This project was realised through research at Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (Exeter, UK), museum stores and the online collection. As part of the Dynamic Collections programme, Dicker worked with communities to investigate the collection through a series of workshops, with a focus on ceramic vessels used predominantly for food and drink. Participants made over 100 vessels ranging from black burnished-ware bowls to Bellarmine jugs. The work you can see here presents a collection ceramic sherds that were made as test pieces for the workshops. Each sherd is housed in a glass jar and accompanied by ingredients relating to the selected ceramic artifact.
The participants’ work has been photographed and 3D digital models made, which have been added to RAMM’s digital collection. The original artworks have been returned to the people who made them.
This work is part of the ‘Food beyond the plate’ exhibition at RAMM from 22 March – 29 June 2025. Commissioned by Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter City Council, 2024, as part of the Dynamic Collections programme funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Food beyond the plate exhibition
Dynamic Collections Commission
Rhyton (vessel (sherd)), 2025
The type of vessel featured in this work is called a Rhyton and was traditionally used for pouring liquids during ceremonies and rituals. Rhyton comes from the Greek word “rheo,” meaning “to flow,” and you can find fantastic examples of bird and bull shaped Rhyton’s in the RAMM collection.
Harvest Jug (vessel (sherd)), 2025
The tulip and the butterfly / Appear in gayer coats than I / Let me be dressed fine as I will / Flies, worms and flowers exceed me still
Long may you live / Happy may you be / Bless with Content / And from misfortunes / Free
These words were incised onto the surface of a harvest jug (from the RAMM collection), using a technique known as sgraffito, created by Edmund Fishley of Fremington, North Devon , in 1839.
From the 17th century, harvest jugs were an important part of the North Devon tradition. These jugs had a variety of uses, from purely decorative purposes to transporting beer to thirsty workers in the fields. They also functioned as commemorative objects, celebrating events such as births, marriages or successful harvests.
Chomo Vacu (vessel (sherd)), 2025
Chomo Vacu’s could be found in Peru, South America, and were used to store and ferment a ceremonial beverage made from manioc called masato. These vessels were often partially buried in the ground to keep the masato cool during the fermentation process. They were traditionally made by women, the designs are based on motifs found in nature.
Black Burnished Ware (vessel (sherd)), 2025
Black burnished ware (BBW) was a type of Romano-British pottery that may have been used to transport salt and salted goods. BBW was made from a grainy clay and polished with a stone to give it a burnished appearance. This type of pottery was produced in the Poole Harbour region (Dorset, UK) and distributed thoughout Britain from the mid-2nd to 4th centuries AD.
Bellarmine Jug (vessel (sherd)), 2025
In a time when witchcraft – or, rather, the belief in it – was rife, and Bearded Man/Bellarmine jugs were often used as ‘witch bottles’. If someone believed they had been put under a witch’s spell, they could counter it by putting their own urine or other bodily fluids, fingernail trimmings and bits of hair into a witch bottle, along with iron nails, then boil the mixture up.
The bottle and its contents would then be buried inside the victim’s house, either at the farthest corner of the property, plastered into a wall, or under the hearth – they’re still sometimes excavated intact from old houses today. It was believed that the bottle would then magically capture the evil spirit which haunted the house’s occupant.
Tea Bowl (vessel (sherd)), 2025
The history of Chinese tea bowls dates back to the Han dynasty (206–220 BCE). The earliest tea bowls were made of porcelain. In Ming dynasty (1368–1644) painting, tranquil landscapes were often depicted with a small cottage and a neighboring tea hut. Amidst the various objects and equipment associated with tea preparation, attendants frequently are shown by a stove with boiling water to make tea. The host in such paintings either sips tea alone or is in light conversation with like-minded friends, revealing the idealized setting for consuming tea among scholar-officials in the Ming dynasty.