A Handful: Ceramics

Five things to know about: delftware at the Dennis Severs House, the most accomplished traditional Afghan potter, and an exhibition of work from the black potters of Old Edgefield

We’re trying out a new feature called “A Handful,” in which we gather five newsy-ish tidbits on our craft radar we want to share—announcements, events, inspirations, captivating tangents. This week, the throughline is ceramics, from a few exemplary exhibitions to a Romanian ceramics village getting a lot of attention right now. Like us, you likely can’t travel for each of these shows, places or people, but we’re hoping it brings you some delight just knowing they exist. And if you do happen to be in London or, say, a remote village in Romania, well, by all means, it’s worth making an effort to stop by. 

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We recently discovered—for joy!—that the exhibition at the Dennis Severs House we missed in the spring—Making History: The Ceramic Works of Simon Pettet—will return in September and run through October. Curated by former longtime editor of World of Interiors Rupert Thomas, it showcases Simon’s wildly imaginative body of delftware produced in and for the Severs House, where he lived with Dennis for 10 years before dying of AIDS at 27. If you’ve ever seen the tiles he made for the fireplace above, featuring a satirical array of neighborhood eccentrics, you’d understand the giddiness. Every bit a love story to Spitalfields as a physical manifestation of his ceramic genius, the beautiful, cheeky collection of tiles, obelisks, tulipieres, church collection boxes and barber bowls, by all accounts, resonates as touching, tragic and bursting with whimsy and humor. You’ve been given fair warning; plenty of time for travel arrangements. In the meantime, watch this rare video of Dennis Severs being interviewed by historian Dan Cruickshank for a sweet, heart-tugging glimpse into the mind of a much-missed aesthete.