Roger Fry
Roger Fry for the Omega Workshops Ltd Made at Carter & Co, Poole, Dorset
1915 or later
Earthenware, cobalt blue glaze
23 x 28.7 cm
The Omega Workshop Ltd (1913 – 1919) sold homewares designed and made by artists. It was established in London by Roger Fry (1866-1934), in association with younger artists in the Bloomsbury Group, Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) and Duncan Grant (1885-1978). The Omega sought to bring avant-garde art into British homes and provide regular paid work for struggling artists. Open on the eve of the First World War, it soon became a centre for pacifist resistance, holding concerts, publishing books, and celebrating international artistic collaboration.
One of the Omega’s specialties was ceramics. At first, artists painted directly onto ordinary commercial plates. Soon, Fry learned to make his own ceramics, and became passionate about producing strikingly simple white and black tableware.
As a critic, Fry writings on art were influential. He wrote about the abstract beauty of Chinese ceramics, buying a few pieces as well as examples from other periods and civilisations. Their inspiration can be seen in his Omega work. This is particularly notable in the shapes of the Chinese incense burner and the Italian Renaissance jug.