Ribbed Cream Vase

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

ManufacturerManufactured by Wedgwood (Stoke-on-Trent, England, founded 1759)

Date1940-1950

Object NameVase

Mediumearthenware

ClassificationsCeramics

Dimensions15.7 x 8

AcquisitionRobinson-Young Collection, purchased in 1998 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions and with income from the John Black Trust and the Hamilton Bequest.

LocationOn Display - Gallery 12

Object numberABDMS030584

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

What does the appearance of this vase remind you of? Perhaps the favourite snack of a cute black and white bear?

Exhibitions

Gallery 12 - Art Deco