Fragment of a 'Bellarmine' jar - once used to ward off the evil intentions of a suspected witch. Courtesy the River and Rowing Museum © the artist

Artist and photographer Michael O’Reilly has spent 15 years kayaking up and down the River Thames, collecting objects found on its foreshore.

He has collected more than 4,000 fragments of both ancient and modern objects and taken photos of themed groups of them, from Roman figures and roof tiles to medieval clay pipes, bottle tops and World War Two anti-aircraft shells

These vivid images are being displayed for the first time in the exhibition Fragments from the Foreshore at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames until November 4 2007.

Pottery litters the Thames foreshore providing a link to everyday life of days gone by. Courtesy the River and Rowing Museum © the artist

“I kayak along the river to explore and understand what the Thames really means to the urban and rural communities it passes through,” explained O’Reilly.

“My interest is driven by the excitement of discovery and finding items that inspire me. I am fascinated by the frequency with which certain kinds of objects keep appearing, for example clay roof tiles can often be found in one location and have turned the foreshore a rusty red colour as they are slowly broken down by the river.”

The photos are each accompanied by two detailed captions – one written by the artist, talking the viewer through his inspiration behind the way he arranged the objects and took the photos; the other from museum curator Netty Rawling, providing the historical background to what the objects are, when they came from and how they would have been used.

By 1650 there were at least a thousand clay pipe makers working in London. Courtesy the River and Rowing Museum © the artist

Most of the items were collected along the foreshore of the tidal Thames between Gravesend and Richmond and provide a fascinating glimpse into the everyday life that has gone on along the river for millennia.

A photo of dozens of clay pipes captures the habit of smoking since its introduction to the country in 1558. There were at least a thousand pipe makers in London alone by the middle of the 17th century and some of the pipes O’Reilly has found still bear the marks of their makers, from Royal crowns and coats of arms to thistles, roses and hoofs.

Some are still found in perfect condition, protected by the Thames mud where they have rested for hundreds of years.

Other images include fragments of French and British china, buttons and bones, workings from the Greenwich Power Station, rubber gloves, roof tiles, jars, and all manner of everyday objects.

Clay roof tiles, smoothed and worn by the ebb and flow of the river. Courtesy the River and Rowing Museum © the artist

Another shows an intriguing 'Bellarmine' jar, a type of alcohol-filled vessel imported from Germany and sometimes later used to ward off the evil intentions of suspected witches. Urine, nail clippings and hair were mixed in the jar which was then placed under the threshold of the victim's house or cast into the nearest river.

The jars were imported between the 1500s and 1600s and named to ridicule the unpopular Cardinal Bellarmine, who was well-known for his opposition to alcohol and persecution of Protestants.

“The photographs in Fragments from the Foreshore act as striking and colourful windows into ancient and modern lives along the Thames,” said Netty Rawling.

“These fragments of rare, or everyday items, bring communities to life – from brushing one’s teeth to roofing a house – all aspects of living are displayed in the images.”