TIME FOR TEA

A British Council exhibition.

This exhibition was commissioned by Cultura Inglesa in Rio de Janeiro and featured 80 teapots from the British Council collection, made by British potters from the 1930s to the present day. The exhibition explored various methods of fabrication from the hand-crafted to the machine-made and small production ware; the diversity of styles and methods employed in making teapots reflected the varying approaches of British potters and designers to their crafts. Included in the exhibition were works from key potteries such at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, and work by three generations of the Cardew family. A specially commissioned reproduction of the famous giant teapot (capacity 6¼ gallons) first made by Michael Cardew, a former student of Bernard Leach, and shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1942 was included as were production ware pieces y Susie Cooper and Clarice Cliff. Other works of note were hand-built pots by Jill Crowley an d Kate Malone, two stoneware iron glaze pots by Geoffrey Whiting an a porcelain teapot by one his student, Edmund de Waal. There was also factory produced tableware by Wedgwood and Cornish ware, as well as many other whimsical and unique works by artist-potters and ceramicists. A catalogue with a foreword by Andrea Rose and entries by Diana Eccles was published in three language versions to accompany the tour. ISBN 0 86355 359 1 (English) ISBN 0 86355 361 3 (Portuguese) ISBN 0 86355 362 1 (Spanish)