A look at the design, market and legacy of Victorian pottery

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Majolica in the Movies: The Normal Heart

Last week the film adaptation of Larry Kramer's devastating play on the early years of the AIDS crisis in NYC won an Emmy award for best TV movie. Currently running on HBO, the TV movie is a sober reminder of the prejudice and political inactivity that greeted the virus in the first years of its appearance in the United States.

As you might expect, it's a sad movie. In the middle of the movie the protagonist, Ned, has a heated argument with his brother over his brother's willingness to spend millions on his home while refusing to help Ned's fledgling AIDS awareness organization. Suddenly out of the blue a familiar shape appears. It's a Minton majolica pedestal similar to the one shown below, but with a brown ground!

Minton majolica pedestal

The Normal Heart

The piece totally knocked me out of the movie! Supposedly set in 1981, majolica was hardly the sort of thing you would have found in a prosperous man's home at that time. Still, I must admit I got a kick out of it.

To view the trailer go here.

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