Dunmore Pottery: The art of the art pottery business

Jurgens, Kristin (2007) Dunmore Pottery: The art of the art pottery business. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis examines Dunmore Pottery in relation to contemporary art trends and social and economic conditions and the role Peter Gardner, the Pottery's third owner, played in developing and marketing its wares. The history of ceramics and its literature is principally situated in the realm of collectors. Pottery has routinely been discussed and catalogued through the wares themselves without contextualisation given through relevant economic, social, or art history research methodologies. This thesis, through examining at Dunmore Pottery as both a business and artistic enterprise, addresses these deficiencies and analyses how trade and industry, art and handicraft, and the Victorians' desire for a collective as well as individual identity merged and shaped the nineteenth century ceramic industry. Research covering Dunmore wares, period journals and guides, and recent sociology and business theories, produced three themes of inquiry: the Pottery's historical and artistic context, the Pottery as a business, and the ceramic wares themselves and how they were used. Peter Gardner was the catalyst for the artistic and marketing alterations that transformed the Pottery into Scotland's most prolific Art pottery while still maintaining its utilitarian and commercial pottery roots. By not strictly adhering to any one artistic style or production method, Gardner produced wares that catered to consumers' perceived needs and desires up and down the socio-economic scale. The Pottery's diverse output enabled an expansive advertising and marketing strategy which included printed advertisements, museum donations, primary and secondary sales outlets, encouragement of a tourist trade, and exhibiting at local and international exhibitions. These exhibitions, along with art journals and home decorating guides, influenced the production of Dunmore's ceramic forms and glazes whilst they increased demand for artistic ceramics. This thesis challenges Dunmore's classification as an Art pottery while it explores the economic and social factors that encouraged its categorisation.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: Elizabeth Hancock.
• Keywords: Art history.
• Subjects: N Fine Arts > NK Decorative arts Applied arts Decoration and ornament
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > History of Art
• Supervisor's Name: Supervisor, not known
• Date of Award: 2007
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2007-71865
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 17 May 2019 09:31
• Last Modified: 01 Jun 2021 09:04
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/71865