'Cookworthy, Body Sherds and Plymouth Rock' by Paul Scott

Cookworthy, Body Sherds and Plymouth Rock was commissioned by Plymouth along with National Museums Wales, National Museums Liverpool and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.

All four venues are located in port cities that have a history of trade, manufacture and links to slavery. They also all had porcelain factories in the 1700s.

Paul Scott is a Cumbrian-based ceramic artist who combines his knowledge of historic ceramics and print with contemporary printing techniques. His work is represented in many international collections including the V&A, London and the Museum of Art and Design, New York.

For this commission, he undertook a research visit to each museum and looked at items on display as well as in their stores. The final work he produced responded to the materials, objects and prints he came across.

It consisted of four obsolete print drawers with historic ceramics such as antique tablewares, tiles, pipes and pots set within each of them. We acquired the ‘Plymouth’ drawer at the end of the project.

The ceramics were reprinted with new decals (digital prints) to update them and narrate stories relating to the four venues. The full title of the work is:

Cookworthy, Body Sherds and Plymouth Rock
Alkalon, Pountney and St Vincent’s Rock(s)
Ladies of Llangollen, Dillwyn and Cow Creamers
Toxteth Park, Herculaneum and Liver Birds

Scott also printed images from each of the venues collections onto some of the pieces.

A look at our Plymouth print tray shows a view of Mount Edgcumbe and the mark of William Cookworthy, the proprietor of Plymouth’s famous 18th century porcelain factory.

You can visit our 'People and Place: Art Collection Showcase' exhibition between 10am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday and selected bank holidays throughout 2023. Admission to the exhibition is free and there's no need to book in advance.