Not currently on display at the V&A

Cock

Tile
ca. 1860-1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This tile was formerly set within a fireplace in a house in Cambridge. It is one of a set of six decorated with birds. The designs are probably by the architect and designer Philip Webb, and are also found on stained glass in the Red House, which Webb designed for William Morris. The fireplace from which the tiles came also included tiles of another Morris & Co. design, 'Leaves and Berries'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCock (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed earthenware, painted overglaze
Brief description
Tile, 'Cock' design, attributed to Philip Webb, ca.1860-70
Physical description
Tile painted in blue on a tin glaze with a bird subject, enclosed within a line border. The designs are painted onto already glazed and fired tile blanks, produced in the Netherlands.
Dimensions
  • Approx. width: 15.2cm
Object history
Probably dating from the 1860s or early 1870s, these tiles (C.72 to 79-2005) were removed from the fireplace of a house in Cambridge during renovation in around 2003-4. The arrangement of the tiles within the fireplace is known (see RF 2005/468). The series of bird designs were probably designed by Philip Webb, and these are also known from stained glass from the Red House. A panel of glass of this design is in the V&A (C.63-1979; cat no. H5 in the 1996 V&A William Morris exhibition). Examples of the some of the tiles matching these designs are in the William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow (see Richard and Hilary Myers, William Morris Tiles, 1996, pp10-11), but this set of six represents the complete set, and as such are an important group. The remaining tiles from the fireplace (represented by C.78 & 79-2005) were of another early Morris & Co. design, Leaves and Berries (see pp14-15 of the same publication).
Subjects depicted
Summary
This tile was formerly set within a fireplace in a house in Cambridge. It is one of a set of six decorated with birds. The designs are probably by the architect and designer Philip Webb, and are also found on stained glass in the Red House, which Webb designed for William Morris. The fireplace from which the tiles came also included tiles of another Morris & Co. design, 'Leaves and Berries'.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Myers, Richard and Hilary, William Morris Tiles, Shepton Beauchamp, 1996, pp.10-11.
Collection
Accession number
C.72-2005

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Record createdJanuary 10, 2007
Record URL
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