J. Palin Thorley: Modern and Traditional Design in Twentieth-Century Ceramics
Decorative Arts Gallery
J. Palin Thorley (1892–1987) was a third-generation potter who trained as a decorative painter and designer with England’s most prestigious companies including Wedgwood. He brought his talents to America’s large industrial potteries and then to Colonial Williamsburg where he supplied the newly-established Craft House museum shop with reproductions of eighteenth-century antiques from their collections. A master of variety, Thorley created avant garde moderne serving sets as well as more traditional Colonial Revival-style table wares. Over 150 examples of Thorley’s work, accompanied by magazine advertisements that span his career from the 1920s through the 1970s, offer a lively and personal story about the twentieth-century dining room table in America.
- J. Palin Thorley, Cartoon for Shop Sign, 1950s. Opaque paint on paper, 34 x 40 framed. Courtesy of John C. Austin
- J. Palin Thorley, Three Plates, 1933–1950. English Abbey pattern, Taylor, Smith & Taylor, Chester, West Virginia, Whiteware, D. 9 1/4" each. Courtesy of John C. Austin
- J. Palin Thorley, Plate, 1930, Nouvelle shape, "Top o' the Hill" pattern, Knowles, Taylor, and Knowles, American Chinaware Corporation, East Liverpool, Ohio area, Whiteware. Courtesy of John C. Austin
- J. Palin Thorley, Teapot, 1945–1960, Plume shape, Tea Rose glaze, Hall China, East Liverpool, Ohio, Whiteware, H. 5". Courtesy of John C. Austin
