Commemorative Gilbert & Sullivan opera mug
Mug
1964 (made)
1964 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas have been immensely popular since their original production by Richard D'Oyly Carte in the 19th century. This commemorative tankard or mug illustrates characters from the operas Trial By Jury, The Sorcerer, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, Princess Ida, The Mikado, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Gondoliers and Utopia Limited. Only The Grand Duke is omitted, their final collaboration in 1896, to which Gilbert himself referred as 'an ugly misshapen little brat'.
The tankard or mug was made by the Staffordshire firm of Wedgwood, the pottery firm originally founded by Josiah Wedgwood in Burslem in 1759. Its design was sponsored by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company that was still based at London's Savoy Theatre when the tankard was made in 1964. It includes images of Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) and W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) reproduced from the drawings of them by 'Ape' (Carlo Pellegrini) and 'Spy' Leslie Ward, published in 1874 and 1881 respectively in the magazine Vanity Fair. It also includes the name of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the musical agent, musician and theatrical impresario who conceived the original collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan and steered their partnership and the D'Oyly Carte Company until his death in 1901.
The tankard or mug was made by the Staffordshire firm of Wedgwood, the pottery firm originally founded by Josiah Wedgwood in Burslem in 1759. Its design was sponsored by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company that was still based at London's Savoy Theatre when the tankard was made in 1964. It includes images of Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) and W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) reproduced from the drawings of them by 'Ape' (Carlo Pellegrini) and 'Spy' Leslie Ward, published in 1874 and 1881 respectively in the magazine Vanity Fair. It also includes the name of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the musical agent, musician and theatrical impresario who conceived the original collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan and steered their partnership and the D'Oyly Carte Company until his death in 1901.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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| Title | Commemorative Gilbert & Sullivan opera mug (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | glazed china and folded cardboard |
| Brief description | Commemorative Gilbert & Sullivan tankard mug and original presentation box. Glazed china, Wedgwood, 1964. |
| Physical description | S.1092:1-2021 Glazed china tankard mug decorated in black, pink and yellow with underglaze transfer image of scenes from Gilbert & Sullivan operas and images of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan reproduced from the Vanity Fair image of Sullivan by Ape (Carlo Pellegrini) published in 1874, and Gilbert by Leslie Ward published in 1881, and the name of Richard D'Oyly Carte. The base is printed with the first night dates of all the operas, the words: 'Gilbert & Sullivan Operas', the trade mark: 'Wedgwood Etruria and Barlaston', and an image based on Princess Ida S.1092:2-2021 White cardboard presentation box base for the Wedgwood Gilbert & Sullivan tankard mug presentation box S.1092:3-2021 Purple cardboard presentation box lid for the Wedgwood Gilbert & Sullivan tankard mug presentation box S.1092:4-2021 Cardboard presentation box insert, cut to hold the Wedgwood Gilbert & Sullivan tankard mug in its presentation box |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Peter Parker |
| Object history | This mug would have been acquired by Peter Parker, who bequeathed to the museum, for his Gilbert and Sullivan collection that augmented the collection he inherited from his father Stanley Parker who was employed by the Savoy Hotel as a junior clerk in May 1909, straight from school. From that job, on the death of Helen D'Oyly Carte in 1913, he was chosen by Rupert D'Oyly Carte to understudy Mr George A. Richardson who managed the theatre from November 1911 to February 1915. In 1913 Stanley Parker became Rupert D'Oyly Carte's private scretary, and later Bridget D'Oyly Carte's private secretary, also secretary of both the Savoy Theatre Ltd., and the Opera Company. He worked for the company until his death in 1960. Peter Parker, who died in 2018, continued his father's lifelong interest in the D'Oyly Carte family and the D'Oyly Carte and became president of the London Gilbert & Sullivan Society and a committee member of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Sussex. |
| Summary | Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas have been immensely popular since their original production by Richard D'Oyly Carte in the 19th century. This commemorative tankard or mug illustrates characters from the operas Trial By Jury, The Sorcerer, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, Princess Ida, The Mikado, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Gondoliers and Utopia Limited. Only The Grand Duke is omitted, their final collaboration in 1896, to which Gilbert himself referred as 'an ugly misshapen little brat'. The tankard or mug was made by the Staffordshire firm of Wedgwood, the pottery firm originally founded by Josiah Wedgwood in Burslem in 1759. Its design was sponsored by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company that was still based at London's Savoy Theatre when the tankard was made in 1964. It includes images of Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) and W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) reproduced from the drawings of them by 'Ape' (Carlo Pellegrini) and 'Spy' Leslie Ward, published in 1874 and 1881 respectively in the magazine Vanity Fair. It also includes the name of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the musical agent, musician and theatrical impresario who conceived the original collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan and steered their partnership and the D'Oyly Carte Company until his death in 1901. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1092:1 to 4-2021 |
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| Record created | September 15, 2020 |
| Record URL |
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