IN-PERSONLECTURE OPENS OUR SEASON AT THE KING’S CHAPEL PARISH HOUSE
Torrential rains on Thursday, September 22 did not dampen the spirits of the stalwart few that braved the inclement weather for a chance to meet once again for the club’s first post-covid inperson lecture of the 2022-2023 season. Zoom lectures brilliantly produced by our Program Director Anne Lanning kept us in touch during the pandemic, but nothing can replace seeing friends and fellow enthusiasts at our regular monthly talks. Newly elected President Martha Pinello warmly welcomed attendees before Anne Lanning introduced fellow CSC member Stephen Earp a professional potter and proprietor of Stephen Earp Redware who spoke to us on the subject of Modern Potters Working in the Traditional Decorative Arts.
Several years ago, at the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts Stephen was asked to submit an article in Ceramics in America Steven chose a subject that he thought had not received much, if any, attention and that was the efforts and motivations of a range of modern potters –most of whom he knew – who worked in historically important ceramic traditions such as redware, faience, delftware, mocha, scratch blue and Rockingham wares.
This group occupies a complicated position. Some ceramic colleagues consider them to be (with a few notable exceptions) essentially anachronisms who offer nothing new, unique or original. Studio Fine Arts programs rarely encourage the study of these artists or the styles they work in, despite a growing interest in ceramic history. And, if one were not born and raised in a community that originated these styles, nor learned them from a “tradition bearer”, one might be considered a bit of an interloper by some interests that support traditional crafts. And yet, this group represents a substantial proportion of traditionally oriented potters in this country today. Several of these potters focus their skills on research, educational projects, and/or living history. Others embrace personal ties to specific regions or cultural expressions. Some operate within the network of the traditional decorative arts, while others come from a ‘Fine Arts’ approach, or just purely for the love of a particular style. But in the face of today’s ease of access to cultural heritage for the use of inspiration, they all share a deeply felt recognition of responsibility toward that heritage. Their methods and insights can offer valuable inspiration to those makers today who are interested in incorporating aspects of the broader historical record in general into their own work. This has been a common practice within the field across time, while equally addressing growing concerns over the appropriation of cultural expressions as mere fodder for contemporary art.
As Andrea Gill of Alfred University’s acclaimed Ceramic program observes, there is a crisis in Fine Arts education today. “Too many who now teach in ceramic programs have neglected to expose the next generation of ceramic artists to any broad historical ceramic appreciation at all”. Steven believes many of today’s potters are not so much antagonistic to these styles and approaches as they are simply unaware of them.
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Stephen always believed there should be a companion exhibition highlighting these modern potters’ work and that came to fruition in a show called American Clay, Modern Potters and Traditional Pots which was presented at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA in 2021. Steven’s talk followed the basic structure of that exhibit with a few additions thrown in as examples of various themes and issues he was presenting to us. Because this work reflects pottery styles from long before the United States’ inception through to the modern era, several of which continue as living traditions today, he would like us to think of this body of work as a whole and as continuing a dialogue in clay that spans continents and centuries. Here are some of the pieces he shared with us:
LEFT: Ceramic historian Brenda Hornsby Hendl blends her wide-ranging research interests with her own productions at Liberty Stoneware in Liberty, N.C. as seen here in her salt-fired transfer printed stoneware jug commemorating 19th century black potters who “passed” for white in order to market their work. RIGHT: Well- known to CSC members, Don Carpentier employed traditional tools and techniques such as lathes and roulette wheels rebuilt from original Staffordshire models to meticulously produce a wide variety of work based upon early English industrial wares such as the Wheildon style tortoise shell glazed plate seen here.
