Jonathan Chiswell Jones

Born in 1944 in Calcutta, Jonathan had an early introduction to clay at the age of 6 years old, when he was taken to see potters who were making disposable teacups by the banks of the Hooghly River. Allowed to try his hand, he has never forgotten that moment.

At prep school in Sussex, he was further inspired by his art master, Lewis Creed, who introduced him to Bernard Leach’s A Potters Book, and a second seed was sown.

After Rugby School and Trinity College Oxford, he taught English at his old school but spent his spare time there in the pottery. A boy watching him stir a bucket of glaze asked: "Sir, would you rather be doing that than teaching us English?” and finally his life’s direction became clear.

Jonathan trained briefly at Farnham Art School under Henry Hammond and Paul Barron, worked with Joe Finch at Appin Pottery in Scotland, and began his professional life as a potter in Sussex in 1974. He made stoneware in the Leach tradition, worked with several assistants and sold everything direct to the public from his showroom. Then came the change to working in porcelain, which allowed more scope for brush decoration in a range of colours.

In around 1995, a young woman walked into his showroom carrying a book which changed his potting direction. It was called The designs of William De Morgan and the inventiveness and extravagance of De Morgan’s pots and his work in lustre opened windows of imagination. De Morgan had discovered how to make for himself lustre in the Islamic tradition. This is the method used by potters in the Islamic empire of the 11^th century to produce a reflective surface of gold on their pots by using base metals - an alchemical dream come true, although it proved almost impossible to use this technique in the large oil-fired kiln Jonathan had at that time.

In 1999 he moved the pottery to a larger and quieter location. The smaller gas kiln he built was easier to manage although it has taken years to learn to control the many variables which this ancient technique reveals. Since very few work with this process, it was a journey of discovery - making the pastes using only silver, copper, and clay; finding out how best to fire the pots; discovering what could be done with colour applied under the glaze. From one firing to another, a body of knowledge was built up. Every kiln added something, but improvement was never in a straight line. Kerry Bosworth, his assistant of 24 years, showed how computer records could keep track of some of the many variables used to make this work, and provided a vital second pair of eyes when assessing results. After 140 firings, surprises still emerge from each kiln. But pleasant or unpleasant they all help to keep the work challenging and fresh.

Jonathan has published articles on lustre in Ceramic Review, in American and Australian ceramic magazines and for the William Morris Society Newsletter.  He has work in the Ashmolean Museum, is a professional member of the Craft Potters Association, holds solo exhibitions at The Art Workers Guild every other year, sells through a limited number of galleries and from his showroom and website www.jcjpottery.co.uk.

The works

Auction Details

Wednesday 2 November | 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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