Colourful and sculptural. 1970s Carltonware.

Back to the pottery. And what better way than with a zing of colour from the 1970s.

These artful creations are by Carltonware and they probably date from the 1970s. In Acid green, lemon yellow and bright red, this tableware looks wonderfully sculptural with those stacked ring shapes. There are two vinegar or oil bottles, the small red item is a candle holder, the round top item is a pepper pot and the tallest pot is a vase.

Even if you didn't want to use them on a table setting, I think they look so good together as a group, you could simply put them out on display and enjoy them as little works of art.

The talent of Charley Harper

I recently did a blog-post on the illustrations from a Mary Blair children's song book, remember this: Mary Blair book ?

Well, I was lucky enough to get hold of a copy of another superbly illustrated children's book and I couldn't resist sharing it with you too.

The book, a children's introduction to biology, was published in 1962 and it features the illustrations of the brilliant Charles Harper

The book is jam-packed with illustrations – these six scans are only a small sample. There's no need for too many words from me on the superb quality of the work, the pictures speak for themselves, but it's worth remembering that they were all produced long before the use of computers in illustration.

Italian lamp bases. This Bitossi pair will soon to see the light.

I suppose it's criminal of me not to be using these smart Italian lamp bases. Both have fittings and are fully wired – they just need a plug and a suitable shade and they'd be ready to go. It's a shame not use them so I promise to get that done soon.

The lamp bases are a couple more examples of vintage Bitossi pottery from circa 1960s or 1970s. As regular visitors will already know, like a moth to light, I seem to be helplessly attracted to cylinder shaped pottery – remember this: Cylinder vases

The Bitossi factory is probably more associated with the Rimini Blue pottery but they also made some fabulous items in reds, yellows, oranges and other colours. The orange and brown lamp base shown here has the characteristic bands of impressed motifs that are used on the Rimini Blue range and that give such a wonderful surface texture.

Rainbow cruets from the 1960s.

I recently did a couple of blogposts featuring Hornsea Rainbow pottery from the early 1960s. One of the items was a rather smart cruet set. Remember this: Rainbow cruet

The salt and pepper pots shown in that blogpost were in the Roulette shape – one from a range of five different shapes. So just to complete the Rainbow cruet story, here are the other four shapes made. I think the names are, from left to right:

Top row, Cone, Crinoline
Bottom row, Globe, Parasol

And just to remind you, the set shown below is in the Roulette shape.

Fishy Fellas from the Fifties

And now, as they say, for something completely different.

Admittedly not something you might expect to see on a blogsite like Potshots: I suppose I've been trying to steer away from showing too much 'cute' pottery. Even so, I think these fishy fellas deserve a mention. Not least because in my view, they do have an element of style about them.

Made in the mid-1950s, they are in the form of small posy vases, the tall one has a hole in the back and is designed to be used as a wall pocket. The green one is made from a slightly coarser red clay rather than the usual white. Each one has a stylised fish sitting in front of a wave shape. They were made by Hornsea Pottery and are part of the Fauna range.

I quite like the shape of the fish, and the wave does have some nice flowing curves in it. In fact, the tall vase has such elegant lines that it almost has an Art Deco quality about it.

Murano faceted vases c.1970s.

Italy again. This time in the form of some crisp glassware.

These vibrant, geometric vases are from Murano. They are probably by the Mandruzzato glass works and I think they were made in the early 1970s. Eye-catching they are too, with cased layers of red, gold and clear glass. The polished, faceted surfaces give a cold, hard feel and an ultra-modern look of purity.

Although Murano faceted vases were made in various colours, I particularly like these bright red examples.

There's lots more information on faceted glassware (and other 20th Century glass) here: Mandruzzato glass