Ann Stokes obituary

The ceramic work of Ann Stokes, who has died aged 91, was prized by several generations of British artists, critics and art historians. It was remarkable for its inventiveness, bringing into play birds, animals, trees and mirrors. Her dinner and side plates were individual painterly works of art, included in the 1985 Hayward Annual, the first and the last time a modern potter has been shown in the Hayward Gallery.

Stokes's hollow wares cups, jugs, serving dishes and cooking pots were influenced by archaic Mediterranean pottery. Her ceramic sources came from between 2000BC and 200BC; her jugs have open-cut spouts, her cup handles loop upwards, like the large Etruscan black ware karanthos, or drinking cup, sold to her by the art critic and curator David Sylvester in the 1970s.