Royal Tara bone china thimble
Name/Title
Royal Tara bone china thimbleEntry/Object ID
2021.1.207Description
Bone china thimble with shamrocks and gold band at top and bottom. Part of the Franklin Mint "Thimbles of the World’s Greatest Porcelain Houses" series. Retailer description: "The 'dear little, sweet little, shamrock of Ireland' was the inspiration for the trellis shamrock pattern which is unique to Royal Tara China and which has been reproduced as the design for this delightful thimble. The artist says that, when creating the design, he stepped out onto the grounds of Tara Hall in Galway and plucked a sprig of shamrock which he religiously reproduced with all its natural characteristics. The crafting of Irish bone china dates back to the 1700s, a time when Ireland was rich in both craftsmen and art. Much of this was lost when, in the 19th century, political upheavals and the Great Potato Famine caused Ireland to lose many hundreds of thousands of people. Today Royal Tara, founded in 1953, is the country’s only manufacturer of bone china. Now one of the world’s most renowned porcelain houses, the company was established by Kerry O’Sullivan, a gold medal winner from the college of ceramics in Stoke-on-Trent, England, a city long famous for its ceramics industry and research. Most of the patterns used by Tara are taken from a period in Irish history dating back to the 6th century when Ireland could boast one of the highest cultures in the world. During this era Ireland produced magnificent medieval jewelry and such treasured manuscripts as the Book of Kells. It is these patterns, combined with unexcelled craftsmanship, that have made the Royal Tara creations so universally admired and sought after."Collection
Marianne Kerr Thimble CollectionCategory
Tools