This stylised work of British art pottery piece is of English Art Deco design from the 1930s is by Wadeheath and from the Streamline 100 series. The shape and décor of this vase is a strong reflection of the Art Deco Odeon and Art Deco Moderne style. Art Deco Odeon style references the revolution in British style brought about by the c.260 Odeon cinemas that sprung up across the UK from the late 1920s. Over 13 years, Oscar Deutsch created a circuit of cinemas where the buildings celebrated Art Deco Modernism with sweeping, simple yet strongly defined lines edged with black, neon, tower, and fin details.
This piece is a beautifully sculptural manifestation of Art Deco Odeon and Moderne style, with its bold and brassy hand-painted décor lighting up the overlapping and softly geometric fin form. The hand-painted, glaze décor is a profusion of interlocking shapes in a palette of Tangelo orange, Electric Blue and Lime green that is trimmed in black against the background cream glaze. Fans of Clarice Cliff's Bizarre range will find echoes of the palette and geocentricism in this piece.
This work has a graceful and striking presence, an embodiment of English Art Deco design from c. 85 years ago. The combination of its form, colour palette, design and condition makes it a particularly rare find.
CONDITION
Very Good. There is gentle wear to the glaze, crazing all over and movement marks on the underside of the base that are commensurate with the age of the piece. There is a single chip to the glaze measuring c. 0.5mm x 0.4 mm. Please refer to photographs as they form part of the condition report. The underside of the base is inscribed with 'STREAMLINE 100' and the stamp 'Wadeheath, England' that was in use around 1934.
MEASUREMENTS
Height: c. 7.5" / 19 cm by c. 7.7" / 19.5 cm length (across longest point). Width c. 3.7" / 9.3 cm (across widest point). Base measurements: c. 3.9" / 10 cm x 4.3" / 10.8 cm. Weight: c. 0.9 kg / 910 g
NOTES
Vase will be securely packaged and shipping will be insured. Shipping will be combined for multiple items.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Wadeheath Ceramics 1867 - present
Wadeheath Ceramics was originally founded in 1867, in Burslem, England, a collective of different pottery companies that specialised in earthenware and porcelain.
The original companies were:
- Wade & Myatt (later became George Wade & Son, which made industrial ceramics and Wade Whimsies). Established 1867.
- John Wade & Co (later Wade Heath & Co, which made decorative ware, particularly Art Deco vases in the 1930s). Established 1867.
- J & W Wade (later AJ Wade Ltd, which made tiles, notably the original tiles for the London Underground). Established 1891.
Wade made its way into history with beautiful ceramic art ware known as Flaxman Ware in the Art Deco style by Wade Heath & Co and its figure collection known as Wade Whimsies that became hugely popular in the UK and America in the 1950s.