Glowing with a bright yellow lustre sunburst, this tin-glazed earthenware punch bowl captures a moment early in the career of potter Edgar Campden (1930–1998). Made around 1963 at the Aldermaston Pottery in Berkshire, it reflects the studio’s distinctive mix of historic technique and bold, modern brushwork. Campden joined Aldermaston as an assistant in 1961 and stayed for more than three decades before moving in 1993 to Burnchurch, County Kilkenny, where he transformed a farmhouse and its outbuildings into his own working pottery.
Punch bowls were once centrepieces of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian entertaining, ornate vessels brought out to mark celebrations and important events. Even the word “punch” carries a story, borrowed from Hindi, it refers to the five classic ingredients: spirits (often rum), sugar, citrus, water and spice. The drink was popularised in Britain after East India Company employees introduced it in the late 17th century.
The Aldermaston Pottery was founded in 1955 by Alan Caiger-Smith (1930–2020), a skilled studio potter. He later became a historian of ceramics, writing several important books on tin-glazed pottery and lustreware. At Aldermaston he built wood-fired kilns and chased the elusive alchemy of lustreware, experimenting until he obtained the luminous reds, oranges and pinks that were notably hard to achieve. Under his guidance, dozens of assistants learned the craft, and many went on to establish studios of their own, making pieces like this bowl not just functional objects, but embodiments of a thriving, collaborative tradition.
This object is the Object of the Month for May 2026 as part of the NLHF Allen Gallery Redevlopment Project, Alton.
