Chalice with Flowers and Pepperpot c. 1954 - 1955

Editor: This is "Chalice with Flowers and Pepperpot" by David Jones. It’s undated, but currently in the Tate Collection. I'm struck by how delicate it seems, almost a memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a complex layering of domestic objects imbued with ritualistic significance. Jones was deeply influenced by his experiences in WWI, and his subsequent exploration of Welsh Celtic and Christian symbolism. This still life is not just a table setting, it's a symbolic landscape. Editor: A landscape? That's interesting. Curator: Yes, consider the chalice – a clear reference to the Holy Grail, and the pepper pot, an everyday object elevated through its inclusion. Jones asks us to consider how ordinary objects become charged with meaning through cultural narratives. How does that reading resonate with you? Editor: It reframes the whole image. I thought it was just a pretty still life, but there's so much more to unpack. Curator: Exactly. Jones invites us to think about the intersection of the sacred and the mundane.