Plate thumbnail 1
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Plate

ca. 1954 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Buff earthenware plate, thrown and turned, the perimeter pierced with twelve round holes, some of which have been filled in by glaze; covered with a tin white glaze, decorated in black over a wax resist, and with yellow glaze, to depict a face or mask; the back is covered with a thin uneven tin white glaze.

Of the plates associated with La Ronde coffee house (Museum nos. C.116 to 122-2011), Museum nos. C.116 and 117-2011 are of closely similar body, technique and profile, as are Museum nos. C.119, 120 & 121-2011, the profiles of which are shallower. Museum no. C.118-2011 is of similar body and profile to Museum nos. C.116 and 117-2011, but the back is differently trimmed and the plate is decorated using different materials and techniques. Museum no. C.122-2011 is distinct from all others in the group in its body, method of forming, and in its decoration, and it has been pierced with larger and fewer round holes.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Earthenware, thrown and turned, painted in colours in a white tin glaze
Brief description
Plate, earthenware, depicting a face or mask, tin glazed with decoration in black and yellow, possibly Nicholas Vergette or William Newland, London, ca. 1954
Physical description
Buff earthenware plate, thrown and turned, the perimeter pierced with twelve round holes, some of which have been filled in by glaze; covered with a tin white glaze, decorated in black over a wax resist, and with yellow glaze, to depict a face or mask; the back is covered with a thin uneven tin white glaze.

Of the plates associated with La Ronde coffee house (Museum nos. C.116 to 122-2011), Museum nos. C.116 and 117-2011 are of closely similar body, technique and profile, as are Museum nos. C.119, 120 & 121-2011, the profiles of which are shallower. Museum no. C.118-2011 is of similar body and profile to Museum nos. C.116 and 117-2011, but the back is differently trimmed and the plate is decorated using different materials and techniques. Museum no. C.122-2011 is distinct from all others in the group in its body, method of forming, and in its decoration, and it has been pierced with larger and fewer round holes.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.6cm
  • Diameter: 21.1cm
Marks and inscriptions
'WOOLLEY & WALLIS / 482 / 30th November 2011/7' (Auction house sticker on back of plate.)
Object history
One of a group of plates (Museum nos. C.116 to 122-2011) that formed part of the interior decoration of La Ronde coffee bar in Baker Street, London, in the 1950s. A contemporary photograph of the interior from an architecture journal shows that the plates were wall-mounted and spaced at intervals across the wall surface. One plate from the group (Museum no. C.117-2011) is visible in the photograph. The group includes plates made both by Margeret Hine and by Nicholas Vergette. Vergette is also known to have made sculptural pieces for shelves in La Ronde. The plates are said to have been acquired from a sale at the time of the closure of the coffee bar. They were subsequently sold through Woolley & Wallis in their sale of British Art Pottery, Wednesday 30 November 2011, lot 482, alongside a larger plate by Hine for La Ronde, lot 481.
Production
Produced for La Ronde coffee house, Baker Street, London.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
C.121-2011

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Record createdJanuary 10, 2012
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