'Menopause Pot' thumbnail 1
'Menopause Pot' thumbnail 2
Not on display

'Menopause Pot'

Pot
1987 (made)
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 createdSeptember 6, 2018
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1459761/menopause-pot-pot-elspeth-owen/
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