Terracotta Glazed Bottle Vase with floral enamel decoration, Watcombe Pottery, circa 1900

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Auction Start: 24/04/24 10:03:00 UTC
Auction Ending: 08/05/24 19:22:00 UTC
Auction Finished : 08/05/24 19:22:05 UTC
LOT NUMBER 12
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LOT NUMBER 12

Terracotta Glazed Bottle Vase with floral enamel decoration, Watcombe Pottery, circa 1900

A terracotta earthenware vase of bottle form with a bulbous compressed hemispherical body rising to a tall slender neck above a flaring spreading base, recessed to the interior and glazed with the foot rim unglazed revealing the fine terracotta clay, the body decorated in thick ‘famille rose’ enamels in the Chinese style depicting flowering peony.

Pieces combining glazed terracotta with polychrome enameling were one of the designs produced by the well known Watcombe pottery based in Devon. Production commenced in the mid 1860s when a fine red Devon clay was discovered in the grounds of Watcombe House near Torquay, prompting its then owner G. P. Allen to establish the Watcombe Terracotta Clay Company off Teignmouth Road, St. Marychurch in 1869. Classical styles of the period like terracotta busts, figures, urns and jugs were produced first, followed by terracotta glazed pieces some in the style of the famous designer Christopher Dresser. Not all of the pieces were marked and the appearance of ‘Watcombe Porcelain’ on some of their wares seems to post date the first years of production. Various mergers followed and the range of designs developed, adapting to changing tastes, but finally the business was forced to close its doors in 1962.

While the decoration is typical of Watcombe, the shape is typical of Dresser and also loosely follows a Chinese shape as did so many of his pieces. Allowing for the fact that the Devon potters introduced their own individual ‘twist’, one example of the Dresser prototype for this piece is included in the collection held by the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Watcombe, in common with other potteries at the time, aimed to produce pieces which, while they followed the ‘best’ designs were more accessible to a general audience. This vase is in no way inferior to the ‘real thing’ and maintains a charm of its own.

Size: Ht 20cm Width (max) 9.5cm Base 5.5cm
Weight: 260gm
Date: 1900
Condition: Very good condition
Estimate: £20 – 30

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