University and City Council join forces to showcase rare ceramics collection
The Thornhill Collection was bequeathed to University of Staffordshire – previously as North Staffordshire Technical College – by Ernest Thornhill for study purposes when he died in 1944.
Now, the University has partnered with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to house the collection at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (PMAG) in Hanley, with the aim of exhibiting it to the public for the first time since the 1980s.
The collection of more than 270 items contains Chinese wares, along with a small number of Korean and Japanese pieces. The items range from the simple earthenware of the Shang dynasty (1700 -1028 BC) to the richly painted porcelains of the Ming (1368 – 1644 AD) and Qing (1644 – 1912 AD) dynasties.
The collection is being loaned to the PMAG for an initial five years, with plans to display the ceramics in a dedicated exhibition space, with teaching and research facilities. This will follow the completion of the City Council’s planned extension of the museum, backed by £5m investment of Arts Council funding.
Professor Martin Jones, Vice-Chancellor of University of Staffordshire, said: “This is a rare and rich resource for students, academic researchers and professional practitioners. It was Thornhill’s wish that the collection be used for educational purposes and partnering with the PMAG will allow us to do that by making it more accessible to both scholars and the public.
“The opportunities for cultural exchange and research collaboration will also strengthen Stoke-on-Trent’s position as an international centre for ceramic excellence – supporting the World Craft City agenda and Stoke-on-Trent’s future ambitions to achieve UNESCO Creative City status.”
Little is known about Ernest Thornhill, other than that he was a pharmacist, living in Clapham, who was an avid and knowledgeable collector of Oriental ceramics.
His collection remained largely forgotten until Professor Flavia Swann rediscovered it in the 1970s, when a colleague mentioned some “dusty olds pots – possibly Chinese” in the store cupboards.
The University arranged for a valuation of the collection by Sotheby’s in 2013. As its value had increased significantly, it has since been professionally stored and insured offsite, funded by the sale of a Ming stem cup from the collection in 2016.
The loan of the Thornhill collection was announced at the opening of a new exhibition by Professor Neil Brownsword at Spode Museum, which explores the enduring legacy of the Willow Pattern, one of North Staffordshire’s most iconic ceramic designs.
The event, on Saturday 6 September, included the signing of a cultural concordat between Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the City of Jingdezhen in China. Known as the “Porcelain Capital”, Jingdezhen has an illustrious history of ceramic creativity stretching back over 1,700 years. The agreement, signed by each city’s mayors and university leaders, will encourage exchange opportunities and joint projects to celebrate this unique shared cultural heritage.
Neil Brownsword, Professor of Ceramics at University of Staffordshire, said: “People often forget that Staffordshire potters were influenced by Oriental ceramics. The imitation of Chinese tea drinking wares and porcelain during the 18th century spurred a wave of stylistic innovation and technological advancements that were to position North Staffordshire at the forefront of ceramic production globally.
“The PMAG’s existing collection of Staffordshire ceramics is world-renowned and it is a fitting new home for the Thornhill Collection. Highlighting this cultural influence through the Thornhill Collection offers potential to renavigate Stoke-on-Trent’s industrial and cultural history from new perspectives to draw new audiences into the City and museum.”
The collection has not been displayed in public since 1988, when 150 specially selected pieces went on show at the PMAG.
Dr Tim Jenkins, a Heritage and Museums Consultant working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “I think the significance of the Thornhill Collection is two-fold. The fact that it is a collection that hasn’t been seen in full by the public before is exciting and gives us many opportunities for the future.
“But also it is quite an esoteric collection, in terms of the pieces that it is composed of. It features a whole mix of different design techniques; Chinese wares, Korean wares, Japanese wares. From an educational perspective we’ve got a little bit of everything – from pre-history working its way up to the late medieval period and there are some pieces from the early 20th century. So chronologically it’s exciting, typologically is exciting, and certainly in terms of the different techniques that are on display in this collection. It is something pretty special that the city should be very proud of.”
Share:
