Tall ‘Anglo Persian’ vase: C.47-2023

Titles

Tall ‘Anglo Persian’ vase

Maker(s)

Factory: Burmantofts Pottery
Leeds Fireclay Company
King, Leonard

Entities

• Vase

Categories

• Lead-glazed earthenware
• Art Pottery

Description

Buff earthenware decorated in blues, greens and pink with Anglo-Persian design.

Large, bulbous vase with tall slender neck and slightly everted rim, decorated with stylised foliate ornamentation in the style and colours of Persian pottery. Several coloured stripes around the nexk. The underside flat, undecorated and clear glazed, within a narrow foot-rim.

Notes

History note: Lent by Rita Smythe

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Ian and Rita Smythe, 2023

Place(s) associated

• Leeds (Yorks.) ⪼ Yorkshire ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (2023) by Smythe, Ian and Rita

Dating

19th Century, Late-20th Century, Early#
1887 CE - 1904 CE

Note

Decorative faience products was introduced alongside existing brick and pipe products at Burmantofts from c.1879, initially using bright metallic-compound glazes over high fired buff earthenware on architectural wares, jardinières and vases. Later, more ambitious glazes, sgraffito decoration and ornate designs were adopted. V Kremer and B.Sicard, two French ceramicists trained by Palissy revivalists, joined c.1881 and introduced applied decorations and Anglo Persian designs. Many workers came from the Linthorpe Pottery, which closed in 1889, often producing similar styles. The Burmantofts name continued on ornamental wares after merger with the Leeds Fireclay Company in 1889 and the decorated products sold well into the early 1900s, and production of architectural wares continued into the 1950s.

Leonard King decorated much of the Anglo Persian wares, launched 1887, which were hand-painted over white slip and low-fired; and bulbous vases with long slender necks, like these, were popular.

School or Style

Art Nouveau