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Two-handled songbird vase (pair)
Factory:
Tegel- en Fayencefabriek Amphora Factory
Factory:
Rozenburg Royal Delftware Factory
Designer:
Kok, Jurriaan Jurriaan
Designer and decorator:
Schellink, Samuel
Eggshell porcelain, decorated underglaze in polychrome enamels with hand-painted motifs.
Tall eggshell porcelain vase, baluster shape, hand-painted in polychrome enamels with bird, poppy and foliage motifs in Art Nouveau style. Circular in plan, with tall gently-concave body rising to a long narrow neck, the top of the neck slightly wider than the bottom. Two strap handles, cast with the body, rise from the shoulders and rejoin the vase towards the top of the neck. The overall form suggests an erect female body with arms raised to her head. Decorated with a finely painted flowing floral design. On one side is a black-headed songbird which appears to be flying out of the body. On other side is a large spray of orange oriental poppies.
History note: Purchased from a Cambridgeshire collector of Art Nouveau ceramics, November 2014
Given by the friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum and with a grant from the V & A Grant Fund
Base Width: 8.5 cm
Height: 36.5 cm
Method of acquisition: Bought (2014-11-14) by Popper, John
20th Century, Early
Production date:
circa
AD 1914
In 1914, Rozenburg went into liquidation. The undecorated stock was bought by Tegal-en Fayencefabriek Amphora factory in Oegstgeest and Rozenburg painters were hired to finish it. Thus, this vase was cast in the Rozenburg factory from a model designed by Kok, painted by Schellink and sold under the Amphora mark. There is another very similar but differently coloured vase in the Fitzwilliam collection, on display with other examples of eggshell porcelain.
The Rozenburg Royal Delftware Factory (1883-1917) launched ‘eggshell’ porcelain at the 1900 Paris World Fair, and it was highly popular for a decade or so. The porcelain, similar in composition to bone china, was very thinly slip-cast, with handles and spouts formed in one piece with the body. A high temperature biscuit firing (up to c.1,500°C) produced a hard, transparent, non-porous surface. After hand-painting with enamels, a lower temperature final firing conserved the bright colours. The organic shape of this vase is typical of Art Nouveau.
The vase was painted by Samuel Schellink (1876-1947), a leading Rozenburg designer and painter, the fine detail of the painting complementing the delicate curves of the pot. The shape, model no. 109, is illustrated in the Modellenboek of the factory’s general director, Jurriaan Kok (1861-1919), who introduced eggshell porcelain after lengthy experimentation. Several different vase shapes were introduced, as well as chocolate, tea and coffee sets, though surviving pieces are rare, because the material is so fragile.
Decoration composed of glaze ( clear) enamels
Slip casting : Eggshell porcelain, slip-cast, glazed and hand-painted with enamels
Inscription present: (model number)
Accession number: C.29-2014
Primary reference Number: 201254
Entry form number: 1077
Old object number: AAL.3-2013
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Two-handled songbird vase (pair)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/201254 Accessed: 2024-11-22 00:44:01
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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/201254
|title=Two-handled songbird vase (pair)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 00:44:01|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa32/C_28_2014_C_29_2014_1_201504_jas244_dc2.jpg"
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Two-handled songbird vase (pair)</figcaption>
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