1920–1939
British Art Deco
Deco for the suburbs
British Art Deco is less a luxury movement than a popular one. The 1925 Paris exhibition was influential but the domestic market wanted affordable versions, and it got them in ceramics — Clarice Cliff's Bizarre ware, Susie Cooper's tableware — and in the mass-produced furniture and textiles sold through department stores.
The result is a style that reached further into ordinary homes than the French original ever did, at a level of craftsmanship that is honest but rarely precious. The best collecting is in the ceramics, where studios, designers and dates are all documented.
History
The 1920s are the Paris-influenced phase, in furniture and interiors for a small clientele.
The 1930s are the popular phase: brightly decorated ceramics, streamlined radios and the suburban semi furnished in Deco.
What to look for
A studio or designer's mark on ceramics, hand-painted rather than transfer decoration, and forms that are simpler than the French originals.
Search the collection
The searches this style is worth looking at. Each opens the collection for it.