Pottery and Fountains – Some BEE legacies

It might just be coincidence that a few weeks after we opened our exhibition on the British Empire Exhibition (BEE) we received two interesting enquires related to BEE.

One of them was from a researcher writing a proposal for an exhibition of ceramics from the Palestinian Pottery of Jerusalem. The exhibition will focus on the Balian family ceramic workshop and the colourful vibrant pottery they have produced since the 1920s. Marie Balian has gained international recognition for her work and exhibited in 1992 at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. 

The researcher was contacting us to see if there was any mention of the potters in a catalogue from the Palestine Pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition.  A short investigation revealed that the potters are probably featured in the catalogue under the “Pro-Jerusalem Society ceramics”. The Pro-Jerusalem Society was set up by the British between 1919 and 1925 to preserve Jerusalem’s historic and spiritual character. It was the Pro-Jerusalem Society that invited the potters from Turkey to Jerusalem.

If anyone has any pottery they (or their relatives) bought in Jerusalem, or who remembers exhibitions of this type of pottery in Britain please contact us via archives@brent.gov.uk and we will pass on the information to the researcher.

 The second enquiry was from a researcher applying on behalf of The Friends of Dunwood Park for funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund  to restore a drinking fountain in the park. This drinking fountain was displayed at the British Empire Exhibition and was created by Richard R Goulden. It was purchased and installed in Dunwood Park in Crompton as a memorial to ‘the self-sacrifice and devotion of the women of Crompton during the Great War.’

Unfortunately the statue on top of the fountain was stolen in 1968 and the Friends are now applying for funding to create a copy of the mother and child statue to replace the one that was stolen. We were contacted to see if we had any clear images of the statue but sadly were unable to locate any in our archive.

If anyone does have an image of the fountain with the statue please contact us and we will pass on the information.

It is lovely to know that the British Empire Exhibition archives we hold can sometimes help in current research enquiries and that parts of the BEE are hiding all over the place waiting to be discovered.