Hannah Arnup for Ballymorris Pottery – Large Green Sgraffito Stoneware Bowl

Description

A substantial handmade stoneware footed bowl by Hannah Arnup for Ballymorris Pottery, Co. Clare, Ireland, measuring approximately 31.2 cm in diameter and 7 cm high.

Broad and shallow in form, the bowl is wheel-thrown with a gently rising profile, wide flattened rim and pronounced circular foot. It is covered in one of Ballymorris Pottery’s characteristic mottled green glazes, varying from soft celadon and olive tones to much darker areas of green and charcoal where the glaze has pooled and reacted during firing.

The interior is dominated by a large stylised botanical or organic motif, worked through the green surface to expose the warm buff-coloured stoneware beneath. A circular central form is surrounded by elongated radiating shapes, while a sweeping curved stem extends across the bowl and terminates in several bud-like forms.

The decoration has the immediacy of drawing directly into clay and is particularly effective against the naturally variegated glaze.

Decoration

Ballymorris Pottery specifically records that Hannah Arnup uses plates and bowls as a canvas for individual designs, which continually change and develop through the use of sgraffito and imagery drawn from plants, birds, animals and organic forms.

The present bowl is a particularly good example of this approach. Rather than relying on repeated decoration, the design responds to the circular form of the vessel itself, spreading asymmetrically across the interior and leaving large areas of the glaze visible.

The broad rim is additionally enlivened by a loosely segmented darker-green border, giving the bowl another layer of hand-worked decoration.

Glaze

The bowl carries a richly variegated speckled green glaze, one of the documented colour ranges used at Ballymorris Pottery.

Its natural variations are an important part of the piece: areas of pale green merge into darker olive and near-black tones, with scattered warmer firing effects visible beneath the glaze.

The underside is also substantially glazed, leaving the raised foot itself largely unglazed and exposing the pale stoneware body.

Hannah Arnup & Ballymorris Pottery

Ballymorris Pottery was established by Hannah Arnup in 1994 at Cratloe, Co. Clare, Ireland. Arnup studied Fine Art Sculpture at Kingston and postgraduate ceramics at Goldsmiths College, London, before establishing the pottery after moving to Ireland.

Her work combines functional pottery with a strongly individual approach to surface design. Ballymorris describes its ceramics as high-fired handmade stoneware, while independent exhibition material notes Arnup’s use of strong colours, positive shapes and sgraffito decoration.

The Design & Crafts Council Ireland also identifies Hannah Arnup as the maker behind Ballymorris Pottery in Co. Clare.

Mark

The foot is impressed:

BALLYMORRIS

together with the pottery’s small impressed device.

This provides direct physical evidence of manufacture at Ballymorris Pottery.

Condition

Very good condition overall.

The bowl presents strongly, with a rich and well-preserved glaze and clearly defined decoration.

From the photographs supplied, no obvious chips, significant cracks or restoration are apparent. The glaze shows the natural variation, speckling and firing irregularities expected of individually made studio stoneware.

There may be minor surface wear consistent with age and previous handling.

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: Variegated speckled green
Decoration: Sgraffito-style stylised botanical / organic motif
Form: Large shallow footed bowl / charger
Diameter: 31.2 cm
Height: c.7 cm
Mark: Impressed BALLYMORRIS studio mark
Construction: Wheel-thrown studio pottery

Authenticity

The impressed BALLYMORRIS studio mark confirms manufacture at Ballymorris Pottery. The large footed form, green glaze and freely worked sgraffito-style decoration are also directly consistent with the documented work of Hannah Arnup, who founded and runs the pottery and whose bowls and plates are specifically described by Ballymorris as surfaces for her changing individual designs.

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