‘Lely’ is one of a set of three plates in lined tiffin tins by Stephen Dixon. Made in response to York Art Gallery’s painting Lady Charlotte Fitzroy and Her Indian Page, 1669-79, by Sir Peter Lely (YORAG : 18). This plate uses a drawing of the complete Lely painting, with a central focus on the bowl of fruit - a metaphor of the riches of India - and their importance to Britannia, seen at bottom left. The composition is flanked by a geometric wood-block print, emphasising the importance of textiles to Anglo-Indian trade, and making a visual connection with the quilted textile liners of the containers.
Press–moulded earthenware plates, lead glazed with under-glaze slip decoration, on-glaze printed transfers, open stock transfers and gold lustre.
Sheet steel ‘tiffin boxes’, custom-made by artisans in Ahmedabad, India.
Quilted textile box liners, made at the Gramshree organisation in Ahmedabad. (Calico textiles re-cycled from block-printing table covers, sourced in Ahmedabad.)
