A Celebration of Ceramics

BY TRACY BURTON

Nowadays, the Algarve is well-known for its beautiful handpainted pottery. Yet, this centuries-old tradition might have been lost forever were it not for the vision of two artists: Dublin-born Patrick Swift and his Portuguese friend Lima de Freitas.

When Patrick and his wife Oonagh arrived in the Algarve in 1962, many of the regional craft-based traditions still existed. The long-established pottery industry in Lagoa, however, was faring less well and there were only two potters working in the town. Patrick loved the Algarve’s clarity of light and natural landscapes; it was also very affordable for an artist with a young family. The Swift family settled here and, in 1968, Patrick and Lima de Freitas joined forces to save the region’s pottery tradition before the old skills were lost forever.

The Olaria Algarve – better known as Porches Pottery – now attracts tourists and ceramic lovers from all over the world; however, the popular pottery started life half a mile away in a farmhouse with wood-burning kilns. That house is now occupied by pottery shop Olaria Pequena, owned by ceramist Ian Fitzpatrick.

Patrick’s daughter Estella Swift Goldmann said her father initially looked for suitable properties in Lagoa, but rents were too high. “In the late 1960s, Porches was not known for pottery and the existing potteries were in Lagoa. Being forced to look a little farther afield, my father found the perfect farmhouse with a reasonable rent.”

Estella Swift Goldmann

The family-run pottery flourished and, in 1973, the current premises were built with the help of a government grant. The property – in the style of an old Algarvian farmhouse – reflects Patrick’s growing interest in vernacular architecture. He painstakingly created the pargetting (the decorative relief work) on the façade and around the windows himself. Many of the hand-painted tiles which decorate the building are also his work.

From the beginning, the handcrafted earthenware produced at Porches Pottery reflected Patrick and Lima’s own interest in the ancient designs of the Moors and Phoenicians, although frequently with a contemporary design slant. The majolica or tin-glazing technique, introduced into Europe by the Moors, was adopted from the start and involves dipping the piece into a tin-based glaze to provide the white opaque base onto which the design is painted.

“Most of our designs date back to the original shapes, colours and motifs that Patrick and Lima created,” explains Estella. “We are very interested in the ancient designs and reinterpret these to our own style and techniques. It is a process of evolution and invention.”

One such example is the long-tailed bird that appears on many plates and bowls and is a mythological creative of Phoenician design. Similarly, the hunting dog and the hare are inspired by the ancient Moorish motifs.

Porches Pottery designs and dictates the shapes of its products; however, the terracotta shapes are made in the Mafra region where the clay comes from.

“This is because there are very few production potters left in the Algarve,” Estella says. “They make the shapes and we do the glazing, hand-painting and final firing here.”

The business has always been a close-knit community. Estella now manages the pottery, shop and office with her sister Juliet Swift and nephew Brian Fortune.

Brian also produces the photography for their website; it is his photographs which appear alongside author Paul Bond’s words in Porches Pottery, The First Fifty Years, a commemorative book to celebrate their 50 th anniversary in 2018. After Patrick’s death in 1983, his eldest daughter Kate, a renowned ceramist in her own right, took over the management of the pottery. Kate Swift died in 2004; however, her husband Roger Metcalfe continues to run the ceramic studio (Estudio Destra) they set up together in Silves.

The distinctive Porches Pottery designs are painted by Estella, Juliet and a handful of local artisans, all of whom were taught by family members.

“Most of our painters have been with us for over thirty years,” Estella reveals. “The last person to have been trained by Patrick was the painter Ana Bôto, who retired fully in 2019. Everyone else was either trained by Kate, Juliet or me.”

Unsurprisingly, most of the pottery’s earliest customers were tourists, either European or from Lisbon and northern Portugal, and local restaurants and hotels. Over the decades, the family has seen trends change. “People would buy lots of ashtrays in the 60s, 70s and even the 80s,” recalls Estella. “Now, of course, hardly anyone asks for them, which is a good thing! Today people seem to be more interested in tableware or decorative tiles.”

At first, the summer months were busy, but the rest of the year was quiet; however, with talent, hard work and perseverance Patrick and Oonagh made a success of the pottery. The Algarve’s growing popularity with international tourists means the pottery is now busy year-round and receives large-scale commissions from prestigious resorts and hotels in the region.

“Perhaps one of the most interesting commissions we’ve done is a large tiled panel for the Vila Vita Parc Hotel,” says Estella. “It was a traditional blue and white floral design depicting many of the flowers found here in the Algarve. We also created a life-size ceramic nêspera fruit tree which adorns the Quinta do Lago Country Club's reception and a Bayeux tapestry-inspired tiled panel for the bar of the Pestana Viking Hotel in Porches.” As talented artists in their own right, Estella and Juliet also take on commissions from people who are after a bespoke tile, often sketching the artwork first.

“We’ll work closely with clients to create something which ties in perfectly with their homes,” explains Estella, who believes pottery retains its popularity because of its obvious beauty and the fact that people increasingly value items that are not mass-produced or machine-made.

What does the future hold for Porches Pottery? “We hope to carry on making beautiful handmade pottery, in the majolica tradition, concentrating especially on tiles and decorative pieces,” Estella says. “We’re continuing to improve our online shop too.”

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