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IMAGES FROM THE PREVIOUS PAGE, LEFT: Oregonia, Ohio potters Greg and Mary Shooner, who began their careers working with David T. Smith produce wood-fired, lead-glazed and breathtakingly masterful examples reflecting decorative redware such as this lidded jar. CENTER: English sgrafitto and slipware expert Ron Geering of Woods Hole, MA describes his early efforts as “mainly to satisfy myself that I could do it” before developing his own unique approach to slipware and sgraffitto. RIGHT: The Arts and Crafts era and the ensuing Art Pottery movement is acknowledged here in the collaborative efforts of Kevin Hicks’ Ephraim Pottery in Lake Mills, WI.
LEFT: Selinda Kennedy of Muncy, PA with her unique blending of the redware format with fraktur design and folk art sensibilities. CENTER: Some potters such as Stephanie Young of Boston work within the “Contemporary Fine Arts” festival and gallery circuit movement with works like her porcelain Art-Nouveau inspired vase. RIGHT: A delftware charger by our speaker, Stephen Earp, who says, “I see my work as building on what I understand as delftware’s penchant for eclectic mix-and-match approaches to designs, patterns, and imagery, and its application of symbolism and metaphor to genre-style story telling”.
The work of these artists, and many more, stems directly from styles and traditions that accompanied, and in many cases propelled, this developmental arc. The potters shown here, and their many historically inspired colleagues, are direct inheritors of those earlier pioneering efforts. Understanding those efforts within a broader context of historical adaptation and evolution perhaps allows us to equally consider a similar progression within the concepts of “tradition bearers”and of “traditional pottery itself” .
“Style” in ceramics can be understood as a unified collection of formal traits across a range of artifacts. These traits have historically understood as confined by geographical considerations and/or defined by like-minded communities. Through this lens, such a style becomes a “tradition” when embraced by multiple makers across a period of time. The information shared in this process is as critical as the individuals involved. This observation becomes increasingly relevant as the level of change experienced today – from the pervasiveness of studio art degree programs over traditional learning methods, to the detachment from geographical constraints by a uniform Page 4
supply system, and a reliance in marketing focused on aesthetic interest instead of practical needs
pushes the concept of style as a byword for individual talent rather than as a marker of cultural or historical significance.
Finally, taking into consideration this overall context, how can modern efforts to honor traditional pottery, and to continue its legacy, be distinguished from merely “sampling” or outright appropriating, superficial visual aspects of past achievements for individual purposes? The current debate over the uses and abuses of cultural heritage constitutes one aspect of a greater struggle by marginalized communities for access and equity within the art world and beyond. This is a large subject for another discussion, but in concluding Stephen ended in saying he firmly believes any attempt to address the important question of how the historical record can be respectfully accessed by contemporary artists would greatly benefit from considering the intricate blending of personal inspiration and stylistic continuity represented by the artists whose work he shared with us.
ASIAN CERAMIC TRADITIONS FEATURED IN OUR OCTOBER LECTURE
In a complete contrast to the torrential rains that dampened our September talk, our Club’s October meeting convened on a brilliant autumn day to hear Robert Mowry, the Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and a Senior Consultant at Christies speak to us on the subject of China, Korea, and Japan: Separate But Overlapping Ceramic Traditions.
Robert jumped right into his lengthy talk as we had “many countries, centuries and kilns to cover” as he so aptly put it. In his overview he started with China’s expansive ceramic history that stretches back to the time of Christ and earlier. There were many varieties of ceramics that developed, but he focused on the three great periods of porcelain production – the monochromes of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the blue and white wares of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and the polychrome wares of the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). In Korea we have the celadon wares of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) which showed a strong Chinese influence with a Korean taste added to them and the Chosen Dynasty – a period where the porcelain had iron added to it to create a brown and white ware which the Chinese never produced. In Japan we tend to think of the porcelains of the Edo period and beyond (1603-1867) with the Kakiemon and Imari wares which were really the end of the Japanese tradition, much of it made for export. Earlier Japanese wares had exhibited a taste completely different from that of both the Chinese and Korean wares.
