Plate
Classification(s):
Pottery
Date: 1963
Organisation: Arabia (Finland, founded 1873)
Designer: Kaj Franck (Finnish, 1911 - 1989)
Dimensions:
24 × 193 mm (2.4 × 19.3 cm)
Medium: Ceramic
Object number: P613B
See Also
Place of Production:Finland
DescriptionGlazed ceramic children’s plate, designed by Kaj Franck. Made by Arabia, manufactured in Finland in 1963. The plate has a design featuring colourful animals and fruit, including a hedgehog, a rabbit, a mouse, a fox, a squirrel, a pig, an ant, a chick, a strawberry and cherries.
The maker’s mark is on the base “Arabia, Made in Finland, 11-63”.
The maker’s mark is on the base “Arabia, Made in Finland, 11-63”.
Provenance
This 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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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.
This 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 child’s plate featured in the ‘Pottery by Hand and Machine’ group in case number 1. 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.
Kaj Franck, born in Finland, was a leading figure of Finnish design and applied arts in the post-war years until the 1980s. He studied furniture design at the Central School of Industrial Design in Helsinki in 1932, and began collaborating with the Arabia ceramics company in 1945 – a time when the company was seeking someone to develop more functional products, having previously been known for ornamental ceramics. The design agenda of the time had a strong social component; the aim was to produce democratic, modern objects for the home, which were both utilitarian and beautiful. Franck became Artistic Director at Arabia, but he continued to produce designs for other companies such as Iitalla (Arabia-owned Finnish glassware), where he was also Artistic Director.
Franck designed porcelain objects and glassware for daily use. He earned a reputation as the conscience of Finnish design. He produced a wide range of utilitarian objects, reducing pieces to their essentials and eschewing all superfluous decoration. Franck drew inspiration from the Bauhaus School, industrial products, and traditional Japanese design.
Kaj Franck, born in Finland, was a leading figure of Finnish design and applied arts in the post-war years until the 1980s. He studied furniture design at the Central School of Industrial Design in Helsinki in 1932, and began collaborating with the Arabia ceramics company in 1945 – a time when the company was seeking someone to develop more functional products, having previously been known for ornamental ceramics. The design agenda of the time had a strong social component; the aim was to produce democratic, modern objects for the home, which were both utilitarian and beautiful. Franck became Artistic Director at Arabia, but he continued to produce designs for other companies such as Iitalla (Arabia-owned Finnish glassware), where he was also Artistic Director.
Franck designed porcelain objects and glassware for daily use. He earned a reputation as the conscience of Finnish design. He produced a wide range of utilitarian objects, reducing pieces to their essentials and eschewing all superfluous decoration. Franck drew inspiration from the Bauhaus School, industrial products, and traditional Japanese design.
