Ewenny Pottery has been run by the Jenkins family for eight generations.
Since at least the 18th century the family has been throwing pots at the village of Ewenny, near Bridgend in Wales, and they have long produced vases, jugs, tankards, tygs (multi-handled cups) and candlesticks in a wide variety of patterns and shapes including cats, dogs and the famous wilds pigs or mochyn gwyllt.
The most celebrated Ewenny wares are those linked to the Arts and Crafts designer Horace Elliott, who made annual visits to the pottery between 1883 and 1913, guiding production away from wholly utilitarian wares to the decorated wares he could sell in his Bayswater showrooms. His fleur-de-lys mark was often applied to Ewenny and other wares.
In his autobiography, Elliott said: "My craving for the simple joys of peasant life dragged me down there whenever my dear wife could carry on without me, all this time I was living as a peasant potter in the cottages... I became well known to all the countryside for many miles around so that I became as practically Welsh as an English-born man can make himself."
Collecting Enthusiasts
The 50 pieces for sale at Picton Castle come from collectors Nikki and Tony Chadwick. Trading as Mitchwick Memorabilia, they have been enthusiasts of Ewenny since Nikki found two of the charming pottery pigs at a Towy antiques fair in Carmarthen five years ago.
This started them on a trail of research into the potteries at Ewenny (there were 15 at one time), their arts and craftsmen, and the potters who worked there. The hunt gained momentum and, before they knew it, the Chadwicks had built up a sizeable collection of old Ewenny - a significant part of which was loaned to Swansea Museum for an exhibition last year - but they are now looking to scale down.
The pieces for sale cover a range of periods and styles at prices from £10 to £1000.