As Robert explained, the Chinese started experimenting about the time of Christ, and it took about a thousand years before they developed the porcelain wares of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty celadons were coming from kilns in Northern China where it took centuries to develop a perfect celadon blue/green glaze. This achievement was made possible by two innovations in the production process. One was the very simple sagger. This ceramic hatbox-shaped covered container protected wares set inside it from soot and ash during the firing process within the kiln. Any soot or ash landing on a piece would develop glaze imperfections on the surface of an object. Page 5
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Once ash and soot were eliminated a uniform glaze was made more possible. Also objects within the high-fired ceramic walls of a covered sagger were insulated from fluctuations in kiln temperature allowing them to fire evenly. Another advantage to the sagger was that its simple shape was stackable allowing more pieces to be fired within a kiln and increasing production. (Keep in mind that these kilns were first and foremost a commercial operation – increased production equaled increased profits.) The second great innovation of huge importance was the development of the dragon kiln. This arched, tunnel-like structure was built of the side of the hill with a firebox at its base and a smokestack at the top. The intense heat of the firebox was drawn up the grade of the hill, firing the objects on its way and was drawn out the chimney. As we shall see, this more efficient kiln design would eventually spread to both Korea and Japan, but, despite the improved design and use of the protective saggers, the success rate of these early kilns was still only fair, about 50% of the items turning out perfectly.
After all the technical stuff got sorted out, the Song Dynasty potters achieved some remarkable glazes. Some of the finest pieces made were Ru wares, created exclusively for the imperial court, only about seventy-five pieces of which survive to this day. Ru ware has a beautiful glaze pooling in a bluishgreen color and crackling on an angle the overall effect resembling shattering ice. The glaze even covered the foot of Ru pieces, so they had to be fired on small spurs which leave small seed-like marks on the reverse of the piece after they were snapped off in the post-firing. Other variations of this period include a celadon glaze onto which some ashes were introduced helping turn the piece a lovely robin’s egg blue. In the 13th century incised and molded decoration was included on celadon wares, and in other cases copper filings in a slurry were added to a piece which when fired added a pleasing purple effect.
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Left: A Song Dynasty celadon bottle vase. Right: With only about seventy-five pieces known pieces this Ru Ware dish with the blue pooling and crackled glaze was the most highly prized Imperial ware.
In 1127 Jin Tartars overran the north of China and the imperial court relocated to the south, so from 1127 until the end of the dynasty on 1279, China was divided in half between the Jin Tartars and the Chinese. This meant that court potters effectively had to start from scratch, as the northern clay deposits were no longer available to them, and so a stoneware was developed from what resources they had available. Named Guan ware which basically meant “official ware” it had a dark charcoal grey body with a thick glaze. The previous celadon glaze was now replaced by a bluish-grey glaze that had a distinctive crackle due to its thickness on the surface of the vessel.
That basically was the progression of celadon wares, but Robert then backtracked to the 9th century of the Song dynasty to also mention two other wares being developed at this time. There were white wares also being developed at the same time which had a porcelain body, but not refined enough yet to transmit light. Decoration was virtually non-existent relying upon form and color to be the porcelain’s sole attraction. And finally, there was Ding ware which was a favorite of the imperial court. It resembles stoneware but was made with kaolin, unmixed with petuntse. It had a greyish body with a white-tinted glaze and uncolored decoration in incised or low relief. See below.
Above Left & Right: Two examples of Jun Ware, a celadon glaze to which ashes were added to create a robin’s egg blue glaze, and a later version to which copper filings were added to create a purple effect.
