'Menopause Pot'

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Not currently on display at the V&A

Artist/Maker	Elspeth Owen (maker)
Place of origin	Zennor (made)

Large unglazed earthenware pot with yellowish tinge from vanadium oxide stain in the clay, the interior with irregular markings from firing with seaweed. The pot is accompanied by thirteen slip-coated fired tampons, which the pot is made to contain.

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read Sanitary suspenders to Mooncups: a brief history of menstrual products Our collection includes a small, but steadily growing number of menstrual products, including a recently acquired Mooncup. Together, these objects offer a brief history of menstrual care, including misconceptions, missinformation and marketing, from the 19th century to the present day.

Object details

Categories	Ceramics Studio Pottery Menstrual Products
Object type	Pot
Parts	This object consists of 2 parts. Pot Tampons
Title	'Menopause Pot' (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques	Earthenware stained with vanadium oxide, pinched, fired with seaweed, with thirteen slip-coated fired tampons Earthenware Hand-Built
Brief description	'Menopause Pot', earthenware, Elspeth Owen, Cornwall, 1987
Physical description	Large unglazed earthenware pot with yellowish tinge from vanadium oxide stain in the clay, the interior with irregular markings from firing with seaweed. The pot is accompanied by thirteen slip-coated fired tampons, which the pot is made to contain.
Dimensions	Height: 29.5cm Diameter: 29.8cm Each tampon length: 8cm (approximately)
Marks and inscriptions	Unmarked
Credit line	Acquired through the generosity of Gerard and Sarah Griffin
Object history	The pot is one of four made by the artist in response to the onset of the menopause, created as containers for her last bloodied tampons, which were repeatedly dipped in slip and fired as a form of memorial.
Production	Made at The Old Poorhouse, Zennor, Cornwall, where the artist temporarily lived and worked during the winter of 1986/7.
Collection	Ceramics Collection
Accession number	C.340:1, 2-2018

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Record created	September 6, 2018
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1459761/menopause-pot-pot-elspeth-owen/

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