ABSTRACT

Scholarly attention to South African studio pottery of the later twentieth century has been negligible, succeeding at best to provide an overview of its rise in the 1960s, the emergence of a fraternity of studio pottery practitioners, and the development of individual expressions. There is a lack of in-depth scholarly accounts of the lives and oeuvres of the more eminent studio pottery figures of that era. The posthumous disclosure of his own works in the personal collection of the studio potter Ian Glenny (1952–2023) presents not only the opportunity to illustrate the development over the span of five decades of his oeuvre but also to reflect on the cultural pottery traditions that the studio potters referenced in the later twentieth century. In the case of Glenny, his preference to borrow from the cultural pottery traditions of Japan, China and Korea and the manner in which he adapted those influences as distinctively personal expressions, can now be detailed and illustrated with reference to works in his collection. The essay provides further substance to the dismissal of the randomly used discriminatory label of the twentieth-century South African studio pottery for its assumed adherence to the Anglo-Oriental tradition of studio pottery. This discourse on Glenny’s oeuvre shows that influences were not summarily copied but that their essences of form and intent were attentively studied to enable the re-representation of that in forms that would appeal to a consumer and collector base.

KEYWORDS: Ian Glenny, cultural pottery traditions, reduction firing, studio pottery, studio pottery aesthetics, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

Despite being an integral part of the country’s sporting identity, the history of competitive archery remains a neglected area of South Africa’s sports history. Following its establishment in the 1860s as an elitist recreational activity characterised by social gatherings and merrymaking, it gradually developed into a well-organised and nationally coordinated sport during the 20th century. En route, it intersected with issues such as race, gender, professionalism, and politics, all of which collectively shaped its South African character. Due to a lack of original archives, none of the affiliated members of Archery South Africa have thus far documented their own illustrious past. This article, using the literature on artefact biographies, reconstructs the history of both South African and Free State archery with the aid of a small number of artefacts in the collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein.

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When Mangaung’s old Waaihoek location was gradually demolished between 1918 and 1941 and its residents were relocated to the new Batho location, an embryonic gardening culture was also transferred there. The Municipality of Bloemfontein’s mostly English-speaking officials envisaged Batho as a “model location” with an “exemplary” layout which provided for individual stands big enough to lay out gardens. Batho became known as a “garden location” because of the English-style gardens that were subsequently laid out and the gardening culture that emerged among mostly middle-class residents. During the period 1918 to 1939, Batho’s gardening culture developed, became established, and then flourished due to the residents’ own efforts, as well as initiatives taken by key municipal officials and councillors.

Abstract

Second-hand cultural objects not only possess a very definite biography but also have a multi-layered history. The nature of this history and the cultural artefact’s evolving identity is determined, firstly, by its journey from first into second exchange and beyond, and, secondly, by the institutions, including second-hand or charity shops, individuals or groups who came to own it. Artefacts as well as places where they are exchanged, such as second-hand shops, can each provide a valuable lens to investigate the nature, social function, locational politics and exchange journey of these places and artefacts as a marker of memory.