1909. Offered together, a matching cup, saucer and small side plate, each bearing the motif of the ‘Angel of Freedom’, and the stamp of Williamsons on the base; some very slight loss of green colour around handle of cup and plate edges, but otherwise in very good condition. A lovely trio of stylish WSPU china, elegantly manufactured by the Staffordshire potter H.M. Williamson and bearing the striking motif designed by Sylvia Pankhurst, of the ‘Angel of Freedom’ blowing her trumpet and flying the banner of Freedom. In the background are the initials ‘WSPU’ set against dark prison bars, surrounded by the thistle, shamrock, rose and dangling chains.
The china was commissioned for use in the tea room at the WSPU exhibition held at the Prince’s Skating Rink at Knightsbridge in May 1909, one of a number of fund-raising events organised by the Society. The tea room was run by Mrs Henrietta Lowry, with help from her four daughters and another young suffragette, Una Dugdale. ‘The white china has strikingly clean, straight lines, rimmed in dark green and with angular green handles... It is more than likely that, from the range offered by Williamson, Sylvia Pankhurst chose this shape, keeping the design simple so that the ‘angel of freedom’ motif that she had designed specifically for the Exhibition should be shown to best effect.... At the end of the Exhibition, the china - tea pots, cups, saucers, tea plates, sugar bowls etc. - was offered for sale, made up into sets of 22 pieces’ (Elizabeth Crawford, Suffragettes and Tea Rooms). Complete sets are extremely scarce, and individual items are increasingly uncommon. As Crawford goes on to describe, other designs were commissioned for use in tea-rooms at other exhibitions, fund-raising bazaars, and in WSPU shops and offices. An comprehensive set sold recently at Bonhams for £11,475.
As a young womna, Pankhurst studied art at the Manchester School of Art, winning many awards during her time there including a travelling studentship to study in Italy. She took the Royal College of Art entrance exam in 1904, and was not only awarded a scholarship, but came top in the entire country. She made close friends at the RCA but struggled to reconcile her life of study and painting with her growing socialist principles, and "desperately longed to find a purpose for her art" (Harrison, Sylvia Pankhurst: A Crusading Life, p. 47).