These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.
Download this imageCreative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.
Coronation Mug, Queen Elizabeth II
Factory:
Josiah Wedgwood & Sons
Designer:
Guyatt, Richard Talbot
Creamware mug, printed underglaze in black and painted on glaze with gold. An interpretation of the Royal Arms, supported by a lion and a unicorn, with the initials 'E II R' and date '19 53'. Inside are the words 'GOD SAVE THE QUEEN'.
Creamware (Queen's Ware) printed underglaze in black and painted onglaze in gold. The mug is cylindrical witha loop handle. The underside is flat, recessed to form a foot-ring, and glazed. The exterior is decorated with a monochrome, graphic interpretation of the royal coat of arms. The initials, 'E II R' , almost the height of the mug, sit between the figures ’19’…’53’; both are in a stippled, foliate design which appears grey. Superimposed, in black, is the outline of a crown flanked by a lion and a unicorn, the animals described in outline by leafy strands. Another leafy strand runs down the centre of the handle. The outer upper and lower rims and the handle edge are banded in gold. Inside, 'GOD SAVE THE QUEEN' is printed in black; the letters, in capitals and shaded and hatched, are evenly spaced to form a continuous band.
History note: Given by Mrs D.V.G. Stephen
Given by Mrs D.V.G. Stephen
Height: 10.1 cm
Width: 15.0 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1986) by Stephen, D. V. G., Mrs
20th Century, Mid#
Production date:
AD 1953
In 1952-3, Guyatt also designed a dinner service for King’s College, Cambridge, incorporating a number of college emblems and a lemonade set for Liberty’s, featuring views of old London churches, a design known as, ‘Oranges and Lemons’ . He also designed Wedgwood commemorative mugs for the Prince of Wales's Investiture in 1969 and several royal weddings; his last, in 2005, was for the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Guyatt’s other commercial commissions ranged from exhibition stands to coins, stamps, the WH Smith logo and packaging for Anchor butter.
Richard Gerald Talbot Guyatt CBE (1914-2007) began his career as a freelance graphic designer with posters for Shell-Mex and BP and book illustrations. At the Royal College of Art, where he was a professor from 1948 and later rector, he lead the introduction of education in graphic design and influenced subsequent expansion into typography, illustration, printmaking, photography, film and television design. From 1952-55 and 1967-70 Guyatt was consultant designer to Wedgwood and this commemorative mug for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 was the first of his Wedgwood designs to be put into large scale production. The company had revived the use of engraved designs in the mid 1930s – a mode of decoration which allowed the artist’s own work and ‘hand-writing’ to be reproduced in a factory setting, and well suited to Guyatt’s style. The same design was produced in black basalt with a gold printed design, and in a trial version in royal blue jasper printed in gold. It was revived for the Queen's silver jubilee in 1977.
The Fitzwilliam Museum also holds examples from Guyatt’s ‘Oranges and Lemons’ lemonade set and King’s College dinner service, and Wedgwood Coronation mugs designed by Eric Ravilious.
Decoration composed of gold
leadless
Clear glaze
Cream-coloured earthenware
Moulding
: Cream-coloured earthenware, transfer-printed underglaze in black and gold painted
Glazing (coating)
Inscription present: Circular backstamp. ‘Coronation’ in flamboyant scripy; ‘QUEEN ELIZABETH’ in ornate capitals; a small crown above
Accession number: C.9-1986
Primary reference Number: 11793
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Coronation Mug, Queen Elizabeth II" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/11793 Accessed: 2024-11-05 19:51:05
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/11793
|title=Coronation Mug, Queen Elizabeth II
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 19:51:05|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-11793
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa6/C_9_1986_281_29.jpg"
alt="Coronation Mug, Queen Elizabeth II"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Coronation Mug, Queen Elizabeth II</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...
