LEACH, Bernard

Leach Pottery Tile

Description

Leach Pottery stoneware tile depicting a tree,  impressed with pottery marks to rear. The tile is an early example from St. Ives Leach pottery. Made of grog, pressed into a mould, with the Leach pottery sign impressed on verso. Painted in iron oxide (brown) with with a touch of cobalt oxide(blue) fired to stoneware.  However, it is not signed by Bernard Leach and the style is not finesse as his. The tile has a small patch of grout adhering to one edge and nibbles around it, otherwise appears good with no further signs of faults, damage or restorations.

Size 10 x 10cm. (4 x 4 inches)

Thickness: 12cm (0.5 inches)

Item details

Provenance: From the  family collection of Diana Lloyd. Lloyd helped set up a Bernard Leach exhibition in Japan while her father was British Ambassador to Japan (1975-80).

The Leach Pottery used a grogged clay to stop warping and shrinkage. They would have a made a plaster mould with the impression of the pottery in the mould, so when the clay is pressed into it, it would have the Leach pottery sign on the verso of the tile. (see ‘A Potters Book’ by Bernard Leach)  The Leach pottery had various potters who painted their own designs on the tiles. Bernard Leach always appear to have signed his with ‘BL’ on the front in the lower corner. However this one appears to have been painted by a young person trying to copy a Bernard Leach willow design A child would draw a tree with branches going up, not down. (David leach maybe?) 

(‘Grogg’ is ground up fired clay which has already shrunk.)