Not currently on display at the V&A

Hot Water Jug

1960 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This tea service includes a hot water jug, teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl. The clean curving lines of the design and lack of decoration you see are features of the Modernist style. Another interesting detail is the open curving shape of the handles.

Eric Clements died on the 22 November 2019, aged 94.

The designer, Eric Clements (b.1925), executed a number of ceremonial commissions throughout a distinguished career as an industrial designer and teacher. He was a consultant designer for Mappin & Webb Ltd, the firm which made this piece. The electroplate process used for this piece involves covering a base-metal form with a thin layer of silver by electro-deposition.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Hot Water Jug
  • Cover
Materials and techniques
Electroplate
Brief description
Hot water jug with lid, electroplate, wooden handle, Sheffield, Mappin & Webb, 1960, designed by Eric Clements
Physical description
The tall, bulbous body resting on a circular base has a high waist, the top flared with an undulating rim, rising to meet the small curved spout at the font. The scroll handle of ebonised wood, swells in the middle and reduces towards the top which curves inwards. It is attached to the body by a flared socket at the belly of the vessel. The domed lid, detachable, rests inside the rim on an internal lip, has a moulded rim,a deep flange and is surmounted by a spherical, fluted finial of ebonised wood, attached by a screw thread through the top and retained by a circular nut.
Dimensions
  • Height: 8.3cm
  • Length: 15.2cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Marks, stamped, Mappin and Webb, London and Sheffield. Mappin plate, the letter U within a shield. W29945, regd. 898140 (1/2/3) Facsmile signature of Eric Clements
Gallery label
TEA SERVICE comprising of hotwater jug, teapot, cream jug and sugar basin Electroplate with ebonised wood details England, Sheffield, 1960 Marks: stamped Mappin & Webb, London and Sheffield. Mappin plate, the letter U within a shield. W29945, regd. 898140(1/2/3) Designed by Eric Clements (facsmile signature)
Object history
From a tea service. Measurements of individual pieces: hotwater jug: H 8.3 L 15.2; teapot: H 14.3 L 22.5; cream jug: H 8.8 L 11.0; sugar basin: H 8.8 L 13.2.
Eric Clements studied at the Birmingham School of Art before graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1953. Throughout his career, he has undertaken many important commissions for ceremonial silver. He was a consultant designer for Mappin & Webb as well as several Midlands light engineering firms. He was Head of the Industrial Design Department at the Birmingham School of Art and he ended his career as Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design at Wolverhampton.
Summary
This tea service includes a hot water jug, teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl. The clean curving lines of the design and lack of decoration you see are features of the Modernist style. Another interesting detail is the open curving shape of the handles.

Eric Clements died on the 22 November 2019, aged 94.

The designer, Eric Clements (b.1925), executed a number of ceremonial commissions throughout a distinguished career as an industrial designer and teacher. He was a consultant designer for Mappin & Webb Ltd, the firm which made this piece. The electroplate process used for this piece involves covering a base-metal form with a thin layer of silver by electro-deposition.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Graham Hughes, Modern Silver Throughout the World 1880-1967. London, Studio Vista 1967, p.226 and plates 373-7, 379. ISBN: 0289370191
  • martin Ellis ed, Eric Clements; Silver & Design 1950-2000, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 2001. pp.66-67. ill. ISBN: 0 7093 0239 8
Collection
Accession number
M.18-1988

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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