Jug
Classification(s):
Pottery
Date: c. 1951-1976
Maker: Lucie Rie (Austrian-British, 1902 - 1995)
Dimensions:
100 × 85 mm (10 × 8.5 cm)
Medium: Porcelain
Object number: CC049
See Also
(not assigned):England
DescriptionPorcelain jug with lip by Lucie Rie. The jug has an off-white glaze to the body and a darker glaze to the rim. The potter’s initials, an intertwined “LR” is impressed 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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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.
NotesDame Lucie Rie was one of Britain’s most eminent potters. Born in Vienna, she came to Britain in 1938 as an émigré fleeing the growing influence of Nazism in Europe. Rie’s work is recognised for its elegant flowing forms, simple ribbed patterns or textured glazes and pitted surfaces. Her output was of one-off stoneware vessel forms such as bottles, vases and bowls, made using a muted and pale colour palette.
During the war years when there was little opportunity to produce pottery, Rie ran a ceramic button-making business in her rented London home, and she employed a number of refugees. It was at this time she met the potter Hans Coper who she took on as an employee and would later become a great friend. The pair began to make elegant domestic tableware.
In the post-war years she adopted a Scandinavian, modernist aesthetic. The output was characteristically angular and thin-walled, pieces were decorated with fine, scratched, linear detailing.
During the 1960s Rie taught at Camberwell School of Art.
This 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 milk jug by Lucie Rie featured in the ‘Materials and Design’ group in case number 2. The boxed showcase displays items, which are both beautiful and pleasant to handle. The text asks the viewer to question whether an object’s applied surface decoration really improves the appearance of an object. 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 © London Metropolitan Archives: City of London.
During the war years when there was little opportunity to produce pottery, Rie ran a ceramic button-making business in her rented London home, and she employed a number of refugees. It was at this time she met the potter Hans Coper who she took on as an employee and would later become a great friend. The pair began to make elegant domestic tableware.
In the post-war years she adopted a Scandinavian, modernist aesthetic. The output was characteristically angular and thin-walled, pieces were decorated with fine, scratched, linear detailing.
During the 1960s Rie taught at Camberwell School of Art.
This 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 milk jug by Lucie Rie featured in the ‘Materials and Design’ group in case number 2. The boxed showcase displays items, which are both beautiful and pleasant to handle. The text asks the viewer to question whether an object’s applied surface decoration really improves the appearance of an object. 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 © London Metropolitan Archives: City of London.
