As a decorative art, pottery can seem both trifling and transient, works being susceptible to physical damage and to the whims of changing fashions. Yet, as the extensive and diverse collection of one Victorian Brighton brewer shows, it can also reveal fascinating insights into popular culture as well as key characters and episodes from history.
Henry Willett’s ceramic treasures, now displayed at the V&A, include such gems as a c1812 flask in the shape of a bear clasping Napoleon, and door handles depicting pioneering 18th-century balloon flights. The collection also includes curious, bird-based caricatures drawing on the controversial Tichborne case that captivated English society in the 1860s, involving the claim of a purported lost heir to a baronetcy.
Henry Willett’s Collection of Popular Pottery V&A South Kensington, London /