Not currently on display at the V&A

Ebony

Coffee Cup and Saucer
1981 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Queensberry Hunt are the leading UK ceramic design practice of the post-war period. Formed in 1966 by david Queensberry, then Professor of Ceramics at the RCA, and his former student Martin hunt. the partnership have designed ceramics for major producers and retailers around the globe. these include Wedgwood, Hornsea, Rosenthal, Habitat, Crate and Barrel, John Lewis and Jamie Oliver. Their practice spans a period of immense change in the industry, brought about by the adoption of new technologies, and the shift in production towards East Asia. Working in an essentially modernist aesthetic, Queensberry Hunt have been responsible for some of the most familiar and best-selling tableware of recent decades.
Both ‘Ebony’ and ‘Cinnamon’ used the shapes that Martin Hunt had designed around 1979 for Hornsea’s ‘Concord’ range. ‘Ebony’ won a Design Council Award in 1982 but proved not to be a commercial success. It was perhaps too stridently modern for the tableware market of the period.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Coffee Cup
  • Saucer
TitleEbony (series title)
Materials and techniques
Stoneware, terra-sigillata, glazed
Brief description
'Ebony' dinner plate, stoneware, terra-sigilatta, shape designed by Martin Hunt, decoration by Colin Rawson and Michael Walker, made by Hornsea Pottery Co. Ltd, Yorkshire, 1981.
Physical description
Coffee cup and saucer of stoneware with a two tone surface of either cream-coloured glazed or a coating of fine black clay slip known as terra sigillata.
Dimensions
  • Height: 60cm
  • Diameter: 13.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
'(LOGO) / HORNSEA / ENGLAND' (In cream on base)
Gallery label
‘Ebony’ 1981 Shape designed by Martin Hunt, decoration by Colin Rawson and Michael Walker Made by Hornsea Pottery Co. Ltd, Yorkshire Stoneware, coated with a fine clay slip (‘terra sigillata’) Both ‘Ebony’ and ‘Cinnamon’ used the shapes that Martin Hunt had designed around 1979 for Hornsea’s ‘Concord’ range. ‘Ebony’ won a Design Council Award in 1982 but proved not to be a commercial success. It was perhaps too stridently modern for the tableware market of the period. Museum nos. C.271 to C-1986. Given by John Clappison and the makers. Additional items lent by Queensberry Hunt(2012)
Credit line
Given by Queensberry Hunt
Object history
Exhibited in the Queensberry Hunt exhibition in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2012
Summary
Queensberry Hunt are the leading UK ceramic design practice of the post-war period. Formed in 1966 by david Queensberry, then Professor of Ceramics at the RCA, and his former student Martin hunt. the partnership have designed ceramics for major producers and retailers around the globe. these include Wedgwood, Hornsea, Rosenthal, Habitat, Crate and Barrel, John Lewis and Jamie Oliver. Their practice spans a period of immense change in the industry, brought about by the adoption of new technologies, and the shift in production towards East Asia. Working in an essentially modernist aesthetic, Queensberry Hunt have been responsible for some of the most familiar and best-selling tableware of recent decades.
Both ‘Ebony’ and ‘Cinnamon’ used the shapes that Martin Hunt had designed around 1979 for Hornsea’s ‘Concord’ range. ‘Ebony’ won a Design Council Award in 1982 but proved not to be a commercial success. It was perhaps too stridently modern for the tableware market of the period.
Collection
Accession number
C.36:1&2-2014

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Record createdApril 1, 2014
Record URL
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