This elegant and subtly exquisite handpainted work of late-Art Deco design is by Enoch Boulton for the British Pottery Crown Devon. The abstract baluster form is an excellent canvas for the semi-matt, satin glaze décor. The base glaze is a tone of Pale Jade green, applied in the layered, overlapping scale manner that is characteristic of the Mattajade pieces.
The handpainted featured decor is that of the Fairyland series, also sometimes known as the 'Fairycastle' series that was designed by Boulton. Mattajade Fairyland was a popular series during its time and the rarity of finding it now has since made it highly collectable now. The scenelets are of charming turreted buildings nestled in the fantastical fauna in tones of Verdigris green, Azure blue, Jet black, Coquelicot orange and yellow - all of which wake up the islands that rest on the stylized waves.
The overall piece is finished with the hand-painted flora and fauna border which wraps around the external rim. The border is an echo of the main flora, with gold-edged black leaf clusters graduating into a band of Cerulean blue and Coquelicot yellow, finished with dotted blooms in orange and Verdigris.
Timeless in style and when combined with the featured design; the size and overall condition of this piece makes this an exceptionally rare find.
CONDITION
Excellent. There are no chips or repairs. There is mild surface wear to the gold and hand-painted décor and movement marks on the underside of the base that is commensurate with the age of the piece. Please refer to photos as they form part of the condition report. The underside of the base bears Crown Devon's stamp and the model number '2406'.
MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 7.4" / 18.7 cm (from base to rim) x c. 3.9" / 10 cm diameter (across widest point). Depth: c. " 7.4 / 18.7 cm. Base diameter: c. 2.9" / 7 cm. Unpackaged weight: c. 0.5 kg / 510 g
NOTES
Vase will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured. Shipping will be combined for multiple items.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Enoch Boulton (b. - d. unknown)
Little is known about the early years of the unsung hero that was Enoch Boulton, who has only now started to come into recognition for his contribution towards art deco design. Many accounts of his history begins with his apprentice years at the Grimwades factory and studying at the Burslem school of Art. Enoch, affectionately known as Ernie began to rise to significant fame when he became design chief in the early 1920s for Carlton Ware. A highly accomplished painter, Boulton is said to have created many of Carlton’s most collectible lines of the 1920s. The Tutankhamen ware is but one of his more notable contributions. The V & A Museum lauded Boulton's Carlton Ware Jazz patterns as the quintessence of British Art Deco design. The pattern 3352 is represented in the museum’s pottery collection and is dated by the museum as c1921-30.
Despite his success at Carlton, Boulton was said to have been lured to Crown Devon Fieldings in the late 1920s, and with him at the helm as design chief, designs were a harmonious yet contrarian merging of modernism with Sybaritic exuberance. Series after popular series of exquisiite were produced including Orient, Mattajade, Amazine and Mattitia adorning a myriad of geometric forms including ribbed bodies and mouldings that gave an asymmetrical look.
Crown Devon Fieldings (1870 - 1982) The pottery was founded in 1870 by Simon Fieldings in Stoke on Trent but it would be 10 years later before they began to produce Majolica style pottery that was popular during the 1880s. Their product range began to expand in the 1890s, working with British United Clock company and they would continue to expand their product range as popularity flourished after successful world trade fairs in the 1900s. They sustained their success for over a century before sadly closing in 1982 at the time of the recession.