A King George VI & Queen Elizabeth 1930s coronation mug designed by Dame Laura Knight and made by Burleigh Ware, to commemorate the king's coronation of May 1937. Decorated in Laura Knight's signature painterly circus style, the design includes a lion, unicorn and an elephant - with a mythical beast shaped handle. The underside is signed by Laura Knight and reads "designed and and modelled by Dame Laura Knight OBE R.A." 

History

Dame Laura Knight DBE RA RWS (1877 – 1970) was a celebrated English artist and designer. Knight was a painter in the figurative tradition, and was among the most successful and popular painters in Britain. Her success in the male-dominated British art establishment paved the way for greater status and recognition for women artists.

Created a dame in 1929, in 1936 she became the third woman elected to full membership of the Royal Academy. Knight was known for painting amidst the world of the theatre, ballet and circus, and for being a war artist during the Second World War and the Nuremberg war crimes trials. She was also greatly interested in, and inspired by, marginalised communities and individuals, including gypsies and circus performers. In 1934 Knight developed a series of circus designs for the Modern Art for the Table tableware range produced by Clarice Cliff, and in 1937 was commissioned to design the wonderfully lyrical and playful coronation mug we offer here.

Year of manufacture: c.1937

Origin: England

Material: Ceramic

Height 8cm  Diameter 8cm  Diameter inc handle 11cm

Condition: excellent