SSGB x Bev Milward

Since our first collaboration in 2023, ceramic artist Bev Milward has produced three distinct designs using material from our archives. With these collections Bev aimed to connect the experience of Victorian audiences who first saw and travelled on SS Great Britain with those of our modern day visitors.

Based in Bristol, Bev is inspired by the UK's strong tradition of commemorative ceramics. Her designs bring to life historical designs with a modern twist, using traditional artistic techniques.

Bev's Victorian pudding design, based on her visits to the museum to learn about food on board ship, brings to life the contrast between fine first class fare and the biscuits (and weevils) eternally present in steerage food!

Her second set of designs combines the now rare Victorian technique of copper lustre, contemporary images from the SSGB's archive, and Bev's own quirky references to modern life. This unique chinaware mirrors the real Victorian commemorative china available to see in the Being Brunel museum.

Finally the Windjammer mug, produced in a collaboration with Beth Calverley's poetry machine, brings to life the feelings experienced by travellers all over the world, as well as those who may find themselves in choppy waters while on dry land.