Pair Royal Worcester Vases – Worcestershire Cottages, signed Holford

Porcelain : Antique : Royal Worcester

 

These two little vases are from a series produced by Royal Worcester called ‘Cottages in Worcestershire and Warwickshire’ (pattern #Z160). The marks on these beauties date them to 1929. They feature Mary Arden’s House in Stratford-on-Avon and Elmley Castle, a thatched roofed village in Worcestershire. Mary Arden was Shakespeare’s mother – the house pictured on this vase was identified as her childhood home in the 18th century.

The vases were hand painted and signed by Amos Holford, who was an apprentice painter for Royal Worcester at the time. His specialty was painting cottages, and he certainly did a beautiful job with capturing the rural English feel on these vases. Apprentices during the early 1900s worked directly with a master artist – it is possible that Holford was paired with Raymond Rushton who also specialized in painting cottages and landscapes.

The colors are of either an early morning sunrise, or possibly a spring sunset, with some pinks and blues in the sky. Each is nicely detailed; Mary Warden’s House includes a couple of tiny figures on the road in front of the cottage, while Elmley includes a few sheep wandering by. The colors are soft and subtle – very appealing. The top and bottom rims are trimmed in gold – there is another rim of gold inside the lip of the top.

These are small examples of this shape (G923), measuring at just over 4 1/2" tall and 2 3/8” in diameter at the top. Their size gives them a dainty beauty that is very appealing. Condition is excellent – we see no loss of paint or gilding. There are no chips, cracks or scratches other than some wear on the base.

This particular pattern is not commonly seen – not nearly as common as the highland sheep and roses. These are two very sweet examples – they would look very nice on display.

Item ID: 0477

--------------------
Ask us about Layaway!