Vase

This is one of a pair of ceramic vases in the Sir Colin Anderson collection of Art Nouveau that was purchased in 1968 from Pilgrims Place Antiques in Hampstead, London. The vessels were manufactured by Royal Doulton Lambeth studio in the period 1905-1910 and decorated by Maud Bowden.

Beaker-shaped, the vase was wheel thrown in stoneware clay and salt-glazed to produce a mottled green-grey effect. The vessel’s tapered cylindrical form is ornamented with tube-lined low relief decoration of stylised flowers in blue and brown. Brown glaze has been applied to the inside of the vase.

Tube-lined slip decoration was very popular in the early decades of the 20th century and can be found on ceramic tiles and dining services from the late Art Nouveau and early Art Deco periods. The technique involved squeezing liquid clay (slip) through a nozzle and trailing it across the clay surface. Trailed slip decoration created a subtle relief effect that could be used by artisans to control the movement of glazes; preventing bright glaze colours from mixing and becoming muddied in the firing.

On the underside of the vessel, the standard impressed trademark combining lion, crown and the words ‘Royal Doulton England’ dates the object to the period 1902-1922. [1] Both vases are inscribed ‘MB’ for Maud Bowden, an artist skilled at producing Art Nouveau style works. Bowden was employed by Royal Doulton from around 1903 to 1937. [2]

From the 1860s, salt-glaze firing became closely associated with the aesthetics of Royal Doulton’s stonewares and art pottery. This signature glaze effect is achieved when common salt is thrown into the kiln chamber when the kiln is at peak temperature. The sudden addition of salt creates a vapour, which glazes the ceramic wares and creates attractive chemical reactions.

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