CERAMICS TAPESTRY, 1950

Details

MICHAEL O'CONNELL
CERAMICS TAPESTRY, 1950
paste-resist wool and rayon
96½ in. (245 cm.) high; 66½ in. (169 cm.) wide
printed designer's mark Mael

Provenance

Victoria & Albert Museum, Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society, 1st November - 3rd December 1950, cat. No. 733
Bonhams London, 20th Century Furniture & Design, 9th April 1991, lot 48.

Literature

Tanya Harrod, The Crafts in Britain in the 20th Century, Yale, 1999, p. 307, 344, 345 (related designs illustrated)
Rathbone Holme & Kathleen Frost, Decorative Art 1951-2, London, 1951, p.115, pl.4 (related design illustrated)
Geoff Rayner, Richard Chamberlain & Annamarie Stapleton (eds.), Artist's Textiles in Britain 1945-1970, London, 2003, p.45, pl.27 (related design illustrated)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Michael O'Connell founded Mael Fabrics in London in 1937. He sought to modernise the traditional craft of tapestry through the paste-resist batik technique, and drew aesthetic inspiration from folk art, African textiles, and heraldry. Examples of his wall hangings were shown at F.H.K. Henrion's Country Pavillion at the Festival of Britain, 1951, and in the Time-Life building, New Bond Street, designed by Misha Black, 1952-3.

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