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We move on in time to the next major development at the kilns at Jingdezhen where both kaolin and petuntse were readily available. This area had been producing average wares for local consumption since about the time of Christ, but it wasn’t until the 7th - 9th centuries that it began to emulate the refined celadons of the Song Dynasty. By the 11th century they had developed the beautiful white, translucent, and resonant porcelain for which they became known the world over and would become the foundation for all Chinese ceramics to come. By the 14th century incised decoration under a thin bluish glaze is replaced by hand-painted decoration in underglaze blue, the iron oxide having been purified out of the glaze now leaving a clear, virtually white surface. In the Yuan period of the 14th century these blue and white wares were not considered imperial wares; the decoration was considered rather garish and crass, used mostly in shrines and for export abroad. This is why there are early extant examples of blue and white in Iraq, Iran and India. And yet by the 15th century, in a great reversal of taste, blue and white wares become the most revered wares at the imperial court, this being the first period they began using imperial reign marks on porcelain. They also experimented with cobalt to create a bluish glaze and copper to create a red referred to as ‘crushed strawberries’ as well as enameling over a fired piece and creating a yellow overglaze ground, this being particularly admired as yellow has always been associated with the emperor.
Ming Period Blue & White Bowl
Enamels continued to be developed through the Qing Dynasty providing a wide palette of colors. One of those colors was a rose enamel, one of the few innovations from the west introduced by Jesuit missionaries in the late 17th century who had learned the formula from Venetian glassmakers. This innovation, along with a tin oxide which allowed an opaque white enhanced the possibilities in decoration as white allows for the mixing and shading of colors so a depth in imagery can be produced between light and dark. Moving on to Korea, Robert pointed out that the kiln sites there were always traditionally located in the southern part of the peninsula, particularly around Seoul where porcelain clays were available. The earliest technically mature ceramics which were stonewares came about the 5th - 6th centuries, the production techniques being learned (or pilfered) from the Chinese. At this time in world history only China and Korea were able to produce high-fired ceramics which indicates a very high level of technological advancement. By the 8th - 9th centuries Korea begins to experiment with celadons and by the 12th century they are producing the very refined refined celadon for which they Page 8
are known. They learned by copying and then perfecting Chinese techniques and then began to express their own aesthetic vision. Oddly, Koreans looked to Chinese textiles with their scrolling floral motifs to create their incised and carved designs. Eventually Korean celadons reached such a high level of aesthetic and technical advancement that they were admired and collected at the Chinese court. In the second half of the 12th century, Koreans expanded their aesthetic vision in inlaid or intaglio designs filled with black and white slips. By the 15th century, Koreans had completely mastered porcelain making as well. By 1392 the Chosen Dynasty had overthrown the previous Goryeo Dynasty and was deeply influenced by the Chinese Ming Dynasty, adapting Confucianism as their state religion and emulating Ming period blue and white porcelains. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Korean s also began experimenting with a decoration in underglaze iron brown on porcelain, as the cobalt for blue was difficult to procure and iron readily available. Design motifs tended to be inspired by Chinese designs and were asymmetrical yet balanced, but in a departure from the Chinese, had no borders. This is a big distinguishing difference between the two countries’ designs, as Chinese decoration almost always is contained within borders. They loved borders.
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Above: Examples of Korean wares – left a celadon vase with white slip decoration, center, a jar with underglaze iron brown decoration and right a bottle vase with underglaze blue decoration – note the use of a design unconstrained by decorative borders, typical of Korean wares, unlike the Chinese aesthetic. Below: a Korean celadon brush rest.
Moving onto Japan, most of the early ceramics came from the central part of the country whereas porcelain came from northwest Japan. By the 6th - 7th century the Japanese were producing stonewares inspired by the Koreans, but as saggers were not in early use ash can be found in the glaze. The major difference between Japanese and Korean stonewares is that the Koreans strove to create highly refined glazed stonewares whereas the Japanese had a completely different aesthetic where they purposely applied ash to their stoneware vessels to achieve a natural, imperfect look whereas the Koreans and Chinese regarded such things as flaws. This was perhaps the origin of the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi which is a philosophy and aesthetic about the acceptance of transience, imperfection, and impermanence. Characteristics include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, austerity, modesty, flaws, and the forces of nature. Developing out of this idea are the well-known Japanese Raku teawares.
