Previously Unreleased Lucie Rie Ceramics Are Now Up For Sale

In 1964, renowned potter Lucie Rie designed a series of teacups and saucers for Wedgwood which were ultimately never produced. Lost to time, it seemed that the designs may never see the light of day. That is, until now. Just as an archive of incomplete William Morris prints have been recently restored to the public, ceramics brand Wedgwood have combined forces with fashion designer Jonathan Anderson to release a special collection of these previously unproduced designs. 

Lucie Rie Designs Once Lost To Time Have Now Been Restored

Who Is Lucie Rie?

Born in Vienna in 1902, the renowned potter fled the country’s Nazi rule in 1938 and started a new life in London. Renowned for her use of sgraffito (an artistic technique derived from the Italian word ‘to scratch’ where designs are created by scratching through the top layer of a material to reveal an underlying, contrasting colour), as well as her purposeful imperfections and the elegance of her functionalist designs, Lucie Rie is one of the most celebrated potters of the modern age. 

Inside The Collection

Bringing never-before-seen designs to the world for the very first time, this limited edition collection will include a range of teacups and saucers which were designed by Lucie Rie for Wedgwood but were ultimately never produced. The creative partnership will see history reimagined through design in a celebration of the enduring power of craftsmanship. Alongside the works of Lucie Rie, the collection will also include a series of mugs inspired by 5th century Greek designs. 

The collection, which features a teacup and saucer, alongside a coffee cup and saucer, has been coloured in Jasper blue with white inlays. Crafted from Jasperware, each piece is formed by hand, then fired to create a matte, tactile finish. Alongside these bright blue designs, JW Anderson x Wedgwood will also present a series of mugs in three different colour pairs: blue and saxon blue, chocolate brown and black, and canary yellow and mimosa yellow. 

‘This collection is a celebration of aligned thinking and a shared reverence for craftsmanship – a nod to the future sensibility of our brand,’ says Wedgwood creative director Emma Glynn. 

‘It’s a chance to honour a collaboration she always hoped would happen,’ adds Jonathan Anderson. ‘What’s truly remarkable is that Wedgwood has now realised these designs in the way she envisioned them. Lucie Rie is one of the greatest potters of the 20th Century. I’ve been collecting her work for many years, and I think she would be thrilled to see these pieces finally brought to life, especially in this charitable context.’

The proceeds from the collaboration will support the newly formed Lucie Rie and Hans Coper Foundation, which aims to support the long-term accessibility, digitisation and preservation of archival materials. A grant-making scheme will also be established in order to promote academic and creative scholarships. The scholarship is jointly named after fellow émigré Hans Coper whom Rie hired in 1946. Though he had no experience in ceramics, he helped her fire her buttons. Interested in learning sculpture, she sent him to a potter named Heber Mathews, who taught him how to make pots on the wheel. Rie and Coper later exhibited together in 1948 with Coper becoming a partner in Rie’s studio where he remained until 1958 – though their friendship lasted for much longer. 

Home to experienced artisans, the pottery experts at Wedgwood will bring the designs to life through a technique called turning. A marriage of human and machine, the moulded mug pieces are fitted into the turning machine and shaped by hand. Made in a similar process to Lucie Rie’s very own pottery, the clay is moulded and dried until ‘leather hard’ before being painstakingly trimmed to size and smoothed to finish on the turning machine. 

How To Buy

Launching on 19 September, the collaboration will be available in JW Anderson Soho, Harrods, and Selfridges in the UK, as well as selected stores across Milan in Italy, China, Japan and the US.

Shop the collection from wedgwood.com and jwanderson.com