Lucie Rie and Hans Coper, two potters united by a shared ambition

Glenn Adamson | Financial Times | 16th September 2026

Bernard Leach initially dominated postwar British ceramics with rustic brown pots. Rie, an emigre from Germany, offered a refined, modernist alternative. When Hans Coper turned up on Rie’s doorstep looking for a job, one of ceramics great partnerships was formed. They were in some ways opposites – she used colourful glazes and precise designs while he was “a sculptor at heart” and used a stark, restricted palette. Together, “they wanted to make work that would require no explication, no context.” Images are here.