Two examples of the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic: left, a Hon’ami Koestsu Raku Tea Bowl Amagumo and right, a Hon’Ami Koetsu Raku Tea Bowl Amagumo.
A big difference that Raku wares have from all the other ceramics mentioned so far is that they are not turned on a potter’s wheel and they are not fired in a kiln. They are formed by hand, and they are fired directly in an open fire on the end of tongs. As these pieces are earthenware not high-fired stoneware the color of the object is determined by the color of the clay and the fire itself. The other big difference from Chinese and Korean wares is that in Japanese Raku-wares we have specific potters associated with specific styles of pots whereas in the other countries the potter remains anonymous, a cog in the manufacturing wheel so to speak. Therefore, there are many Japanese potters whose names are known in Raku ware and many pieces have been given names of their own over time. Also, some of the potters are multi-talented working in other fields such as painting and calligraphy, something that would never happen in China. In addition to earthenware Raku pieces, stonewares were developed, fired in kilns, but with glazes, underglaze painting, and slip decoration in the WabiSabi aesthetic, not attempting to make a perfect piece.
Arita wares were the last category we discussed. Again, this was an area where ample clay deposits were to be found. It was not the name of a specific kiln, but actually a port from which the wares were shipped. Similarly, certain other porcelains are identified as Imari wares as they were shipped from the port of Imari.
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There had been a long tradition of stoneware production in the Arita area and by the 16th – 17th century they were producing underglaze iron-decorated stonewares. But by the later 17th century they began to produce porcelain. This may appear a bit late in the game in comparison to the Chinese and the Koreans, but the Japanese had difficulties locating kaolin and petunse deposits, and if they desired porcelains they just imported them from their neighbors. It is only in the 17th century that the necessary clay deposits were discovered in the Arita region. The earliest porcelains produced were in the Imari palette employing a darkish, orange/red and a blackish underglaze blue. Another early and popular ware was Kakiemon which is named for a family of potters who produced it; it was inspired by Chinese Qing Dynasty decoration and underglaze blue and overglaze enamels.
In contrast we have Nabeshima wares from a kiln owned by the Lord of Nabeshima, and the wares were more in the Japanese taste. The porcelain was very white and the decoration very abstract and contemporary looking considering the period, and the original wares were made exclusively for the collection of the Lord Nabeshima and not for export. And finally in the 19th century, the Hirado kilns produced extremely fine blue and white wares primarily for Japanese consupmtion and influenced by asymmetrically decorated Korean wares.
Left: A Japanese Kakiemon covered bowl; Right: a Japanese Imari bottle.
Left: a Japanese Nabeshima plate; Right: a Japanese Hirado jar. Page 11
And in conclusion, Robert pointed out one remaining fact that unites ties all these countries together in this fascinatingly long history of porcelain development – they all share the same clay deposit that runs from China, through Korea, and into Japan. They all share the same vein of material vital to this process. Porcelain production occurred in no other country or culture in the entire landmass of Asia because no one else had the ingredients for ‘white gold’.
THE STAFFORDSHIRE TRADE IN AMERICA
The CSC’s November meeting was presented over Zoom, a platform which served us well during Covid, but now also allows the Club to hear from far flung speakers whom we would probably never be able to engage to travel to Boston. So, through the wonders of Zoom club members were able to watch a lecture by Dr. Neil Ewins, a Senior Lecturer in Design History at the University of Sunderland from Sunderland, UK. Dr. Ewin’s talk was entitled The Staffordshire Pottery Trade: The Ways & Consequences of Supplying the American Market.
Dr. Ewins began his talk by siting several early articles and books he’s researched on the early Staffordshire pottery trade with America. He started with an article written in a 1906 edition of Connecticut Magazine by one Dr. Everett J. Morton who wrote upon Peter Morton – An Early American Merchant Importer. In this bit of history of early importers of Staffordshire ware, it was mentioned that Peter Morton was the only importer to have had wares marked with his name with an impressed stamp. Later research has proven this observation incorrect.
