Winter started with Sandra Van Zyl speaking at our June meeting on 'Amusing and enthralling – my post-war Australian figurines'. Sandra explained why and where she had collected them (including via a map of Australia with pertinent locations), the range of potters represented, such as Hatton Beck, Sylvia Halpern and Grace Seccombe, and the personal importance to her of the various pieces, including one designed by friend Damian Meehan, showing Sandra and John making mud bricks for their home. The many members in attendance thoroughly enjoyed engaging with Sandra's collection.

This was followed later in June by a happy and successful Winter Seminar at The Johnston Collection, about ‘Sleuthing, Rarity, Philanthropy: the Great Collector’.

 Felicity Marno started with an entertaining and informative run down of her experiences as an antiques dealer, discovering significant pieces, building worldwide relationships and engaging with institutions and important collectors over the years. Rob Robertson then introduced us to Rosalie Wise Sharp, a successful business woman and wide-ranging collector of British and other ceramics (and an artist and designer), who has also been a generous benefactor in her local community and who recently gifted a significant collection of rare blue and white ceramics to the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.

After a guided tour of the current installation at TJC, 'Taste & Temptation’ (curated by Dr Matthew Martin) I reflected on the lives, collecting journeys and larger-than-life personal qualities of two of our favourite Australian collectors, Patricia Begg and Barry Taylor.  Danny McOwan closed the day with an excellent talk about the superb collections of Alfred Baur and Calouste Gulbenkian, and the institutions they created to share their art with the world. We finally retired to the Cliveden Bar for social drinks and agreed that a wonderful time had been had by all.

In July Elspeth Rowell, the winner of our annual scholarship, presented on her remarkable ceramics, THINGS. Elspeth takes inspiration from biology, specimen displays and the historical Cabinet of Curiosities and creates wholly hand-made pieces, piercing and subtracting from the clay, to create forms that at first seem recognisable, but withstand classification. Elspeth explained her terra sigillatta and glazing techniques and use of saggers during firing, with combustibles such as seashells, Epsom salts and sawdust to generate spontaneous surfaces on the pieces. She detailed her museum inspired approach to installation and encouraged members to touch the display as part of understanding it.  Plus she fielded many, many questions from the enthusiastic audience.

In August we are looking forward to hearing from Lee Bradshaw, on ‘Treason in a Wine Glass: The Romance of Jacobite Glass’.  This will be a brief survey of the movement to restore the Stuarts to the Throne of England as expressed in engraved glassware of the period, its revival, and its imitators.

And in September, we’ll have our usual, excellent, three speaker evening.

• Merilyn Hoysted will cover ‘Chinese Kitchen Ch’ing, Mahn Yiuh/Minyao or folk ware: the underrated antique’;

• Charles Terrasson will talk on ‘The theme of Arcadia, relating to porcelain and the arts in general’; and

• Elizabeth Golding will present on ‘Swedish Glass Design’.

Plus, we’ll welcome from Sydney members of the Ceramic Collectors Society, who will be paying a visit to Melbourne and joining us for a great evening.

                                                                                                            Genine Wallinga
                                                                                                            President,  July 2026