Photography by Johnny Magee. ©the artist
“Christmas truce” celebrated in ceramic
8 January 2015
Sculpture on display this month
THE extraordinary football match that took place on Christmas Day 1914 has been commemorated in a new sculpture by ceramicist Professor Stephen Dixon.
“The Beautiful Game” will be on display on the ground floor of the Sir Kenneth Green library at Manchester Metropolitan University, until January 20.
Prof Dixon, a lecturer at the Manchester School of Art, original created the piece for an exhibitions at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.
He adopts the genre of Crested China, a type of souvenir-ware commonly produced in the potteries which was at the height of its popularity during the First World War.
Footballing figures
The figures feature regimental crests and the names of individual soldiers known to have witnessed or participated in the Christmas truce, through published letters, diaries and testimonies.
The display cases also show examples of commemorative Crested China made during the First World War, in the shape of tanks, military caps, submarines and more.
Professor Dixon’s work features in numerous public and private collections, including the Museum of Arts & Design, New York, the British Council, the Crafts Council, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Museum of Scotland, and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
