At Sworders, we have a long and proud history of handling studio ceramics. In 2024 alone, we were delighted to achieve £32,500 for a Lucie Rie bowl, £2,340 for a Shoji Hamada vessel, and £2,210 for a Richard Slee jar. This field is a passion of ours, and we are committed to its growth - honouring its rich history while embracing the exciting evolution of contemporary craft.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the market for studio ceramics has grown exponentially. Bernard Leach, considered the ‘Father of British studio pottery’, founded the Leach Pottery in St Ives in 1920 with his contemporary Shoji Hamada, and together became major international figures for their innovative, utilitarian approach to ceramics. The hugely successful Lucie Rie and Hans Coper who taught at the Camberwell School of Art, and William Staite Murray who taught at the Royal College of Art, also established themselves during this period too.

In the 1960s, a new generation of ceramicists emerged who were influenced by the works of Leach, Rie, and other teachers at these art schools: Ewen Henderson, Alison Britton, Emmanuel Cooper, Magdalene Odundo, Elizabeth Fritsch, Richard Slee, and Gordon Baldwin to name a few. This new generation embraced the independent, unique aspect they had been taught and began to experiment with abstraction in form, glaze, and general approach, firmly cementing themselves as the inheritors to their predecessor’s tradition. Today, many of these makers work alongside the next generation of ceramicists such as Akiko Hirai, Ashraf Hanna, and Edmund de Waal.

If you have studio ceramics that you would like to sell, get in touch now for a free valuation from one of our specialists.

Be sure not to miss out on the studio ceramics included in our quarterly Design auctions by signing up for alerts here and follow the department on Instagram @swordersdesign

^{All prices shown include fees}

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