Coffee set for two: C.15.1-5-2018

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Coffee set for two

Maker(s)

Designer: Moorcroft, William
Pottery: Moorcroft Pottery

Entities

Coffee service

Description

Earthenware decorated with under glaze colours.

Coffee set comprising coffee pot (C.15.1 & A-2018), milk jug (C.15.2-2018), sugar basin (C.15.3-2018) and a pair of coffee cans with saucers (C.15.4 & A-2018, C.15.5 & A-2018). Coffee can: small but tall, with straight sides tapering slightly towards the rim, a tall spout and loop handle; conical lid with central knob. Milk jug with straight sides tapering slightly towards the rim, with lip and loop handle. Sugar basin with slightly flared straight sides. Coffee cans with straight sides and loop handles, sitting on round saucers with straight, upturned side rims. The set decorated with a fruit and floral pattern surrounded by a rich red colour; the insides a deep blue, excepting the coffee pot which has a sea green interior. The undersides of the saucers coloured and glazed, the other pieces unglazed.

Notes

History note: Unknown before donor, Mrs Thelma Marks

Legal notes

Given by Thelma Marks

Place(s) associated

Cobridge ⪼ Staffordshire ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2018-11-19) by Marks, Thelma

Dating

20th Century, Early
Circa 1930 CE - Circa 1940 CE

Note

The decoration of fruit and flowers in a rich palette is typical of Moorcroft pottery and the straight-sided streamlined form of this set typical of the decade in which it was made.

William Moorcroft (1872-1945), the son of a potteries artist and designer, trained at Burslem School of Art and in London and Paris. His designs sold through Tiffany of New York, Liberty of London and other prestigious stores. In 1898 he joined James Macintyre & Co to take charge of their art pottery department and in 1913 opened the Moorcroft Pottery, in Sandbach Road, Cobridge, with 30 workers and financial support from Liberty’s. His son Walter continued the business when he died. William Moorcroft designed both the shape and decoration of his pottery and experimented widely with glazes and decorating processes.

School or Style

Art Pottery

Components of the work

Decoration composed of underglaze colours
Coffee Pot Height 19 cm
Coffee Can Saucers Height 2 cm
Sugar Basin Height 4.2 cm
Coffee Cans Height 5.6 cm
Jug Height 7 cm