Tile

Classification(s):
Pottery
Date: c.1951 - 1976
Maker: Bernard Rooke (England, born 1938)
Dimensions:
151 × 151 mm (15.1 × 15.1 cm)
Medium: Ceramic
Object number: P556A
Place of Production:England
DescriptionCeramic tile by Bernard Rooke. The tile has been incised with abstract decorations of lines, dots, circles and crosses. The tile was made in England; it appears that the square tile was mass manufactured, while Rooke applied an individual design to the front.

ILEA label to front “P556A 43p Bernard Rooke’. ‘Made in England’ is stamped into the reverse of the tile.


ProvenanceThis object was originally acquired for the Inner London Education Authority’s (ILEA) ‘Circulating Design Scheme’ collection.

The collection was instigated by the London Country Council (later the Greater London Council) and the Council of Industrial Design (COID). The collection’s original purpose was concerned with the teaching and dissemination of modern, ‘good design’.

The collection was established in 1951/52 as the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’, later renamed the ‘Circulating Design Scheme’.

The Circulating Design Scheme lent boxed showcases to London schools. The showcases contained handling objects, material samples and interpretation on a specific subject.

COID withdrew its involvement in the Scheme in 1957. After which time, it was managed exclusively by the London County Council from 1957-1963.

After the administrative restructuring of London authorities, the Scheme was jointly managed by the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) from 1963 – 1976.

The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation. ILEA was abolished in the late 1980s and the collection was donated to Camberwell College of Arts in 1989/90.

ILEA was responsible for secondary and tertiary education in the inner London boroughs, this included Camberwell.

NotesBernard Rooke studied pottery at Goldsmith’s College. Rooke shared a workspace with fellow potter and ex-Goldsmiths student Allan Wallwork at a studio and gallery in Forest Hill, South London. Rooke made work of a sculptural nature; his early pieces were fashioned by hand using coils and blocks. To supplement his income he lectured at London University and at Goldsmiths' College.

This object was circulated to London schools as part of the Inner London Education Authority’s (I.L.E.A) Circulating Design Scheme, which operated from 1951-1976. The hand-decorated tile by Bernard Rooke featured in the ‘Pottery Built by Hand’ group in an unnumbered case. The original supplier from whom this object was acquired is unknown. The photograph does not have an associated record card. Original photograph of boxed showcase copyright Harold King (Photography) Ltd.