Troika pottery was designed and produced in the Sixties in St Ives, Cornwall, by Leslie Illsley and Benny Sirota. Its designs represented architectural forms and shapes: pottery simply as an art form. Bernard Leach was the renowned potter in Cornwall at the time, but it was Troika's ambition to be progressive and different. Troika produced their wares from moulds so they could make them in greater numbers, whereas most of the studio potters turned out individual pots on throwing wheels. Some Troika designs are considered more desirable to collectors than many studio potters' pieces are.

Troika is generally associated with the rough textured ware than came out of their factory during the mid 1960s and successfully continued up to their demise in 1983. Troika pottery was sold by many high-class stores such as Liberty in London. They did, however, also produce a glossy tin-glazed ware during the same period, which partners Leslie and Benny admitted they preferred. These wares were expensive to produce and generally bought by better-off customers. They were considered of higher quality than the rough textured wares, with more labour going into design and mouldings, but unfortunately they were not appreciated by the general public and were too expensive and therefore did not sell in great numbers.

In its first year Troika developed both the textured and smooth white surfaces that were to become its hallmarks. The textured ware echoed the landscape of Cornwall and the influence of the Swiss artist Paul Klee can be seen in the use of tones, textures and motifs. the first white pieces were small to medium sized, usually carrying abstruct decoration of a plain disc of dark colours. Most output was for decorative purposes, but a limited amount of domestic ware, such as tea and coffee sets, mugs and bowls, was also produced.

Sirota was responsible for establishing the style of surface decoration which the Troika decorators were to follow: Illsley took over the construction of the models and mould-making. However, Troika was a team and everyone had input. Essentially, Illsley and Sirota set the tone and the style but they were willing to listen to any ideas from those employed at Troika. The innovative and progressively-minded Troika team was not afraid to experiment with materials frowned upon by the purist potters. Slurry from local tin mines, emulsion paint and melted broken glass werea few examples of the unconventional materials used. Troika were a team with a gift for original design and a good eye for tones and textures.

By 1974, the Troika range was made up of predominantly textured ware, reflecting not only customer preference, but convenience of manufacture. It was estimated at the time that white ware never exceeded 30% of any year's production and by the late 1970s the proportion had become much smaller. White ware produced more 'seconds' than textured. Additionally, more sculptural products were made of two or three interlocking pieces and it only took a minor warp on one piece to add stress and inconvenience to the pottery's routine. These factors, combined with a change in consumer preferences, led to an even greater reliance on textured ware.

Most Troika early wares were austere in shape with dark and sober colours. The pottery tried to immitate Scandinavian ceramic designs of the time; blacks and browns and dull green-blue colours. This style lasted for a few years, after which designs became more distinctive with brighter colours. It took some time to develop standard shapes for the rough textured ware, but within two years their range was almost complete. The early rough textured pieces have many areas of glossy glaze on the outside, whereas on the later pieces it is far rarer. Rough textured wares also have a glossy tin glaze on the inside to hold liquid.

The first serious blow for Troika came in 1978 when the London store, Heals, made a decision to stop selling craft pottery. The recession in the late 1970s and early 1980s forced Troika to rethink its designs. The typical collector that regularly purchased large pieces began to disappear. Once this market dried up Troika had to rely more on the gift shop trade which sold more of the smaller items. The loss of serious customers and established outlets was also coupled with the Government doubling Value Added Tax in 1979. Like most UK businesses, Troika suffered the recession of the late 1970s which caused the partial destruction of the UK manufacturing base. In addition to this, cheap imports flooded in from abroad which put many small potteries out of business in the early 1980s.

The partnership ended on 31 March 1980 and the pottery was finally wound-up in December 1983.

Notes for Collectors

• Troika has held its price well, but you may still find good pieces in junk shops and car boot sales. Keep your eye on jumble sales, many a good piece has been found here.
• Look out for the early smooth glossy pieces with the Trident St Ives marks. They are rare but can still be found. Many of them were sold at the London stores of Heal's and Liberty. The larger sculptural pieces are the most valuable.
• Another good example of early Troika smooth glossy ware was the perfume bottle. Many were produced but these are sought after by perfume bottle collectors and fetch high prices.
• Troika introduced only four new shapes during their time at Newlyn, one of these was the coffin vase which is the most common piece available today, but the other three, hanging basket, globe and the tine mine are worth looking out for. They are rare and are sold for high prices at auction.
• Be careful when buying as some Troika marks have been painted on the bottom of pieces that are not actually Troika. If you know your Troika shapes and designs you will not be fooled, but new collectors could easily be taken in.