Esias Bosch

South African artist Esias Bosch is often referred to as the doyen of South African creative ceramics. He is described as a master of clay and colour and one of the few master potters in the world. Bosch was born on July 11, 1923, in the small town of Winburg in the Free State Province of South Africa. His parents wanted their son to become a dentist, but against their wishes he followed his heart to study art at the Johannesburg School of Art. This was an auspicious decision, which would bring him much reward, satisfaction and recognition.

After completing his studies in 1946, he was awarded a scholarship to study ceramics in London. He left for England in 1949 at the age of twenty-six and served his apprenticeship with two of England’s most famous potters, Raymond Finch and Michael Cardew. He soon grew to love the medium of clay and displayed a natural talent for the wheel. Raymond Finch said of his young, enthusiastic South African apprentice: ‘Esias clearly had the makings of a talented potter. And his subsequent career has proved this to the full.’ Thus the foundations for a highly successful career as a potter were established. In the book titled Esias Bosch, by J. de Waal and A. Bosch. Murray Schoonraad writes the following: "Bosch has developed a ceramic tradition that has exerted a great influence on many potters in this country, to the extent that echoes or reminders of his forms and colours are discernible at nearly every exhibition of ceramics."