figure of a cat
Summary
Hollow press-moulded figure of a cat, seated on rounded rectangular base, with its head turned to the left. White and brown marbled agate stoneware laid in strips to give irregular brown and white chequered pattern, with plain white face. Eyes picked out with two spots of dark brown slip, left side of body and ears with randomly scattered daubs of underglaze cobalt blue.
Display Label
Shape Shapes are often defined by their function: a teapot must have a handle and a spout. But by breaking away from the usual conventions designers and makers can reveal new possibilities, create new forms and make us think again. They can transform the teapot into a pineapple, or a simple, curvaceous, abstract shape. Through time, makers have used their imagination, their ingenuity and even their sense of humour to transform ordinary and everyday objects into appealing shapes inspired by our surroundings. Some shapes are designed to reflect their use, others are made as a novelty or decorative item: cows for a cream jug, giraffes for a mantelpiece. Many are created out of a desire to experiment, to see what can be done with different materials. This display brings together a menagerie of shapes showing the possibilities available to the maker.
Object Name
figure of a cat
Date Created
1740-1760
accession number
1923.572
Collection Group
Place of creation
Staffordshire
Medium
Credit
Bequeathed by Thomas Tylston Greg
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