(Above) A Reform bowl. Image © Stirling Smith Art Gallery
Exhibition: A Collection of Old Pots, Stirling Smith Art Gallery, Stirling, until September 31 2010
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery is mining its fine collection of ceramics for an exhibition that reveals the breadth, depth and social and political resonance of pots.
Aimed at celebrating the first ever Potfest in Stirling at the Stirling Agricultural Centre, the exhibition is also a paean to the Stirling Smith's founder, artist Thomas Stuart Smith, who was a voracious collector of ceramics.
Since he established the Gallery in 1874, subsequent custodians and curators have taken up the mantle of collecting ceramics. Pots have remained integral to the collection to this day.
A ceramic bottle commemorating Lord John Russell, one of the architects of the 1832 Reform Act. Image © Stirling Smith Art Gallery
Many of the pots on display are of local interest and manufacture, such as Dunmore, the Stirlingshire factory that made a name for itself in the late 19th century with its animals figurines and busts. Ceramics from Strathyre in Perthshire, which today have a small but appreciable following in the collector's market, are also on display.
Others mark national events such as the bowl from 1832 commemorating the Scottish Reform Act and a ceramic bottle with a cork stopper in the shape of Lord John Russell, one of the architects of the Act.
A Strathyre Bowl. Image © Stirling Smith Art Gallery
Visitors will also be able to visit the Stirling Story, a permanent exhibition of Stirling through the ages, where more ceramics from the collection can be discovered.
Potfest, one of the best pottery markets in the UK, takes place between May 29-31. See www.potfest.co.uk for more details.
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