George VI Coronation loving mug - 1936
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George VI Coronation loving mug
© Wedgwood Museum
In 1936 Laura was commissioned by Wedgwood to design a bone china loving mug to celebrate the Coronation of Edward VIII in 1937. Much of this mug’s tongue-in-cheek design appears to have been based on Knight’s artistic impressions of the circus. With the abdication of Edward VIII the design was hurriedly adapted for the coronation of George VI.
Painter and etcher Laura Knight was noted for scenes from the ballet, circus and music hall. In 1936 the Etruria factory commissioned her to design a loving mug in bone china, to celebrate the anticipated Coronation of Edward VIII that was due to take place the following year. Knight designed an ornate two-handled mug, in the fine bone china body, which had a lid surmounted by a lion and crown. Eric Ravilious - another renowned artist and designer - at the time described the piece as - ‘bloody beyond description.’! A double portrait in silhouette of George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, is flanked not by the traditional armorial beasts - the lion and unicorn, but by a horse and elephant - no doubt inspired by Knight’s scenes from the circus. The coat-of-arms on the reverse is more traditional. A pair of snarling lions, richly gilt, form extravagant and highly impractical handles.
- Type of object: Ornamental ware/mug
- Mark: Portland vase WEDGWOOD MADE IN ENGLAND G VI R DESIGNED AND MODELLED BY LAURA KNIGHT (Printed in blue)
- Year first produced: 1936
- Body: Bone china
- Glaze: Clear glaze
- Material: Ceramic
- Decoration: Gilded, hand-painted
- Accession number: 4943
- Dimensions: 228 mm (height), 238 mm (width), 137 mm (diameter)
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Related people
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Laura Knight
Designer
Laura Knight - Designer
Renowned 20th-century artist best known for circus and ballet paintings. Knight was awarded a damehood in 1929 for services to art and in 1936 she became the first female member of the Royal Academy. During the Second World War Knight acted as an official war artist.
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HM King George VI
HM King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was the last Emperor of India (until 1947), the last King of Ireland (until 1949), and the first Head of the Commonwealth.
