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Items
from the Holkham
Collection shown in the
Library,
Holkham Hall |
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The foundations for the house were dug in
1734 by Thomas Coke (1697 - 1759), created 1st Earl of Leicester
in 1744. He conceived the house specifically to hold his
vast collection of paintings, sculptures, books and manuscripts: a
Temple to the Arts. Sadly, Coke did not live long enough to
see his project finalised, the building was not completed until 30
years later in 1764. However, he left highly detailed
instructions as to exactly how the house was to be finished and
decorated, even down to the positioning to marble busts and where
specific pictures should hang.
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Left:
Interior of pottery shop at Holkham Hall
Bottom Left: Jane Bray working on a jardiniere
Bottom Right: The Countess of Leicester and Douglas
Codman, Factory Manager, finishing the busts. |
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HOLKHAM
POTTERY has been making high quality decorative and functional
ware for over fifty years. More recently,
the Countess of Leicester has begun to introduce reproductions of
some of the rare and exquisite objects from the house for sale in
the shop.
First among these are highly
finished, full size plaster copies of some of the antique marbles
which form part of Holkham's fabulous collection.
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THE
COUNTESS OF LEICESTER has administered the Holkham Collection and
Holkham Pottery since 1987.
The
Pottery was started - almost accidentally - in 1951 by Elizabeth
Countess of Leicester, when she was looking for suitable items for
a sale in aid of the Red Cross, and came across one of the Holkham
Brickyard workers making pots instead of bricks! (He was a
Pole who had been a potter in his native country). In the
1960s over eighty people were employed in the pottery; today it is
much smaller, but still produces a large range of quality
products.
The Holkham
Collection includes the famous Holkham Flower Vases in ten different
designs and four colours, Obelisks, and five exclusive plaster
Busts from the original marbles at Holkham.
Lady
Leicester is committed to the design and production of beautiful
and useful items, and spends much of her time researching new
ideas. |
