Bernard Leach (1887 – 1979) was born in Hong Kong, and later studied at the London School of Art in Kensington, where he was taught by Sir Frank Brangwyn. In 1911, Leach attended a raku party in Japan with his friend, the artist Tomimoto Kenkichi. The British artist was captivated by ceramics, and in 1920, he and his friend and colleague, the ceramicist Hamada Shoji, returned to England to start a pottery studio and workshop in St. Ives, which was frequented by Michael Cardew, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Lucie Rie, and other influential ceramicists.

In 1961, The Arts Council of Britain honored Leach in a retrospective exhibition titled, 'Fifty Years a Potter'. Following a major retrospective exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the publication of his illustrated memoirs, entitled, 'Beyond East and West', Leach passed away in 1979 at 72 years of age, leaving an indelible imprint on the world of ceramics.

Click here to view a video on Bernard Leach and to learn more.

For a similar jug with slightly different decoration in the Tate collections, accession number T12083, go to http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/leach-jug-t12083