Plaque representing Sarah Siddons
Plaque
| Artist/Maker |
This Prattware plaque features a bust of the great tragic actor Sarah Siddons (1755-1831), coped from a print by the artist and engraver Thomas Cook (1744-1819) engraved for The Universal Magazine on 1st January 1783. The plaque was made some time between about 1790 to 1810 when pearlware plaques such as these were produced as popular, cheap wall decoration. A plaster mould was made initially, into which clay was pressed and from which between one and two hundred plaques could be produced. Plaques were painted when dry and fired at very high temperatures so that several colours could be fixed at once, dispensing with the need for subsequent painting and firing. Prattware was first produced by the firm of William Pratt of Lane Delph, later Fenton, an area of Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire.
Sarah Siddons was the rage of London by 1783. She had returned to the London stage in October 1792 after six years performing outside London, when her performance at Drury Lane in the title role of Southerne's Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage had taken the town by storm.
Sarah Siddons was the rage of London by 1783. She had returned to the London stage in October 1792 after six years performing outside London, when her performance at Drury Lane in the title role of Southerne's Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage had taken the town by storm.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Plaque representing Sarah Siddons (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Plaque depicting Sarah Siddons, after the print by Thomas Cook published for The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure by S.A. Cumberledge, Paternoster Row, London, 1st January 1783 |
| Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996 |
| Object history | This object is part of an important personal collection of theatrical material assembled by the actor, Robert Eddison (1908-1991). The collection, which includes ceramics (S.932-1996 to S.1101-1996), architectual plans, architectual Drawing and watercolours, prints, Drawing, rare books and wax figures, was built up by Robert Eddison following World War II, with acquisitions from well-known London dealers and from country outlets visited while on tour. It was regarded as one of the finest collections of Georgian theatrical material in private hands, a high proportion of the material being rare or unique and of national importance. The collection was acquired by the Theatre Museum from the Executors of Robert Eddison as an Acceptance in lieu of Inheritance Tax. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This Prattware plaque features a bust of the great tragic actor Sarah Siddons (1755-1831), coped from a print by the artist and engraver Thomas Cook (1744-1819) engraved for The Universal Magazine on 1st January 1783. The plaque was made some time between about 1790 to 1810 when pearlware plaques such as these were produced as popular, cheap wall decoration. A plaster mould was made initially, into which clay was pressed and from which between one and two hundred plaques could be produced. Plaques were painted when dry and fired at very high temperatures so that several colours could be fixed at once, dispensing with the need for subsequent painting and firing. Prattware was first produced by the firm of William Pratt of Lane Delph, later Fenton, an area of Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire. Sarah Siddons was the rage of London by 1783. She had returned to the London stage in October 1792 after six years performing outside London, when her performance at Drury Lane in the title role of Southerne's Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage had taken the town by storm. |
| Associated objects |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1071-1996 |
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| Record created | October 20, 2009 |
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