Portmeirion "Sporting Scenes" Jumbo Size Cup & Saucer

Portmeirion "Sporting Scenes" Jumbo Size Cup & Saucer
Stoneware pottery with transfer printed design
Black glazed saucer
Printed mark beneath cup
Stoke-On-Trent, England
Circa Mid-1960's

Measurements: Cup 3.5" inches (9 cm) tall x 4.75"(12 cm) diam
Saucer 7.75" (20 cm) diam

The "Sporting Scenes" range was in production with Portmeirion Pottery from 1963 until the early 1970's. The pieces were designed by Susan Williams-Ellis (1918–2007) and included reproductions of woodcut images by Thomas Bewick (1753–1828).

Both Gray’s and Kirkham’s (the potteries which were taken over and combined to form Susan Williams-Ellis' "Portmeirion Pottery") had used Bewick images on their own wares in the 1950s. Susan Williams-Ellis also admired the traditional Bewick woodcut prints but gave them a contemporary feel through the shapes to which she applied them. The cup and saucer here is in a traditional 19th Century shape and the use of the Bewick image in black on a white cup is reminiscent of the "Bat-Printed Porcelain" of the Regency period however, the cup and saucer are very much enlarged. In making them so oversized, while referencing the traditions of earlier pottery, Susan Williams-Ellis makes the design suitable for the late 20th Century taste in coffee consumption. The matt black glaze of the saucer, in contrast to the glossy glaze on the cup, also gives the piece a modern feel.

Good condition. Age related crazing to the cup.