Currently indexing

Teacup

Classification(s):
Glass
Date: c. 1951-1976
Dimensions:
65 × 120 mm (6.5 × 12 cm)
Medium: Pyrex glass
Object number: CC056
Place of Production:England
Title:Opalware
DescriptionOff-white, semi-opalescent ‘Opalware’ glass teacup by James A. Jobling & Co. The teacup is made of press-moulded Pyrex glass. Manufactured in Sunderland, England. The unique properties of Pyrex glass meant it was ovenproof and relatively shatterproof. The teacup is decorated with design of alternating red lines and circles.

Makers mark to base ‘Jobling Opalware’.

A matching saucer is represented in the collection (CC057.)

James A. Jobling & Co exhibited Pyrex glass at the ‘Britain Can Make It’ trade fair, organised by the Council of Industrial Design (C.O.I.D) and held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in 1946.

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 cup and saucer featured in the ‘Commercial Pottery’ group, c. 1954. Therefore this object dates to the early years of the Scheme’s operation. Photograph of display © Design Council / University of Brighton Design Archives.


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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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