Crown Lynn Exhibition at the Gus Fisher Gallery Auckland

It was exciting for Heather and I to get to meet Tony and mrnarna and his lovely wife at last
Looking forward to hearing Tony's Floor Talk today!
Alan Topham enjoyed sharing memories .... and I enjoyed listening
There were just so many interesting people there, collectors, potters, writers and enthusiasts!

Floor talks today by Tony Carr and Trish Clark
First time in yonks that I've been to a Gallery where photos are permitted ....
I took many - Carpay - Wharetana - Bohemia ware - camera wouldn't pick up the Shufflebotham pieces darn it! I will load them into the appropriate Categories and Galleries over the next few days. I will mention the Gus Fisher Gallery and Crown Lynn: Pottery for the People Exhibition each time and hope this covers all angles. Can already think of many more photos that I should have taken too !!

dont fret Ev i got each nearly every piece

it was a thrill and honour to meet Tony and yourself and Heather. And an amazing buzz to meet Trish Val Alison Mary and Billy, boy what a weekend to live down. Im still a buzz with the whole event.

Awesome narna as taking pics through glass doesn't always work. I can't use many of the Wharetana pics. Did you meet John Parker the studio potter who makes and collects the Shufflebotham whiteware? What about the antique dealer Brian Ronson who collected the Carpay and Whiteware? Or Richard Quinn's lovely daughters and wife? I know you got to meet Manos though You would have seen them all there though. I'm still buzzing as well .... the enormity of it all will take a while to sink in

we met and got a photo with both Richards lovely daughters, they stood by their dads photo and its a really awesome photo.

90% of my pics will be all in focus and i will upload any of the ones you dont have or that are blurry but it may take a while.

It's going to take me a while too as it's taken most of the day to just load 5 pics blimin heck ... and there are about 40 more to go!. I will make notes of what pics we need ... thank you so much. Oh and I went to a Studio Pottery Exhibition and Open Day in Mt Eden today as well ....[yes I bought a lovely teabowl] so a full on three days of pottery for me!

Floor talk on Saturday 19th November by artist Lisa Reihana and curator Andrew Clifford discussing the cultural implications of Crown Lynn's Wharetana Ware.

Wish I could go to this but I've had too much time off work as it is lately.
I wonder if they have had an opportunity to view the Wharetana Maori Art Pottery Catalogue with it's highly respectful descriptions of the meanings of the carvings on each piece listed, which I feel empowers and promotes Maoridom?

Billy Apples Dorothy Thorpe Collection.



Mary Morrison with her collection


The hand-painted Fiesta Ware range was adorned with brightly coloured spots and
stripes. Because the paint was applied over the top of the glaze, many examples from
this range are damaged. In addition to the full dinner set, the Fiesta range also included
condiment sets and bowls. Produced during the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the Fiesta
range, like many others made by Crown Lynn at this time, was part-imitation and part-emulation
of international designs. Fiesta was a hugely successful dinnerware range in
America following the war and was also made in Britain by the Johnson Brothers and J&G
Meakin. Featuring a delightful yet simple design of bright dots of colour against a cross
hatched cream and silvery grey ground, it marked a break from the plain colours of
Crown Lynn's earlier dinner ware.
Mary Morrison owns several sets of Fiesta, some of which is still used on a daily basis.
Her collection of Fiesta ware is displayed on the original wire racks that formed a central
part of Crown Lynn's marketing campaign. Also on display is a rare document from
Morrison's collection that was sourced from the Crown Lynn factory, which details the
transition of the Fiesta range from an international design to a domestic product. The
card template, which is complete with a fine ceramic dust, was hung on the walls of the
factory to detail for the decorators where each coloured dot should be placed.

THE RICHARD QUINN COLLECTION
The diversity of pieces In the Richard Quinn Collection testifies to the trans-formative
history of Crown Lynn over the five decades of its existence, during which time It grew to
be the largest producer of pottery In the Southern Hemisphere. It Is a unique historical
collection that documents many of the origins, process and products of the Crown Lynn
factory. As well as the finished pieces, the collection also Includes objects that relate to
the manual production of such items in moulds, ram presses, decorating stands and a
number of stamps that would have been used for hand labeling, all of which were
personally rescued by Quinn after the factory closed in 1989.
The collection details an assortment of early objects from the late 1930s that point to
the humble origins of the company when It was trading as Ambrico. items such as the
handle less cup, the cup With a block handle and the tawny coloured Paris Ware, which
was the first set of dinner ware produced by Ambrico In c.1943 and traces the amateur
beglnnings of the company.

That is a lovely photo mrnarna - Richard has nine children and they're all brilliant and great company.

THE RICHARD QUINN COLLECTION
The collection details an assortment of early objects from the late 1930s that point to
the humble origins of the company when It was trading as Ambrico. Items such as the
handle-less cup, the cup With a block handle and the tawny coloured Paris Ware, which
was the first set of dinner ware produced by Ambrico In c.1943 and traces the amateur
beginnings of the company. With the outbreak of war, the New Zealand government
could no longer source an adequate supply of British-manufactured crockery and Crown
Lynn managed to secure the lucrative bid to supply the much-needed tableware to the
armed forces, New Zealand Railways and hospitals around the country. The contract With
the railways resulted In the company producing over 30,000 durable, vitrified cups,
saucers and plates each year.











I want that mug with the Potter on it !!

Excellent photos narna
That Richard Quinn pic looks stunning!
hon-john sent a pic to the site of the mug with the potter on it ...
I will have to find it and bring it back to life.

A mug made in the image of Tom Clark and given to him when he retired.
From the Clark Family Collection.

We were unable to attend...family in hospital....so I am GREEEEEEEEEN with envy. Did you see any checked patterns or details ???

But harry .... it's on until the 14th January !!!!!
Hopefully you will be able to see it in all of it's beautiful glory!
No there weren't any checked patterns ...... the things on display are Crown Lynn collectors collections and they mustn't have heard of you
Oh harry my heart skipped a beat when I saw your beautiful yellow checked dinnerware up for auction .....

thank you for that news. we will certainly be there before January. Must have missed those dates. Yes I am selling the yellow checked set to concentrate on one colour...RED. It has been great to have but it is a waste just sitting there and I cannot display it either. Thanks for the tip.

This awesome Exhibition finishes on Saturday 14th January with a floor talk from the Portage Ceramics Trust staff about their plans to establish a museum for the Richard Quinn Collection. Please go and report back all of the details for those of us that won't be there.

Went to the Gus Fisher today and really enjoyed the address and chatting after to several people. I made notes and will get them sorted tomorrow and post with an odd photo that could be of interest.
There were about 32=33 people sitting listening plus others in the gallery viewing.
Well worth the second visit for me.