Dirk Meerkotter listed SA artist rare large limited edition ceramic tile 1975 celadon glaze

Offered for sale is a collectible and hard to find ceramic tile design by the famous listed South African artist the late Dirk Meerkotter. The tile is 29cm x 29cm and slip cast from a metal mould. It is made from a buff off white coloured earthenware glazed in a  high gloss celadon. The tile was commissioned by Mer National Pharmaceutical Group and made in 1975. The tiles were presumably intended as promotional items or gifts/advertising ware although the name of the company is not visible on the front of the tile but embossed on the back. Meerkotter was ideally suited to the commission as he was a qualified and practising pharmacist who had a parallel professional career as an artist and pharmacist until 1977 when he devoted himself full time to his artistic career. Meerkotter is better known as a fine artist/painter and superb print maker/graphic designer however he gained recognition for his ceramic designs also. According to the art historian Esme Berman he commenced making ceramic tiles/panels in 1962 and was awarded significant commissions to decorate corporate and civic buildings with ceramic tile murals including a panel for Philips Martindale Johannesburg head office  in 1969 and a large mural for the State Theatre in Pretoria in 1980. The tile for Mer National is typical of his mid career work when he was transitioning from a highly representational, naturalistic style to a more abstracted style incorporating hieroglyphs and pictographs in the designs. The Mer Pharma tile is a square format tile with a raised octagonal shaped panel containing pictographs or emblems relating to the healthcare professional and medical /pharmaceutical industries. The central focus is a Rod of Ascelpius ie staff with a single snake a traditional symbol for the healthcare industry. Other emblems include a  a microscope, a pair of measuring scales, a test tube/phial and a mortar and pestle.

Postage is R100 via Postnet or R120 for Courier Guy delivery. Collection is welcome from Emmerantia Jhb