Serving fork

Classification(s):
Wood
Date: c.1951 - 1976
Dimensions:
356 × 50 mm (35.6 × 5 cm)
Medium: Yew
Object number: W320A
See Also
DescriptionYew wood salad server (fork), worked by hand. The fork has 4 organically shaped tines, one of which is enlarged. There is a matching spoon in the collection (W320B).


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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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

NotesThis 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 yew salad servers featured in the ‘Timber Worked by Hand’ group in an unnumbered case. The boxed showcase displays wooden items, which have been worked by hand – the text suggests, “pleasant decoration can result from the natural tool marks”. 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.