A WORLD-renowned potter, hailed as the man responsible for reinventing British functional ceramics, drew large crowds to his exhibition in Jericho, Oxford.

Walter Keeler, internationally famed for his salt-glazed stoneware, gave a demonstration and talk at The Ashmoleon Museum in Beaumont Street on Sunday, before the launch of his exhibition Branching Out at Oxford Ceramics in Walton Street.

The 71-year-old Londoner said: “It all went very well and the opening was just unbelievable, socially, artistically and commercially.

“The gallery was very crowded with people spilling out onto the streets. People were buying pots with great enthusiasm.”

About half of the 30 pieces were sold on Sunday, but the exhibition runs until October 27.