Emily Sutton – In the Country – Yorkshire Sculpture Park Ceramic Plate – Big Tomato Company – 2014

Description

A highly decorative ceramic plate designed by Emily Sutton for Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), entitled In the Country and produced by the Big Tomato Company, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

The plate was created in connection with Sutton’s major 2014–15 solo exhibition Town and Country at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the largest solo exhibition of her work to that date. YSP records that the exhibition ran from 15 November 2014 to 22 February 2015 and was accompanied by exclusive merchandise designed by Sutton, including a range of plates and mugs.

The central illustration presents an unmistakably Sutton-esque rural scene: a man and woman walking through the countryside with two dogs, surrounded by trees, foliage and a distant house. Beneath the scene appears the title:

IN THE COUNTRY

The image is transfer-printed in a restrained but lively palette of green, yellow, red, black and grey, set against the warm cream body of the plate.

Around the broad rim is a particularly effective monochrome border of repeated scrolling forms, each enclosing a small stylised botanical motif. A narrow outer border of black and yellow dots completes the design.

Emily Sutton and Town and Country

Yorkshire-born illustrator and artist Emily Sutton is known for finely observed drawing, pattern and an affection for historic objects, vernacular design, natural history and the landscape around her.

Her Town and Country exhibition at YSP brought together original paintings, screenprints and textile work inspired by locations ranging from Yorkshire to France. YSP notes that Sutton’s frequent visits to the Park contributed directly to a new body of work for the exhibition.

Contemporary publicity for the exhibition specifically records that Sutton designed exclusive merchandise including plates and mugs, firmly placing the present plate within that exhibition-related body of work.

That connection makes this more interesting than a general piece of modern decorative tableware: it is an artist-designed object produced specifically for one of Sutton’s significant institutional exhibitions.

Backstamp

The reverse carries the printed factory and design mark:

DESIGNED BY
Emily Sutton
For Y.S.P.
BIG TOMATO COMPANY
Stoke-on-Trent
ENGLAND

The backstamp provides direct physical evidence for the designer, commissioning institution and English manufacturer.

Manufacture

The plate was made by the Big Tomato Company of Stoke-on-Trent, placing its manufacture within the long-established Staffordshire ceramic tradition. The decoration is transfer-printed onto the glazed ceramic body, allowing Sutton’s detailed drawing and repeat-pattern border to be reproduced with considerable clarity.

Size: 21.2cm diameter.

Condition

Excellent condition overall.

The glaze remains bright and glossy and the printed decoration retains strong colour and definition. There are no chips or cracks.

Please study the photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the description.

Details

Designer: Emily Sutton
Title: In the Country
Commissioned for: Yorkshire Sculpture Park / YSP
Exhibition association: Emily Sutton: Town and Country
Date: c.2014
Manufacturer: Big Tomato Company
Place of manufacture: Stoke-on-Trent, England
Material: Glazed ceramic
Decoration: Transfer-printed polychrome design
Subject: Country walking scene with figures and dogs
Backstamp: “Designed by Emily Sutton for Y.S.P. / Big Tomato Company / Stoke-on-Trent / England”

Authenticity

This is an original Emily Sutton-designed YSP ceramic plate, identified by its factory backstamp and its direct association with Sutton’s Town and Country exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

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