No 47: Tall tankard, 1950 (P.84.28)

This is one of the first batch of saltglazed stoneware pots to have been made and fired at the Oxshott Pottery, run by Denise and Rosemary Wren; they were pioneers in reviving this medium for studio use. Rosemary Wren made this tankard when still a student at the Royal College of Art. It is thrown and bears three types of relief decoration: sprig-moulded roundels, roulette lines in a grid, and turned rings at the base; the exterior is toasted to a glossy dark brown colour in the coke-fired, saltglazing kiln which the Wrens themselves designed.