Button Mould
ca. 1941-1947 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The renowned studio potter, Lucie Rie (1902-95), emigrated from Austria to England before the Second World War. As a member of Vienna's Jewish community, she fled the advance of Nazism in 1938. Arriving in London, she established a pottery studio on the ground floor of her home,18 Albion Mews, Paddington. After her death in 1995, the contents of her studio were preserved and moved to the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent. A selection of items from one corner of Rie's studio were redisplayed in gallery 143 of the V&A in 2009 as part of the redevelopment of the ceramics galleries. The exact positioning of these items was replicated as far as possible from old photographs in order to evoke Rie's working conditions and show some of the equipment and materials she used to produce her pots and buttons.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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Materials and techniques | Plaster |
Brief description | Button mould, upper part and base, plaster, made by Lucie Rie, London, ca. 1941-1947. |
Physical description | Plaster button mould in two pieces. Button C.105D-1982 is an example of a button that came from this mould. |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Transferred from the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent |
Object history | From the studio of the potter Lucie Rie (1902-95), formerly at her home, 18 Albion Mews, Paddington, London between 1938 and 1995. Following her death, her studio contents were preserved by her executors, and title was transferred by her beneficiaries, Mr Max and Mrs Yvonne Mayer, to the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent. A number of items were transferred from the Potteries Museum to this Museum for long term display in gallery 143 during redevelopment of the ceramics galleries in 2009. |
Historical context | In late 1939, soon after Lucie Rie had settled in England, an emigre friend, Fritz Lampl (1892-1955), suggested that she should help him in his workshop, pressing glass buttons for women's clothes. Lampl, a poet, had founded the Bimini company in Vienna to produce stylish lampworked glass figures. Bimini had also been an outlet for Rie's pots. Lampl's Soho button-making business, Orplid, was destroyed by a bomb in 1941 but he set up a new workshop in Sussex Gardens. Lampl's partner, a Mr. Schenkel, encouraged Rie to combine button-making with ceramics and produce ceramic buttons for haute couture. Another young Austrian, Rudi Neufeldt, made moulds and pressings for Rie's approval. Soon after work began, the Government closed Rie's 'button factory' as being a non-essential business for wartime. Rie re-opened her studio in 1945 and in 1946 Hans Coper joined her to make buttons as well as pots. Rie also produced earrings and necklaces. |
Production | Present in the studio of Lucie Rie at the time of her death in 1995. |
Summary | The renowned studio potter, Lucie Rie (1902-95), emigrated from Austria to England before the Second World War. As a member of Vienna's Jewish community, she fled the advance of Nazism in 1938. Arriving in London, she established a pottery studio on the ground floor of her home,18 Albion Mews, Paddington. After her death in 1995, the contents of her studio were preserved and moved to the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent. A selection of items from one corner of Rie's studio were redisplayed in gallery 143 of the V&A in 2009 as part of the redevelopment of the ceramics galleries. The exact positioning of these items was replicated as far as possible from old photographs in order to evoke Rie's working conditions and show some of the equipment and materials she used to produce her pots and buttons. |
Associated object | |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | C.125:1, 2-2009 |
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Record created | November 11, 2009 |
Record URL |
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