A pot from Rorke's Drift

Todays's blip is a pot from a very interesting place! Rorke's Drift, situated 46 km southeast of Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal, is the site of one of the most famous battles of the Anglo-Zulu War.

Following a major victory at nearby Isandhlwana, on January 22nd 1879, King Cetshwayo's impis attacked the mission station at Rorke's Drift which was defended by just 100 men under the command of Lt John Chard. The battle that followed was savage in the extreme with both sides showing great valour; 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded that day.

After the war, in 1882, Swedish missionaries re-established themselves at the station and have worked there ever since. In the last 30 years, the fame of Rorke's Drift as a battlefield has been matched by the fame of an arts and crafts centre run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church. In what started as a tiny workshop in 1962, black artists were initially trained by Swedish art teachers. Those who received their start here, include Enval Mbatha, the renowned potter who made my pot, which I bought at Rorke's Drift in 1990.

The Rorke's Drift pottery consists of coiled and thrown pieces, ranging from the simplest to the most beautiful works of art. The potters use metal oxides for painting designs on the pots, which then receive a kaolin glaze. Designs are also sculpted or incised on the pots to give them their unique African patterns.