Royal Academy Ceramic Palette
Last updated: 12 October 2026
The Royal Academy ceramic palette holds eight watercolours, poured by hand into a speckled ceramic tray. Lilian May makes it in Somerset for the Royal Academy (RA) shop. Each colour takes its name from the RA Collection. On 12 October 2026 the RA Shop had the set at £43.50, in stock.
What the Royal Academy ceramic palette is
It is a working paint set rather than a gallery ornament. The tray is earthenware, made in Somerset from Stoke-on-Trent clay. Then it gets a glossy speckled glaze, so no two trays look quite the same.
Picture a box of kitchen matches. The set measures 2 x 2 x 5.2cm, so it slides into a coat pocket or a pencil case.
The paints are hand mulled, and Lilian May pours each colour into its own ceramic well. As a result, the pans can arrive with small cracks or bubbles. Factory watercolours, by contrast, are machine cut into neat blocks for plastic pans.
What it does
- Eight colours: Reynolds Red, Vanity's Locks, Moser Peony Pink, Turner's Yellow Ochre, Hercules' Beard, Mermaid's Fin, Constable Cloud Blue and Gainsborough Green.
- Collection links: the RA picked the colours with its Collections team to match key works it owns.
- Ceramic wells: you wet a pan, load the brush and rinse the tray afterwards.
The stories behind the names
Four names point to specific RA records. Vanity's Locks comes from Frank Cadogan Cowper's Vanity of 1907. The sitter has long red hair, and Cowper later gave the painting to the RA. Meanwhile, Mermaid's Fin refers to John William Waterhouse's A Mermaid, painted in 1900 and given as his Diploma Work.
Hercules' Beard nods to the plaster cast of the Farnese Hercules. It came from Rome around 1790 for the RA Schools, and it now stands on free display in the Julia and Hans Rausing Hall. Finally, Moser Peony Pink honours the flower painter Mary Moser. She was one of only two women among the founder members.
Key facts
- Price: £43.50 at the RA Shop
- Size: 2 x 2 x 5.2cm, about a matchbox
- Material: earthenware with a speckled gloss glaze
- Paints: eight hand mulled watercolour pans
- Maker: Lilian May, a family workshop in Somerset
- UK delivery: £4.95 under £50, free over £50, in 3 to 5 working days
Who it suits
It suits anyone who sketches on trains, in parks or in galleries. A full paint box stays at home, but this goes everywhere. It also suits the friend who owns every gallery tote, since this one gets used. For another hands-on museum shop present, see the Hepworth Wakefield Clay at Home kit.
The limits
Eight small pans will not replace a studio set. Also, the RA Shop's notes mention no brush, so plan on your own brush, water pot and paper.
Then there is postage. On its own the palette costs £48.45 delivered, which is annoyingly close to the £50 free-delivery line. So adding a card works out cheaper than paying £4.95.
Finally, the RA Shop has paused deliveries to the EU and Northern Ireland. The pause also covers Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, while the shop meets new EU product safety rules.
Where to buy it in the UK
The RA Shop sells this set, and the full notes sit on the Royal Academy shop page. Meanwhile, Lilian May sells its own sets at lilianmay.co.uk. These include a J.M.W. Turner set and an earth pigment matchbox set, both £23.50.
Royal Academy ceramic palette at the RA Shop
FAQs
How much is the Royal Academy ceramic palette?
It costs £43.50 at the RA Shop. Delivery adds £4.95 under £50, while UK orders over £50 ship free.
What are the eight colours?
Reynolds Red, Vanity's Locks, Moser Peony Pink, Turner's Yellow Ochre, Hercules' Beard, Mermaid's Fin, Constable Cloud Blue and Gainsborough Green.
Why do the paints have cracks in them?
Each colour is poured by hand, so small cracks and bubbles can form. The RA Shop puts this down to the paint being handmade.
Who makes it?
Lilian May, a Somerset family business. Will, a watercolour artist and ceramicist, runs it with his mother, his aunts and his nephew.
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