About this objectA Della Robbia white earthenware panel with an arched upper edge. It is moulded with a scene of children at play. In the centre, a child is in a hammock, in the background children are dancing around a tree in a ring-o-roses fashion.
Ellen Mary Rope was born into an artistically talented family and attended the Slade School of Art in 1877. She would go on to exhibit at the Royal Academy and was held in high esteem by contemporary journalists, having pieces written about her for magazines such as The Studio. She specialised in sculpture and moulding, and spent most of her career working as a sculptor in London. She contributed to the pottery by sending designs for plaques. They were typically in the Arts and Crafts style, focusing on scenes of children and angels which represent innocence in a classical and allegorical way. She remained unmarried, living with her nieces as an 'artist of her own accord', and when she passed away, she left her estate to them.
The artist shows talent in being able to create depth and foreshortening in the scene. This scene continues her style of depicting an idyllic scene involving children and nature. This work illustrates a life removed from the hustle and bustle of Victorian industrialisation. The use of a rounded frame creates an enclosed and intimate space, with the child in the hammock looking out beyond the frame to invite the viewer in.
MakerDella Robbia Pottery (active 1894-1906)
Maker Rolemanufacturer
MakerRope, Ellen Mary (1855-1934)
Maker Roledesigner
Date Made1900
Period20th century
Medium and Materialsearthenware
Place MadeBirkenhead, Merseyside
Style and IconographyArts and Crafts
Inscription and Marksmark
D R P M
Method: inscribed
Position: reverse
