Canoe bailer

Classification(s):
Wood
Date: c. 1951-1976
Dimensions:
95 × 290 mm (9.5 × 29 cm)
Medium: Wood
Object number: W370A
Place of Production:Samoa
DescriptionHandcrafted wooden canoe bailer, made in Samoa. The bailer is oval in shape with a deep bowl and raised side. The end of the bailer is an open lip, allowing water to be scooped up and bailed out over the side of a canoe. The bailer has a wooden handle with 2 rows of serrated detailing carved to the base. Manufacturing marks can be seen to the inside of the bowl showing its craftsmanship.


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The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation.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

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 Samoan canoe bailer featured in the ‘Commonwealth Wood’ group in case number 1. The boxed showcase displays items that have been “made by hand, often with primitive tools”. 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, Morden, Surrey.