Crafts Council

The Crafts Council Collection began in 1972, a year after the Crafts Council (then the Crafts Advisory Committee) was established. The first objects acquired for the Collection date from the time of the British Potters' Exhibition, when pieces by such potters as Bernard Leach, Hans Coper and Lucie Rie were purchased. The Crafts Council continues to acquire work annually and currently has over 1300 objects spanning all the main media including: ceramics, glass, metal, jewellery, furniture, textiles, wood, baskets, automata, calligraphy, lettering and bookbinding. The Crafts Council accepts the definition of craft in its widest sense, from its interface with cutting edge design on the one hand, to its crossover with fine art on the other. Governed by an Acquisition Policy, work is acquired by artists living in England, Wales and Scotland. the work of many internationally acclaimed figures. We aim to maintain a balance between purchasing work from young makers and those already well established. Work is rarely purchased retrospectively, although a leeway of five years does exist. Collection is not constituted as a survey of the crafts overall, but reflects a wide and lively spectrum of activity in contemporary Craft.

The Collection is a lending collection supporting exhibitions and displays through long and short term loans to UK venues.

Collection details

Design, Decorative and Applied Art, Costume and Textiles, Archives

Collections services

• Object identification and/or written enquiry service
• Public access available to collections information
• Specialist publications on collections available
• Object study facilities available (enquire in advance)