Big White Jug

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On display at V&A South Kensington

Ceramics, Room 142, The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Gallery

Artist/Maker

Britton, Alison (maker)

Alison Britton's expressive surfaces relate to modern painting, but her work is also deeply informed by ceramic history. This jug is decorated in classical blue and white, and its twisted handle is inspired by traditional 'crabstock' handles. Jugs are normally functional objects, but here the unexpectedly inverted spout defies use, provoking us to question our assumptions about craft and function.

Object details

Category	Studio Ceramics
Object type	Jug
Title	Big White Jug (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques	Earthenware, handbuilt Earthenware
Brief description	Handbuilt earthenware jug with blue and white decoration, Alison Britton, 1987.
Physical description	Handbuilt jug with painted decoration in blue on a cream slip.
Dimensions	Maximum; with handle, measured from object width: 37.7cm Measured from object height: 36.2cm Maximum; measured from object depth: 28.6cm
Marks and inscriptions	'Alison Britton '87', incised
Object history	Acquisition details: CAA (solo exhibition, 1987) RF number: 87/1746
Summary	Alison Britton's expressive surfaces relate to modern painting, but her work is also deeply informed by ceramic history. This jug is decorated in classical blue and white, and its twisted handle is inspired by traditional 'crabstock' handles. Jugs are normally functional objects, but here the unexpectedly inverted spout defies use, provoking us to question our assumptions about craft and function.
Bibliographic references	Watson, Oliver. British Studio Pottery : the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, Oxford : Phaidon, Christie's, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990 Adamson, Glenn and Pavitt, Jane. Postmodernism: Style and Subversion, 1970- 1990 London: V&A publishing, 2011 pp, ill 85, 86, 87, 113,161,167 . ISBN 978 1 85177 6597
Collection	Ceramics Collection
Accession number	C.233-1987

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Record created	January 14, 2000
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O19169/big-white-jug-jug-britton-alison/

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