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Miroslav Smíšek (2 February 1925 – 19 May 2013) was a Czechoslovakian-born New Zealand
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...
. After fleeing the Czech coup and eventually arriving in New Zealand he started work for Crown Lynn and later established his own pottery. His two pottery kilns in Te Horo are scheduled as a category 2 historic place by
Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...


Biography

Smíšek was born in the
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
region of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
in 1925. After spending most of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in labour camps due to his efforts in the anti-Nazi resistance movement, he fled Europe in 1948 after the Czech coup. He emigrated first to Australia, and then to New Zealand in 1951, and became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1955. He worked for the Crown Lynn pottery in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
where he created the "Bohemia Ware" line in manganese slip glaze, before moving to Nelson in 1952. There he worked at the Nelson Brick and Pipe Company, where he learned the technique of salt glazing. He left in 1957 and became New Zealand's first full-time studio potter. He also taught pottery at the Nelson Technical School (at the time part of
Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...
) and night classes at Waimea College. In 1962 he went to Japan and studied at
Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...
. In 1963 he went to St Ives in England and studied under Bernard Leach. In 1968 he moved to the
Kāpiti Coast Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: * Kapiti (New Zealand electorate), a former Parliamentary electorate *Kāpiti Coast District, a local government district *Kapiti Island * Kapiti Coast Airport * Kāpiti College *Kāpiti Expressway * Kapiti Fine Food ...
, where he established three potteries. He purchased a property in Te Horo to establish a pottery work. Potter Pamella Annsouth became his partner in 1979 and remained with him until his death. He worked extensively for ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' film trilogy, making about 700 earthenware items for the three films. Frequently he had to make two or three of each piece in different sizes to allow them to be used by the hobbits, humans and giants. In the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, Smíšek was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, for services to pottery. He received the Gratis Agit award from the Czech government in 2011 for promoting the Czech Republic overseas. Smíšek died in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
in 2013. At the time of his death, a retrospective exhibition "60 Years 60 Pots" was touring New Zealand. A number of his pieces are held in the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...
. In 2020–2021, the two beehive kilns that Smíšek had built and used for some 40 years were directly in the path of the new Peka Peka to Otaki (PP2Ō) Expressway. The
New Zealand Transport Agency NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), superseded by is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, and administering the New Zealand st ...
agreed to preserve the kilns and carefully moved them to a nearby location. The kilns were dismantled and reassembled brick by brick 20 metres east of where they originally lay. This dismantling resulted in the kilns no longer being functional. The move and refurbishment has been documented by local artist Elisabeth Vullings. The Mirek Smisek Arts Trust is now developing plans to build an arts centre centred on the relocated kilns.


Beehive Kilns

Smíšek's two beehive kilns in Te Horo are registered as a category 2 historic place by Heritage New Zealand. Also included is an 1880s shed and part of the Te Horo railway station that served as part of the pottery works. The kilns were built by Smíšek in 1970 and 1971. The kilns are high internally, are located on a circular concrete base, have an opening with a
voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...
. A brick
flue A flue is a duct, pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. In the United States, they a ...
connected the two at one point. Their capacity is . The kilns are made out of approximately 4,000 bricks and had to be individually altered to form the kiln. The shed is painted red and was relocated by Smíšek.


Further sources

* Jenny Pattrick, Neil Rowe
Mirek Smisek: Strength and Freedom
New Zealand Crafts 18, Spring 1986


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smisek, Mirek 1925 births 2013 deaths Czechoslovak emigrants to Australia Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand potters New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Nelson College faculty Naturalised citizens of New Zealand