Sculpture

Classification(s):
Pottery
Date: c.1951 - 1976
Maker: Mary Rogers (born 1929)
Dimensions:
200 × 115 mm (20 × 11.5 cm)
Medium: Stoneware
Object number: P1356B
DescriptionStoneware ceramic sculpture by Mary Rogers. The sculpture is mushroom-shaped with a stem and bowl head, the head has a hole to the top. The sculpture is hollow.

The potter’s initials “MER” are incised to the base. The sculpture was retailed for £2.63.



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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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

NotesMary Rogers studied calligraphy at St. Martin's School of Art (1947-49) and ceramics at the Loughborough School of Art (1960-64). Her work is inspired by nature, having collected natural history specimens as a child.