An exhibition of work by the ceramicist Simon Pettet is on display at Dennis Sever’s House in Spitalfields until 4 June
All photographs by Lucinda Douglas Menzies
Main image: The Gentrification Piece depicts Spitalfields friends and neighbours, including Gilbert and George.
Thu 4 May 2023 07.00 BST Last modified on Thu 4 May 2023 10.08 BST
Pettet’s Delft shoes (dated 1988) are taken from models of the late 17th- to early-18th centuries when they were popular in France, Holland and Germany, as well as England. A large number have initials and are dated, suggesting they were made for betrothals and marriages, or at least as objects of affection. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Tulipières are the most complex forms Pettet made. They became popular in the 17th century – when the bulbs changed hands for fortunes – allowing the flowers to be grown indoors. Each spout was intended to take a bulb rather than a cut flower. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Pettet’s work is displayed at his 1980’s home, the Dennis Severs House. Severs bought the run-down Georgian house in Folgate Street, Spitalfields in 1979, and embarked on a mission to create the history of London inside it. He invented a fictional family who lived in the house from the late-17th to 19th centuries and created rooms that told the stories of their lives. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Hand-blown Crown glass in the kitchen window. The thick green roundel is known as a bullseye, a side effect of production and often used for less expensive windows. Beyond are Pettet’s bird-cage tile picture and his mating rabbits, almost indistinguishable from antique Dutch originals. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Pettet’s plate commemorating St Patrick’s Day was never produced, but this watercolour shows both his fluid technique and how meticulously he planned his work. “Memory of Carolin” is probably a misspelt reference to Turlough O’Carolan, Ireland’s famous blind celtic harpist and singer. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Pettet’s Boxing Day box. The contents of church collection boxes were traditionally distributed to the poor the day after Christmas. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Pettet’s Gentrification Piece depicts Spitalfields friends and neighbours. Top left are Rodney and Phyllis, who appear near Gilbert and George (second row, right). Severs’ cat, Whitechapel (bottom left), is pictured watching television. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Surfaces in the Master Bedroom groan under the weight of blue-and-white china. So does its Georgian tallboy, which also supports a large 18th-century Chinese porcelain figure of Guanyin. Pettet made the obelisks, large and small. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Winds, suns and decorative details make up the sheet of transfers Pettet used to embellish his handled mugs. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Mr Jervis’s barber’s bowl, made by Pettet in 1990. In the 18th century, customers would hold these bowls, with indent to their neck, as the barber mixed water and soap into a lather. Bowls were often decorated with representations of relevant equipment – in this case scissors, comb, sponge etc – but lancets could also appear, as barbers also operated as surgeons. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Profile pots, obelisks and a tulipière on the black-painted stairs from the ground floor. The flat-fronted profile pots have shaped supports at the back which enable them to stand upright. Placed on top of a bookcase or cupboard, they take up far less space than if they were fully three-dimensional. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
The mugs Pettet made at the end of his life were thrown on the wheel and made of porcelain, making them different to most of his earlier works, which are hand-built in clay. Based on late 18th- and early 19th-century industrial wares, they have either straight or splayed bases and crisp, moulded handles. They’re seen here on the window ledge in the basement kitchen. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A tile from The Gentrification Piece. Above his signature Pettet has painted a potter in knee britches, likely to be intended as a self-portrait. Pettet was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1984. He died at the age of twenty eight in 1993. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
