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

BAFTA

Award
1977 (awarded), 1955 (designed)
Artist/Maker

BAFTA Award in the Category of Best Light Entertainment Performance for Going Straight and The Two Ronnies, given to Ronnie Barker by The British Academy of Film and Television Arts ca. 1978. Features a brass face mask mounted on wooden cube stand bearing an inscribed brass plaque.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBAFTA (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
BAFTA Award given to Ronnie Barker for Porridge and The Two Ronnies in the category of Best Light Entertainment Performance in 1977. Statuette of a face mask mounted on a wooden cube block bearing an inscribed brass plaque.
Physical description
A brass moulded mask of a face, with the left eye cut out, mounted on a wooden cube block, labelled with a square brass inscribed plaque. The hollow reverse of the mask bears an electronic symbol around one eye and a screen symbol around the other, linking dramatic production and television technology.
Dimensions
  • Whole height: 28.6cm
  • Brass face mask height: 20.6cm
  • Brass face mask width: 14.5cm
  • Brass face mask depth: 5.5cm
  • Wood base height: 7cm
  • Wood base width: 8cm
  • Wood base depth: 8cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'THE BRITISH ACADEMY OF FILM & TELEVISION ARTS / AWARDED TO / RONNIE BARKER / FOR / GOING STRAIGHT / THE TWO RONNIES / IN THE CATEGORY / BEST LIGHT / ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE / 1978. '
  • Transliteration
Credit line
Given by Charlotte Barker, daughter of the late Ronald Barker OBE.
Object history
Statuette awarded to Ronnie Barker at the BAFTA awards 1978.
Production
In 1955, a trophy mask was commissioned by Andrew Miller-Jones of the [then] Guild of Television Producers. Mitzi Cunliffe originally modelled the mask in Plasticine, from which the casting moulds were made, and though based on the traditional concept of the theatrical tragicomic mask, it is more complex than its immediate front facial appearance suggests. The hollow reverse of the mask bears an electronic symbol around one eye and a screen symbol around the other, linking dramatic production and television technology, and the full intention of Mitzi's original design included a revolving support to allow the mask to be turned and viewed easily from either side.
Subjects depicted
Summary
BAFTA Award in the Category of Best Light Entertainment Performance for Going Straight and The Two Ronnies, given to Ronnie Barker by The British Academy of Film and Television Arts ca. 1978. Features a brass face mask mounted on wooden cube stand bearing an inscribed brass plaque.
Other number
THM/407/11
Collection
Accession number
S.181-2012

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Record createdMarch 8, 2012
Record URL
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