A one-off hand made piece. Press-moulded in terracotta, sgraffito decoration in 'winter white' glaze. Signed on reverse.

Art pieces, for display purposes.

STORY:

A new collection of plates by Catherine Phelps draws upon her love for Spanish history and showcases a new glaze combination which is inspired by Elizabethan ‘blackwork’ embroidery. 

The Cherub Plates were inspired by a church in Salinas, the Spanish town close to the artist's heart. In particular, a towering structure, known as a polychrome reredos, was the focus of the inspiration. A reredos is a large, ornate, architectural structure behind an altar, featuring vibrant, polychromatic colours and crafted in the elaborate Baroque style. These reredos were common in Spanish churches from the 17th century onwards and were used to inspire awe through elaborate scenes and symbolism.

In the Cherub collection we can see cherubs, stars and flowing scrollwork that can be seen on the Salinas reredos. 

The Private Life of Birds is a collection of plates that was inspired after Catherine visited the Monastery of Santa Clara in Tordesillas in Castilla y León and saw a 16th century wall painting depicting the ‘mad queen’ Juana. 

Joanna of Castile, was the queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the sister of Catherine of Aragon, first queen of Henry VII, and was kept a prisoner, in relative comfort, for most of her life. The castle that was her prison looked out across the vast plains of Castilla, where she could not roam.

Catherine Phelps’ collection plays with the idea of freedom and entrapment. The birds, classically being the symbol of liberty, are caught up in the twisting tendrils of the briar and hibiscus that both encase and protect them.

The striking simplicity of the plates, created with a milky winter-white glaze over a very dark, iron-based brown, takes inspiration from the embroidery technique of the period. Known as Spanish (or Elizabethan) blackwork, it was used to dramatic effect on chemises, shirts and smocks in England from the early 16th century. The common name "Spanish work" was based on the popular belief that Joanna’s sister, Catherine of Aragon, brought many blackwork garments to England with her from Spain.