Spice jar

Classification(s):
Pottery
Date: 1963
Organisation: Arabia (Finland, founded 1873)
Dimensions:
79 × 60 mm (7.9 × 6 cm)
Medium: Ceramic and cork
Object number: P612F
Place of Production:Finland
DescriptionGlazed ceramic spice jar “sage”, designed by Francesca Mascitti Lindh for Arabia in 1963. Made in Finland. The jar has been cast from a mould, it has a green/grey glaze and a cork stopper.

This spice jar is one of a set of six within the collection.

The potters initials “FML” and makers stamp are to the base "Arabia made in Finland 12-63”.

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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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.

NotesFrancesca Lindh was born in Anversa degli Abruzzi, an Italian village known for its ceramics. She moved to Finland as a teenager where she trained at the Institute of Industrial Arts between 1949-52. Lindh began working for Arabia, where she remained until 1989. She was known for her interest in the contrasting qualities of different clays, establishing herself as one of Finland's leading potters.