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1993

  • We acquired this object.

2004

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Waste Not Want Not Plate

This is a plate. It was designed by A.W.N. Pugin and manufactured by Minton and Company. It is dated ca. 1850 and we acquired it in 1993. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

A. W. N. Pugin was the most illustrious exponent of the Gothic Revival in England in the 19th century. The son of an architect, Pugin worked for the Drury Lane Theatre, creating stage settings and mechanical designs. At the age of 15, he designed silver in the Gothic taste and furniture for Windsor Castle. Pugin’s firm produced a wide range of designs in the Gothic style, the eccentricity of which bankrupted the firm within two years. In addition to authoring numerous books on design (which predate the English architectural critic and author John Ruskin by 20 years), Pugin created designs for metalwork, ceramics, jewelry, glass, and carpets.
Pugin’s designs are rare. This plate's Waste Not Want Not pattern, created with encaustic inlay, not only expresses his preoccupation with Gothic forms and ornament but also addresses Victorian morality and the ability to teach virtue through design. This example was manufactured by Minton and the design was published in the Journal of Design and Manufactures in 1850.

It is credited Museum purchase from Decorative Arts Association Acquisition Fund in memory of Dona Guimaraes.

Its dimensions are

Diam: 33.1 cm

Cite this object as

Waste Not Want Not Plate; Designed by A.W.N. Pugin (English, 1812–1852); Manufactured by Minton and Company (United Kingdom); England; Diam: 33.1 cm; Museum purchase from Decorative Arts Association Acquisition Fund in memory of Dona Guimaraes; 1993-7-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Shock of the Old: Christopher Dresser.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18646737/ |title=Waste Not Want Not Plate |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=23 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>