£34,000
The Contents of Kirkton House | 546
Auction: 10 October 2018 at 11:00 BST
decorated with a frieze of cockerels to the neck, and to the body with the figure of Apollo riding a chariot through the clouds pulled by six horses, reserved on a blue ground, bears inscription APOLLO, painted artist’s and date cyphers to the base, impressed factory monogram and marks 2471 / IX/ ENGLAND
Provenance: The Harriman Judd Collection of British Art Pottery, Sotheby’s, New York, 22 January 2001, lot 407
Note: This impressive vase is one of the largest pieces ever produced by the factory in lustre glazes. Pilkington’s Tile & Pottery Company was founded in 1891 at Clifton, near Salford, Greater Manchester. William Burton, previously a chemist with Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, was employed as manager and guided the company through its early years until 1915. He was joined by his brother Joseph, and together they developed the glazes for which the company became famous. The first large exhibition of Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery was held at the Graves Gallery in London in 1904, and two years later the first of the lustre wares were shown at the Arts & Crafts Exhibition in London. The firm employed some of the leading designers of the day for these special wares, including Lewis F. Day, C.F.A. Voysey and Walter Crane, as well as designs from their own decorators, including Richard Joyce, Gordon Forsyth and William S. Mycock. The firm was awarded the Royal Warrant in 1913, after which the range was known as Pilkington’s Royal Lancastrian.