I was asked to photograph the latest exhibition at the La Borne pottery museum. It is called Les Soins du Corps - Care of the Body - and it closes on 11th November. The photographs are needed for the Museum's catalogue.

A stand-up bath made in 1871 and measuring well over a metre. A clever saving on water - but how the hell do you get into it?

I love the shaving bowl's simple shape. At art school we were asked to consider whether beauty must be sacrificed for function (or the reverse). I have always skated between the two.

This is a display of bed warmers, the hot water bottles of the day. In supermarkets nowadays we have a choice of red, blue or yellow rubber.  Those old potters must have had fun, especially Marie Talbot whose handbag-shaped bottle bears the inscription, "made by me marie talbot". It's the most moving piece I've seen for a long time - her message touched my heart.

Water 'fountains' by Marie and Jean Talbot. Exquisite elaborate pieces made for washing hands.

The great pot on the left is a real tour de force, made for washing clothes with hot water. Rinsing took place in the village's lavoir, much further away in the forest. An old neighbour of ours, Mme Lili, remembered that her husband had to come down the sloping paths to help her haul the clean laundry back in a wheelbarrow!

This water pitcher demonstrates the potter's skill at applied decoration. All these pieces were wood fired and had to be robust to survive rigorous firing. No firing patterns for those latter-day potters!