DAISY MAKEIG-JONES (1881 - 1945) FOR WEDGWOOD 'Blowing Bubbl...
Hammer
€8,500
DAISY MAKEIG-JONES (1881 - 1945) FOR WEDGWOOD 'Blowing Bubbles' Fairyland lustre plaque
Glazed Earthenware, 40.2 x 29cm Framed
Reverse with painted pattern number F3083; and underneath number '4'.
Literature: Una des Fontaines, 'Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre', New York, 1975, pg.186 , plate 41 (ills)
In Fairyland dwell all ancient gods.. heroes and heroines of old mythology, for anything in which man has once believed receives a fairy form, and exists for ever in Fairyland where all things are possible[1]
Born Susannah Margaretta Makeig-Jones, but known from childhood as 'Daisy', she grew up at Wath-Upon-Dearne in Yorkshire. Daisy was the eldest of seven children and brought up in a typical middle-class late Victorian home where education was highly valued and each of the children were tutored by a governess. Daisy later attended a private boarding school near Rugby and her interest and early talent for art was immediately evident. She completed her studies at Torquay School of Art and spent a short period at London School of Art.
Her parents were very encouraging of her artistic talents and keen for her to realise her abilities through further training. She was encouraged by a relative to pursue ceramic art and offered an introduction to the Wedgwood family. She was employed at the Wedgwood pottery company from 1909 – 1931, beginning as painter, working in the factory learning all aspects of the manufacturing process. Her training under art director John Goodwin and chief designer James Hodgkiss proved to be seminal and by 1914 she had become an official designer for the company. During her two decades at Wedgwood she produced some of the most visually striking and technically ingenuous decorative china.
Her Fairyland Lusterware was the product of her vivid imagination and fascination with tradition of myths and fairy tales. Her first patterns were introduced in 1915 using the factory's new liquid lustres, comprising complex preparations of metallic compounds, resins, and oils that could be painted on-glaze. Achieving the gleaming glaze effects took up to six firings and they undoubtedly take on the quality of magic. The iridescent glazes are a wonder to behold, with a myriad of colour tones and gilt highlights all held in place by potter's hand.
The publication of Some Glimpses of Fairyland in 1921 gave insights into Daisy's skill as a designer and storyteller. Across her sixty or so designs for the series she employs imagery of elves, imps and fairies within increasingly complex architectural and woodland settings drawing on Celtic, Art Deco and Japanese artistic traditions.
The Bubbles pattern combines two fairy stories, as Una Des Fontaines explains[2], which draw faithfully from Japanese mythology. In it she uses both Kwannon who was the Deity of Mercy, a guiding spirit in the Buddhist faith and Benten, a female goddess of fortune. From Kwannon came the iconography of bubbles containing small children and Benten who saved terrified villagers from a ferocious dragon. In the present lot we can see the brightly coloured dragon, flying down and across the composition, its head resting in the bottom left corner. Beside him are newly born fairy children, who having emerged from their bubbles have now received their wings.
The series pattern number first appeared in 1920 and initially included vases. The plaques numbered F3083 and F3084 were not produced until summer 1926. Differences in the designs can be seen in the varying background colors use for the sky, including daylight mother of pearl, black simulating night-time, flame symbolizing sunset, and blue for moonlight. Another example of the Bubbles pattern plaque (fig.1) is on long term loan with the V& A Wedgwood Collection in Barlaston which is illustrated in Des Fontaines 1975 book on Fairyland lustre.
The initial production caught the imagination of the public in the 1920s, drawn to the bold and eccentric designs but as the decade progressed and the economic downturn took hold, tastes became more constrained and luxury spending declined. Three years after 1929 Wall Street Crash changed the economic landscape of the Western world, Daisy retired from Wedgwood. Her lustre wares, in particular the Fairyland pattern, have found a new audience and generation of collectors, who once again appreciate her unique vision, whimsical sense of humour and fascinating creations.
[1] Daisy Makeig-Jones, Some Glimpses of Fairyland, Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd, 1921 [2] Una Des Fontaines, Wedgwood fairyland lustre: The work of Daisy Makeig-Jones, London, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1975, p.185
More Information
In good overall condition
Fully examined out of the frame
Some light surface wear to the plaque
Small wear to the gilt edges of the plaque, see images
Minor knocks and scratches to the frame
See additional images for further details
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Hammer
€8,500
DAISY MAKEIG-JONES (1881 - 1945) FOR WEDGWOOD 'Blowing Bubbles' Fairyland lustre plaque
Glazed Earthenware, 40.2 x 29cm Framed
Reverse with painted pattern number F3083; and underneath number '4'.
