Pictures in Pottery

One of the most popular artworks at WMODA is Sympathy by the Minton pottery, which depicts a little girl being comforted by her dog as she takes some time out on the naughty step. The pottery plaque hangs in the Art Pottery gallery in a striking aesthetic style ebonized and

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Proud as a Peacock

This gorgeous porcelain peacock by Nymphenburg is one of the latest acquisitions at WMODA. In the late 19th century, the peacock became an icon of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized the importance of art above everything else in daily life. “Art for art’s sake” was the credo of the aesthetes

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Wiener Museum Him Von Seewitz

A Passion for Porcelain

The incredible Farin collection of European porcelain is now at WMODA and highlights will be going on display over the next few months. During our research, we were fascinated by the number of Rosenthal figures inspired by German avant-garde dancers in the early 20th century. The decadent cabaret life in Weimer

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Wiener Museum Mistress Ford

A Golden Opportunity

Mistress Ford plaque The WMODA archive features original artwork and other fascinating source material for research into ceramic art so let us know if you can help us build our reference library. A watercolor design for this striking Wedgwood Shakespearean wall plaque is a recent discovery. Two watercolor designs, depicting

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Man or Mouse?

When mice invaded Doulton’s Lambeth studio, sculptor George Tinworth didn’t trap them as normal. Instead he watched their antics and visualized them in human situations. As light relief from his monumental religious sculptures, he modeled little salt-glazed stoneware “humoresques” as he called them, which served as paperweights and menu holders.

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A Spellbinding Character

In Museum Month, it is interesting to reflect how the remarkable Wiener museum came about. Back in 1965, Arthur Wiener was a young college graduate and he traveled to London armed with Frommer’s seminal Europe on $5 a day. He blew his daily budget on a Royal Doulton character jug of

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Flappers, Vamps & Divas

During Michael Doulton’s visit to WMODA on March 31st, Louise Irvine gave a presentation on Flappers, Vamps & Divas celebrating all the beautiful women of the Jazz Age who were portrayed by Royal Doulton, Goldsheider, Lenci and other leading porcelain factories. The talk was so well received that Louise will

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Clarice Cliff at work

Women at WMODA

The British ceramics industry has been a major employer of women for centuries. Initially they worked as menial assistants to men but gradually some were recognized as artists and designers. Two of the most famous design divas of the Art Deco era were celebrated in the recent WMODA lecture on

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Wedgwood at WMODA April 2017

WMODA was featured in the Proceedings of the 62nd Annual Wedgwood International Seminar following Louise Irvine’s lecture to the society and their visit to the museum during their Miami Beach conference. One of the museum’s prized Fairyland Lustre pieces stars on the front cover of this annual publication.

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Wearable Wedgwood

In the late 1950s, Wedgwood made some shoe heels for the H & M Rayne shoe company, suppliers of footwear to HM Queen Elizabeth. They made Her Majesty’s wedding shoes in 1947 and a decade later Edward Rayne came up with the idea of Jasperware high heels. Wedgwood’s in-house magazine

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