Mermaid vase

Mermaid vase is a wonderfully expressive vase featuring design of a mermaid riding a fish-like creature. The skilful hand-applied decoration shows Deerbon’s dexterity as a potter while also revealing her interest in producing fashionable motifs in ceramics of the time. 

Una Deerbon was an Australian studio potter working in Sydney in the early twentieth century. Although she is best known known for her work in clay, Deerbon worked across textiles, fashion and painting.

Deerbon was born Una Clare Eden Deane in Woollahra, New South Wales in 1882. In 1904 she married George Percival Darlow who was later wounded in the First World War. Deerbon studied at the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton and at Sydney Technical College under Rayner Hoff. She later studied in the United States, France and at the Slade School in London. Prior to 1914 she commenced work as a fashion designer establishing Madam Darlot’s Design School on Castlereagh Street, Sydney, where she created designs for the department store David Jones.
 
In 1920 she divorced her first husband and moved to Brisbane with her daughter Joan. There she met Charles Francis Deerbon with whom she had a son named Murray. The marriage dissolved soon afterwards and Deerbon found herself a single mother of two young children. Working in ceramics, she was able to make a living for her family teaching and selling work through major department in Sydney and Melbourne.

Deerbon is known for her brightly colour ceramics with fashionable designs and applied decoration. Between 1933 and 1934 she exhibited in the New South Wales Society for Arts and Crafts later moving to Melbourne where she established the Deerbon School of Pottery. Her work is held in most major collections of in Australia and is highly collectable.