'Cat' mug with the 'Kiln Craft' trade name, earthenware with printed decoration, designed by Farhana Khan, made by Staffordshire Potteries Ltd. (Kilncraft range), England, 1982.

White earthenware mug with printed decoration of a cat walking along a balustrade. Printed in blues, yellow and green.

Given by the designer

The designs for these mugs are sent as art work to Staffordshire Potteries who then covert them for application to their mugs by a from of silk screening.

The image of the cat walking along a balustrade evokes a contemporary image of a comfortable home.

Mugs have continued to gain popularity for use in the home and designers have been concerned to make the mug more attractive and acceptable to middle class tastes. Due to their straight-sided cylindrical shape, mugs are a convenient format for design and decoration in many styles. In the 1980s they have become like generic conveyors of style messages and are marketed in the same way T-shirts and greeting cards - the decoration on these examples would be successful on any of these media.

C.335-1983