Stoneware, black manganese glaze thinning in places to reveal the body material, the barrel form mounted with beasts, huts and three antelope masks to each side
H 14.5cm, W 12.9cm
Provenance: Private Collection, London
Condition: Perfect condition with no damage or restoration
Available for sale: £1,200 inclusive
About the artist
Ian Godfrey was a highly individual potter with a focus on decorative pots rather than practical wares, his pieces often featured a mix of small creatures and figurative designs drawn from fantasy, mythology, and archaeology, and are imbued with warmth and wit.
Godfrey studied first painting and then ceramics at Camberwell Art School in London from 1957, where his teachers include Hans Coper, Lucie Rie and Ian Auld. He established his own workshop in 1962, and enjoyed great success in the 1970s for his work. Having spent five years in Denmark, Godfrey returned to London in 1980, setting up a studio where he would remain working until his death in 1992.
Godfrey's works are immediately recognisable. He employed idiosyncratic techniques by carving his hand-built works with a pen-knife or biro and developed a unique style that incorporated elaborate carved designs, miniature houses, animals, and imagined landscapes.
Artist's Other Pieces
