Bottle
Classification(s):
Pottery
Date: 1969
Maker: Eric James Mellon (English, 1925 - 2014)
Dimensions:
120 × 150 mm (12 × 15 cm)
Medium: Stoneware
Object number: P1333A
See Also
Place of Production:England
DescriptionStoneware ceramic bottle with willow ash glaze by Eric James Mellon. Made in 1969. The bottle has a dark yellow and terracotta red glaze with blue stripes around the body. The bottle retailed for £4.0.0. The potter’s signature is painted to base.
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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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.
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.
NotesEric James Mellon studied at Watford Technical and Art Institute and took weekend classes at the Harrow School of Art. From 1944-47 he studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London. In 1958 Mellon established a pottery at his home in West Sussex, where he continued to work more than 50 years. Mellon was a founder member of the Craftsmen Potters Association. Mellon is most famed for producing stoneware pots and dishes, and for his use of ash glazes. Interested in communicating narrative, he strived to find a way to transfer fine line drawings onto pottery. He pioneered ash glazes as a way of preventing fine brush lines from bleeding during the firing process.