Literature: Una des Fontaines, 'Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre', New York, 1975, pg.186 , plate 41 (ills)
In Fairyland dwell all ancient gods.. heroes and heroines of old mythology, for anything in which man has once believed receives a fairy form, and exists for ever in Fairyland where all things are possible[1]
Born Susannah Margaretta Makeig-Jones, but known from childhood as 'Daisy', she grew up at Wath-Upon-Dearne in Yorkshire. Daisy was the eldest of seven children and brought up in a typical middle-class late Victorian home where education was highly valued and each of the children were tutored by a governess. Daisy later attended a private boarding school near Rugby and her interest and early talent for art was immediately evident. She completed her studies at Torquay School of Art and spent a short period at London School of Art.
Her parents were very encouraging of her artistic talents and keen for her to realise her abilities through further training. She was encouraged by a relative to pursue ceramic art and offered an introduction to the Wedgwood family. She was employed at the Wedgwood pottery company from 1909 – 1931, beginning as painter, working in the factory learning all aspects of the manufacturing process. Her training under art director John Goodwin and chief designer James Hodgkiss proved to be seminal and by 1914 she had become an official designer for the company. During her two decades at Wedgwood she produced some of the most visually striking and technically ingenuous decorative china.
Her Fairyland Lusterware was the product of her vivid imagination and fascination with tradition of myths and fairy tales. Her first patterns were introduced in 1915 using the factory's new liquid lustres, comprising complex preparations of metallic compounds, resins, and oils that could be painted on-glaze. Achieving the gleaming glaze effects took up to six firings and they undoubtedly take on the quality of magic. The iridescent glazes are a wonder to behold, with a myriad of colour tones and gilt highlights all held in place by potter's hand.
The publication of Some Glimpses of Fairyland in 1921 gave insights into Daisy's skill as a designer and storyteller. Across her sixty or so designs for the series she employs imagery of elves, imps and fairies within increasingly complex architectural and woodland settings drawing on Celtic, Art Deco and Japanese artistic traditions.
The Bubbles pattern combines two fairy stories, as Una Des Fontaines explains[2], which draw faithfully from Japanese mythology. In it she uses both Kwannon who was the Deity of Mercy, a guiding spirit in the Buddhist faith and Benten, a female goddess of fortune. From Kwannon came the iconography of bubbles containing small children and Benten who saved terrified villagers from a ferocious dragon. In the present lot we can see the brightly coloured dragon, flying down and across the composition, its head resting in the bottom left corner. Beside him are newly born fairy children, who having emerged from their bubbles have now received their wings.
The series pattern number first appeared in 1920 and initially included vases. The plaques numbered F3083 and F3084 were not produced until summer 1926. Differences in the designs can be seen in the varying background colors use for the sky, including daylight mother of pearl, black simulating night-time, flame symbolizing sunset, and blue for moonlight. Another example of the Bubbles pattern plaque (fig.1) is on long term loan with the V& A Wedgwood Collection in Barlaston which is illustrated in Des Fontaines 1975 book on Fairyland lustre.
The initial production caught the imagination of the public in the 1920s, drawn to the bold and eccentric designs but as the decade progressed and the economic downturn took hold, tastes became more constrained and luxury spending declined. Three years after 1929 Wall Street Crash changed the economic landscape of the Western world, Daisy retired from Wedgwood. Her lustre wares, in particular the Fairyland pattern, have found a new audience and generation of collectors, who once again appreciate her unique vision, whimsical sense of humour and fascinating creations.
[1] Daisy Makeig-Jones, Some Glimpses of Fairyland, Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd, 1921 [2] Una Des Fontaines, Wedgwood fairyland lustre: The work of Daisy Makeig-Jones, London, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1975, p.185
More Information
In good overall condition
Fully examined out of the frame
Some light surface wear to the plaque
Small wear to the gilt edges of the plaque, see images
Minor knocks and scratches to the frame
See additional images for further details
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
