The distinctly British Toby jug (example below) will take pride of place at Tate Britain as part of an exhibition of folk art opening next summer (10 June-7 September 2014), although The Art Newspaper understands that theirs will be of the “rustic leather” variety. Other displays will include ships’ figureheads and maritime embroidery, along with 100 paintings, sculptures and objects. The show will ask “important questions about the boundaries between the mainstream and the marginal”, says the Tate’s curator Martin Myrone, who came across “a larger-than-life straw man and a chicken made of old mutton bones” during his research. “There seems to be a great deal of enthusiasm for British folk art, which may be a response to the digital age and a search for a sense of authenticity,” says Simon Martin, the head of curatorial services at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'Toby jugs at the Tate'