'Ghostly wood' thumbnail 1
'Ghostly wood' thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 143, The Timothy Sainsbury Gallery

'Ghostly wood'

Jar and Cover
1916-1932 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Fairyland lustre jar and lid. Jar has bulbous body, with small neck and close fitting lid. The decoration is inspired by the illustrations of 'The Legend of Croquemitaine' by Gustave Doré, with woods, ghosts, fairies and goblins.

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read Wedgwood: An introduction Wedgwood is one of the most recognisable names in British ceramics. For over 260 years the company has set trends, producing fashionable, desirable ceramics for a broad range of consumers. The company's founder Josiah Wedgwood I (1730 – 95) has been celebrated as a pioneer in manufacture, ...

Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Pot
  • Cover
Title'Ghostly wood'
Materials and techniques
Bone china, printed in brown, with underglaze and lustre and gilt
Brief description
Jar and cover, Fairyland Lustre, 'Ghostly wood', des. Daisy Makeig-Jones, man. Wedgwood, 1916-1932
Physical description
Fairyland lustre jar and lid. Jar has bulbous body, with small neck and close fitting lid. The decoration is inspired by the illustrations of 'The Legend of Croquemitaine' by Gustave Doré, with woods, ghosts, fairies and goblins.
Dimensions
  • Height: 33.2cm
  • Diameter: 26.3cm
Historical context
Daisy Makeig-Jones's fascination with fairies, following such illustrators as Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and the Danish artist, Kay Nielsen, proved very popular in the 1920s. Wedgwood have always produced a huge range of styles to capture different market tastes. The cosy drawing room and nursery atmosphere of the decoration of these works, and the monumental forms, contrast sharply with the modernist works being produced at Wedgwood's in the same period.

Targeting the luxury end of the market with these pieces, they represent one of Wedgwood's most extraordinary technical achievements in the ceramic industry. The richly coloured ornament of Fairyland Lustre was extremely popular throughout the 1920s as expensive collector's pieces. But by the 1930s the appeal of lustre was waning and the collapse of the American market had a noticable effect on the demand for ornamental wares. Fairyland was gradually phased out in the 1930s as Keith Murray and Norman Wilson were taken up. Fairyland was considered too expensive and old-fashioned.
[Susan McCormack, 'British Design at Home', p.113]
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Engen, Rodney. The Age of Enchantment. Beardsley, Dulac and their Contemporaries 1890-1930, London : Scala Publishers Ltd., 2007 no.139
Collection
Accession number
C.70A-1988

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Record createdFebruary 8, 2000
Record URL
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