Encounters in US museums: Motor city ceramics

Detroit was the place on my itinerary which consistently provoked surprise when telling people about the planned route. The city, which in the 1930s was considered the epitome of US modernity and industry, is now more commonly associated with urban decay due to the car manufacturing firms scaling back their operations. In the last two years I had read about artists and photographers capturing glimpses of the former grandeur of the city and also of the recent influx of technology firms. My professional interest was the Detroit Institute of Arts known in the museum world for its bold reinterpretation of the galleries where the education department took a lead role in shaping the themes and text. My great discovery, however, was the work of a local pottery firm.

With only one free morning, I quickly made my way to explore downtown under grey skies with slush and snow underfoot. It was certainly the quietest city centre I had visited even allowing for the weather and viewing later a photography exhibition in the DIA of 'then and now' shots gave a sense of how busy and lively the streets had once been

A few pictures at the bottom capture a sense of the cityscape - in amongst the abandoned buildings and delapidated street frontages were grand skyscrapers and some fantastic examples of art deco, the most magnificent of which was the Guardian building. Opened in 1927 for the Union Trust company, its decorations on the exterior give only a hint of the inside, where the specatcular tiled atrium is a riot of colour inspired by Aztec designs and includes a fine Tiffany clock.

Many of the tiles were made by the Pewabic (pronounced Pe-WAH-bic) Pottery company, founded in 1903 by Mary Perry Stratton and which soon became known for its iridescent glazes and associated with the arts and crafts movement in the US.

It was the jade, aqua and turquoise shades that especially caught my eye and later in the DIA I discovered more Pewabic tiles, this time used to great effect in the main entrance hall to the museum, pictured here on a water and the floor. Then that evening, when admiring one of the large 1930s houses opposite my hotel, I saw that it had belonged to Charles Freer and was where the Peacock room I had been so enchanted by in Washington had once been installed. The panel also informed me that as well as collecting Asian ceramics, Freer also had a collection of Pewabic pottery - everything seemed to be connected..! Detroit was fascinating in so many ways, pottery aside, and I loved mapping this network of early 20th century artists, collectors and museums.

In further Superbowl news, the coverage has been wall-to-wall with the big game on Sunday - I saw in the paper that it is even possible to preview the adverts that'll be shown during the game online...