One of the earliest impressed importer’s marks on Staffordshire ware, but certainly not the last was, this one reading Peter Morton / Importer of Earthenware / Connecticut. Dealers thought it added some sort of exclusivity and cachet to their own marks on the pieces they imported.
Later in the 19th century, as collecting Staffordshire historical wares for the American market became popular (most likely due to the country’s Centennial celebrations) more books on the subject were written – including information on both the manufacturers of the wares and the various patterns. One such book, Pottery and Porcelain of All Times and Nations, was written by a Page 12
William C. Primes and his wife Mary Trumbull. Primes not only studied the wares, but formed a sizeable collection which he eventually donated to Princeton University. Another early resource on the subject was China Collecting in America by Alice Morse Earle in 1892. One very interesting quote was taken from the book about English wares commemorating important American battles and victories: “It seems odd that English potters should have made so many pitchers bearing testimony to the victories of their late enemies unless they were ordered by American dealers specially for the American market; butIhaveneverseenanythingtoprovethatsuchordersweregiven.” The implication of course being that it was the English manufacturers who instigated the production of these commemorative wares. In other words, they could swallow their national pride as long as there was a profit to be made from it.
The interest in the importers and dealers in these wares seems to have occurred a bit later as is evidenced by a 1944 article in The Magazine Antiques by Robert H. McCauley on American Importers of Staffordshire in which he discusses all the importers’ back stamps that he has collected. This is important from a research standpoint as McCauley reasoned that if you could establish when the importers were in business then you could help date the periods in which various patterns and forms were being produced. One other source for dating various Staffordshire wares is by relying upon extant trade invoices of the period. These often do not list specific patterns, mostly they describe forms and types of wares such as ironstone or sponged ware which leads Dr. Ewins to speculate that the historical and commemorative pieces were only a smaller part of the overall product that was sent over here. When touring and researching in this country Dr. Ewins was surprised and delighted to find many different Staffordshire wares that are virtually non-existent back in the England as they were made for American export.
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Above: Examples of Staffordshire wares made for the American market commemorating naval heroes and victorious battles won over British forces – oftentimes designed by British potters, national pride put aside, in the name of selling a profitable item.
And finally, under the category of researching and dating specific patterns, our speaker described one of the more unique methods – to discover plates buried in the foundation of a church! It seems that when St. Paul’s church in Burslem (home of Enoch Wood & Sons Potteries) was erected in 1828, Enoch Wood himself placed samples of his wares into the foundation which were discovered in the 1970s when the building was demolished. Thus it can be deduced that these patterns were contemporaneous with the date of the church. A very tidy bit of archeology.
Dr. Ewins has now gone on to write his own book on the subject Supplying the Present Wants of Our American Cousins, Staffordshire Ceramics and the American Market 1775-1880 as he wanted to know how this market was organized with manufacturers and importers an ocean apart. If the American market was supplied different wares, then how was that trade organized? These relationships between English manufacturers and American importers and retailers were in place from the late 18th century on, and then were put on hold due to the hostilities of the War of 1812. During Page 14
Above: Images of Staffordshire wares such as sponged or spatterwares, ‘Flow Blue’, and pieces such as “The Beauties of America” illustrating various architectural and natural wonders of our country.
which time British manufacturers suffered heavily from their loss of the American market so when the war ended there was a great increase in trade again. Dr. Ewins has done painstaking research into who was dealing in these wares in the 19th century through the use of newspaper advertisements, city censuses and business directories and the like. He has concluded that there were very close ties between importers and manufacturers, some importers having emigrated from Staffordshire itself. Some importers went back to Staffordshire and even the continent to recruit artisans for new potteries in America and in some large cities some of the importers’ family members intermarried. Also, manufacturers started sending specific agents over to represent new products and take orders. Some of the larger importers here actually became agents for Staffordshire manufacturers as the potteries expanded and they needed more than one agent in our expanding country.
