Turner Ceramic Cup and Saucer

The fluid blue and brown pattern on this curvaceous ceramic cup and saucer was created by London-based artist Laura De Benedetti to celebrate the National Gallery’s 2012 Turner Inspired: In the Light of Claude exhibition. Each cup and saucer is hand-thrown and has a unique decoration, which means no two designs are exactly the same.

J.M.W. Turner and Claude Gellée were born around 170 years apart but both shared a fascination with the different ways light played on landscapes and seascapes. For many, Turner’s ability to interpret weather conditions on canvas has made him the most-loved English Romantic artist. He admired Claude’s work, bequeathing two of his own paintings to the National Gallery on condition that the works would be hung between a particular pair of pictures by Claude.

The two artists’ love for the sea and the luminosity of weather conditions have been translated into ceramic art by Laura De Benedetti. Her cup and saucer is a practical item of kitchenware but wouldn’t look out of place on a display shelf, in a cabinet – or even holding pencils on a desk.