White Bowl

DesignerDesigned by Keith Murray (Auckland, New Zealand, 1892 - 1981)

Manufacturer Wedgwood (Stoke-on-Trent, England, founded 1759)

Date1932-34

Object NameBowl

Mediumearthenware

ClassificationsCeramics

Dimensions13 × 24cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1994.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS024212

Keywords

Decorative

About MeBorn in New Zealand, Murray qualified as an architect in London in 1921. Unable to find architectural employment, he turned his attention instead to the design of silver, ceramics and glass. He visited the 1925 Paris exhibition where he admired the sleek Swedish glass designs and by 1932 he was designing glass for Stevens and Williams of Brierley Hill. He was also employed on a freelance basis by Wedgwood, working for the company for three months each year. Enhanced by the matt glazes of Norman Wilson, Murray’s stark modernist style was very different from the usual traditional Wedgwood designs, although he made used of the company’s black basalt body for some shapes. Unusually for Wedgwood pieces, the designer’s name appears on the backstamp until 1940. Murray left the company in 1946 but his designs continued in production until 1950. Keith Murray and his partner, CS White, were also architects of the new Wedgwood factory.
More About Me

Collections Wall

Murray was born in New Zealand, but began operating as a designer of silver, ceramics, and glass in London, after failing to find work there as an architect.