Confectionary mould
Classification(s):
Wood
Date: c.1951 - 1976
Dimensions:
285 × 285 mm (28.5 × 28.5 cm)
Medium: Wood
Object number: CC005
DescriptionRound wooden confectionary mould. Possibly used to make shortbread, gingerbread or pastry. The mould has a handcarved thistle design with a fluted edge.
There is the remains of a C.O.I.D Design Centre label on the reverse of the object.
There is the remains of a C.O.I.D Design Centre label on the reverse of the object.
ProvenanceThe object was acquired for the Inner London Education Authority’s (ILEA) Circulating Design Collection, operational from 1951-1976. The collection was donated to Camberwell College of Arts in 1989.
NotesThe Inner London Education Authority’s (I.L.E.A) Circulating Design Scheme began in 1951 in the aftermath of the Festival of Britain’s huge success. Operating in its earliest guise as the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’, the Circulating Design Scheme (as it was later called) was intended to form a canon of ‘good taste’. During its first 5 years of operation, the Scheme was jointly managed in a partnership between the Council of Industrial Design (C.O.I.D) and the London County Council (L.C.C). However, it can be argued that the experiment; the idea for sets of exhibits illustrating the principles of good design, can be traced further back to the Council’s own inception.
C.O.I.D had played an important role in the Festival of Britain. As early as 1947, and in preparation for the Festival, C.O.I.D had been compiling a card index of over 20,000 objects – over half of which were exhibited at the Festival. It was from this vast pool of British-made objects that the first displays for the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’ were collated.
In April 1956 C.O.I.D opened its Design Centre on London’s Haymarket (in the same year, C.O.I.D withdrew its involvement in the Scheme, leaving it to be managed solely by the L.C.C.). The Design Centre was a permanent public space to present displays of contemporary British design, along with a programme of special exhibitions. It became the main vehicle for communicating C.O.I.D’s ideas to the wider public. In 1957, C.O.I.D’s ‘Good Design’ awards were established to improve design standards, and to promote the best in British designs and to encourage retailers to stock them. Despite not being directly involved, C.O.I.D continued to supply the Collection through its Design Centre and especially with products that had won its ‘Good Design’ awards. Many designs represented in The Camberwell ILEA Collection were recipients of the award, evident in stickers and labels still attached to the objects; this object is one example.
C.O.I.D had played an important role in the Festival of Britain. As early as 1947, and in preparation for the Festival, C.O.I.D had been compiling a card index of over 20,000 objects – over half of which were exhibited at the Festival. It was from this vast pool of British-made objects that the first displays for the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’ were collated.
In April 1956 C.O.I.D opened its Design Centre on London’s Haymarket (in the same year, C.O.I.D withdrew its involvement in the Scheme, leaving it to be managed solely by the L.C.C.). The Design Centre was a permanent public space to present displays of contemporary British design, along with a programme of special exhibitions. It became the main vehicle for communicating C.O.I.D’s ideas to the wider public. In 1957, C.O.I.D’s ‘Good Design’ awards were established to improve design standards, and to promote the best in British designs and to encourage retailers to stock them. Despite not being directly involved, C.O.I.D continued to supply the Collection through its Design Centre and especially with products that had won its ‘Good Design’ awards. Many designs represented in The Camberwell ILEA Collection were recipients of the award, evident in stickers and labels still attached to the objects; this object is one example.