoration

Description

A substantial handmade stoneware jug by Ballymorris Pottery, Co. Clare, Ireland, attributable to Hannah Arnup, founder and principal ceramicist of the pottery.

The jug stands approximately 22 cm high, with a base diameter of 8.9 cm, and has a generous ovoid body, waisted neck, pronounced pouring lip and long pulled handle.

It is covered in a rich, mottled deep green glaze, characteristic of one of Ballymorris Pottery’s established colour ranges, with the glaze breaking subtly across the thrown and modelled surfaces to reveal variations of olive, bottle green and darker speckling. Ballymorris describes its functional ceramics as high-fired stoneware and specifically lists green among its principal colour ranges.

The most distinctive feature is the large spiral motif extending across the body on both sides. The decoration has been worked through the green surface to expose the warm buff stoneware beneath, creating a strong contrast between glaze and clay.

Spiral Decoration

The spiral is particularly characteristic of Hannah Arnup’s Ballymorris work.

Ballymorris Pottery states that Hannah developed interlocking and organic spiral decoration after visiting Newgrange, the prehistoric passage tomb in Co. Meath, and that Celtic spiral and knotwork traditions remain an important source within her ceramic vocabulary.

A separate exhibition account of Arnup’s work likewise notes that her stoneware frequently uses spiral sgraffito decoration, alongside strong colours and positive, simplified forms.

The restrained treatment here is especially successful: a single sweeping spiral is allowed to travel across the rounded body rather than being confined to a decorative panel.

Form and Construction

The jug appears wheel-thrown in stoneware, with the body subsequently altered and assembled with a separately formed handle.

The body has a pleasingly robust domestic form, widening through the lower section before narrowing sharply at the shoulder. Above this is a comparatively straight neck terminating in an asymmetrical pouring lip.

The handle runs in a long arc from immediately below the rim to the lower body, giving the piece a strong vertical profile while remaining functional.

Ballymorris Pottery and Hannah Arnup

Ballymorris Pottery was established in 1994 at Cratloe, Co. Clare, in a converted 17th-century farm complex, and continues to be run by Hannah Arnup. She trained in Fine Art Sculpture at Kingston and completed postgraduate ceramics at Goldsmiths College, London.

Arnup comes from a notable artistic family: her parents were the sculptor Sally Arnup and painter-potter Mick Arnup, while her brother Ben Arnup is also a ceramicist. Hannah has exhibited extensively in Britain and Ireland and received the Millennium Masterpiece Award for Ceramics in 2000.

Her work balances the traditions of studio pottery with functional domestic ware, something Ballymorris itself identifies as a central aim of the pottery.

Mark

The underside is impressed:

BALLYMORRIS

with an additional small impressed device to the left.

The studio mark provides direct physical evidence of manufacture at Ballymorris Pottery.

Condition

Very good condition overall.

The green glaze remains rich and even, with attractive natural variation and speckling from the firing process.

No obvious chips, major cracks or restoration are apparent from the supplied photographs. There may be minor surface wear and natural firing irregularities consistent with handmade studio stoneware.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the condition description.

Details

Maker: Hannah Arnup for Ballymorris Pottery
Pottery: Ballymorris Pottery
Location: Cratloe, Co. Clare, Ireland
Date: c.1990s–2000s
Material: High-fired stoneware
Glaze: Speckled green
Decoration: Spiral / sgraffito-style exposed clay motif
Height: c.22 cm
Base diameter: 8.9 cm
Form: Handled pouring jug
Mark: Impressed BALLYMORRIS to base
Construction: Wheel-thrown and assembled studio pottery

Authenticity

The impressed BALLYMORRIS studio mark confirms manufacture at Ballymorris Pottery. The green stoneware body and spiral decoration are also closely consistent with the documented ceramic vocabulary of Hannah Arnup, who founded and continues to run the pottery.

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