Above left: An example of a Staffordshire cup plate ordered specifically by the importer to promote the Abolitionist movement. Above right: a detail of another importer-designed Staffordshire plate with symbolism referring to the Millennial movement.
And lastly, one interesting development was that a few importers designed and ordered their own patterns dealing with very au courant, and controversial issues that they believed in, such as the religious Millennium movement of the mid-19th century and the abolitionist movement to end slavery. As with any controversial subject, consumer response was mixed to say the least. All in all, Dr. Ewin’s research has provided a very detailed picture of the complex relationships and connections during the 19th century between the Staffordshire potteries American importers and dealers.
The Editor wishes to express his deepest appreciation to Nic Johnson for his astute proof-reading skills and editorial suggestions in producing this issue of SHARDS. Page 14
DIANA EDWARDS MURNAGHAN
CERAMICS SCHOLAR & CSC PRESIDENT
Diana Edwards Murnaghan, an art historian and author whose fascination with ceramics led her to become a self-taught scholar in the field, died of autoimmune disease complications Nov. 26 at her Mount Vernon Place home. She was 79.
Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, she was the daughter of Mary Eleanor Callison Edwards, a registered nurse, and Robert E. Edwards, a starter at the Broadmoor Golf Club.
She was a 1961 graduate of Cheyenne Mountain High School and earned undergraduate and master’s degrees at the College of William & Mary. She settled in Boston and taught Spanish part time in the public school system.
While living in Boston, she met and married Dr. Henry Maneche, a pathologist. They had two children and later divorced.
She lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and became involved with its Strawbery Banke Museum. She was fascinated by excavations of old privies and the rare ceramics that were discovered in trash heaps. The study of these English ceramics was not advanced and she decided to learn more. She became president of the China Students Club of Boston and researched 18th century import records and china merchants’ inventories.
“She learned from the bottom up. It was a serious pursuit of hers,” said Richard Eustice, former Strawbery Banke registrar.
Her brother, James R. Edwards said: “Diana started to explore a scholarly an interest in ceramics that began with her mother, Eleanor. My mother had great influence on everybody who knew her, and she liked English ceramics.”
On a visit to Baltimore and the Walters Art Museum, she met Francis D. Murnaghan, an attorney who was later a federal judge and civic leader. They married in 1984 and bought a home on Mount Vernon Place
Ms. Murnaghan became known as a lively lecturer on the history of 18th century ceramics at the English Ceramic Circle, the Northern Ceramic Society, the Summer School at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, and the International Ceramics Fair and Seminar in London.
“She had a big and delightful personality. She was an alpha female. She was a great advocate of people and would foster others,” her brother said. “She was the North Star of social fellowship and social engagements at their 6 Mount Vernon Place condo.”
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Her books and articles on English pottery earned her a reputation among scholars, dealers and collectors.
“She was gregarious and sociable. She moved to Baltimore and embraced the city and its institutions,” said her stepdaughter, Sheila H. Murnaghan. “She was uncompromising in her taste and commitments.”
Her books included a study of “The Castleford Pottery, 1790-1821″ and a pioneering study of “Neale Pottery and Porcelain.” She also wrote “Black Basalt: Wedgwood and Contemporary Manufacturers.”
“My sister rose to the summit of her profession in American and English pottery without a degree in ceramics. She was the outsider who astounded her profession. She was never a museum curator or professor. She established herself as an authority in her field,” her brother said.
She collaborated with Rodney Hampson on “English Dry-Bodied Stoneware” and “White SaltGlazed Stoneware of the British Isles.”
After Judge Murnaghan’s 2000 death, she married John V.G. Mallet, former keeper of ceramics at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. They had known each other in professional circles for some time.
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