Wedgwood Art Deco Pottery

Art Deco Innovation (1930s)

Wedgwood’s contribution to Art Deco was marked by its willingness to engage with artists outside the traditional ceramic industry, bringing a fresh, architectural perspective to its production. This period saw the introduction of designs characterized by clean lines, simplicity of form, and a modernist restraint.

Key Art Deco Designers and Their Output:

• Keith Murray (1892–1981): A New Zealand-born architect and studio potter, Murray was the most influential designer hired by Wedgwood during this period. His designs epitomized the functionalist and austere side of Art Deco:

• Form and Style: Murray’s output consisted largely of simple, monumental, and architectural forms. His signature style was linear and often 'ribbed' or concentric, emphasizing the throwing marks and the vessel's verticality or symmetry.

• Color Palette: He primarily used a restricted, sophisticated color palette of matt glazes, including various shades of green, blue, and a distinctive pale cream color known as 'Moonstone'.

• Rarity: While most pieces were produced in earthenware, rare examples exist in black basalt, a material traditionally associated with Wedgwood's classical period. These rare pieces often display a characteristic red mark on the base.

• Eric Ravilious (1903–1942): A celebrated English painter, designer, and wood engraver, Ravilious contributed designs for tableware and decorative pieces that featured whimsical, delicate, and often narrative patterns, bridging the gap between decorative arts and fine art within the Art Deco context.

• John Skeaping (1901–1980): A noted sculptor, Skeaping brought his expertise in form to the figurative range. He designed highly stylized and simplified geometric animal figures, such as deer, polar bears, and gazelles. These pieces abandoned realistic detail in favor of streamlined, abstract forms that suited the Art Deco taste for capturing the essence of the subject with minimal fuss.

The Lustre Tradition (Daisy Makeig-Jones)

While distinct from the austerity of the Keith Murray-led designs, the Fairyland Lustre range by Daisy Makeig-Jones (1881–1945) represents an earlier, more opulent, and fantastical stream within the broader Art Deco period (beginning primarily in the late 1910s and extending through the 1920s).

• Aesthetic: The Fairyland Lustre pieces contrast sharply with the modernist output. They are highly decorative, displaying intricate and colourful mythical and magical scenes in rich oriental and Persian styles.

• Collectability: Patterns such as Dana and Candlemas are extremely collectible. The range showcases Wedgwood's unparalleled ability to execute complex, demanding decoration on high-quality porcelain, appealing to the period's taste for the exotic and the luxurious.