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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 143, The Timothy Sainsbury Gallery

Figure

1903 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

If Martin-ware [… has] not the transparency of porcelain nor the elaborately and costly ornamentation of Sèvres [it is] pure and honest art work.

This is how the art critic Cosmo Monkhouse described the output of the Martin Brothers' studio in The Magazine of Art in 1882. Eccentric founder Robert Wallace Martin and his siblings Charles, Walter and Edwin epitomized the energy and experimentation of the nineteenth-century art pottery movement. They regarded pottery as a means of artistic expression, rather than a product of industrial manufacture, and were particularly inspired by the naturalistic and rustic flora and fauna forms of the sixteenth-century potter Bernard Palissy.
This jar is typical of the Martin Brothers' grotesque and eccentric stonewares and demonstrates a unique blend of fantasy and imagination. The function of these anthropomorphic lidded wares, which were produced in many different shapes and sizes, is unclear. They have been called 'tobacco jars', since Monkhouse used this term, but they are not airtight and the interiors are not finished to a standard fit for storage, suggesting an essentially ornamental and aesthetic purpose.
The Martin Brothers drew upon an eclectic range of sources for their work and it is possible that these jars were inspired by traditional English owl-shaped pottery jugs. Martin-ware birds are not of any known species, and in many examples the lidded heads are made to swivel on the body, further enhancing their irregular form, which evades both meaning and classification.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Jar
  • Cover
Materials and techniques
stoneware, wood (plinth)
Brief description
Jar with cover in the form of a bird, R.W. Martin & Bros., Southall, Middlesex, 1903
Physical description
Jar and lid in the form of a bird, with a large head - tapering towards the feet. Stoneware on a wooden stand.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.5cm
  • Width: 9cm
  • Depth: 9cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Martin Bros London & Southall 11-1903' (incised to base)
Gallery label
Tobacco jar 'Martin Ware' made by the Martin Bros., Southall, Middlesex, England, 1903 Mark: 'Martin Bros London & Southall 11-1903', incised Salt-glazed stoneware with coloured glaze Circ.442&A-1919 The 2nd Lieutenant Francis Bedford Marsh (1914-1918) War Memorial Gift(23/05/2008)
Credit line
The 2nd Lieutenant Francis Bedford Marsh (1914-1918) War Memorial Gift
Object history
Known as 'Wally birds' these grotesque bird-jars loosely inspired by gothic fantasy and Japanese art were very popular.

Exhibited at 'British Design at Home' in Japan.
Subject depicted
Summary
If Martin-ware [… has] not the transparency of porcelain nor the elaborately and costly ornamentation of Sèvres [it is] pure and honest art work.

This is how the art critic Cosmo Monkhouse described the output of the Martin Brothers' studio in The Magazine of Art in 1882. Eccentric founder Robert Wallace Martin and his siblings Charles, Walter and Edwin epitomized the energy and experimentation of the nineteenth-century art pottery movement. They regarded pottery as a means of artistic expression, rather than a product of industrial manufacture, and were particularly inspired by the naturalistic and rustic flora and fauna forms of the sixteenth-century potter Bernard Palissy.
This jar is typical of the Martin Brothers' grotesque and eccentric stonewares and demonstrates a unique blend of fantasy and imagination. The function of these anthropomorphic lidded wares, which were produced in many different shapes and sizes, is unclear. They have been called 'tobacco jars', since Monkhouse used this term, but they are not airtight and the interiors are not finished to a standard fit for storage, suggesting an essentially ornamental and aesthetic purpose.
The Martin Brothers drew upon an eclectic range of sources for their work and it is possible that these jars were inspired by traditional English owl-shaped pottery jugs. Martin-ware birds are not of any known species, and in many examples the lidded heads are made to swivel on the body, further enhancing their irregular form, which evades both meaning and classification.
Bibliographic reference
See Object Information file in Ceramics and Glass Section offices.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.442A-1919

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Record createdMarch 8, 2000
Record URL
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