WALTER CRANE (1845-1915) FOR PILKINGTON'S TILE AND POTTERY COMPANY
GROUP OF FIVE 'FLORA'S TRAIN' RELIEF-PRESSED TILES, CIRCA 1900-1901
£2,750
Auction: 26 October 2016 at 12:00 BST
Description
comprising 'Poppy'; 'Columbine'; 'Daffodil'; 'Bluebell' and 'Anemone', moulded mark (5)
Dimensions
each 15cm square
Footnote
Literature: Cross, Anthony 'Pilkington's Royal Lancastrian pottery and tiles', 1980, p. 16, pl. XIII
Note: Renowned Victorian artist and illustrator Walter Crane (1845-1915) worked for several manufacturing firms, but most notably for Pilkington's Tile and Pottery Company. Crane began designing interior decoration, wallpapers, tiles and embroidery from the mid-1870s and in 1880 he was made Art Superintendent of London Decorating Company, which specialised in encaustic tiles. The design of these relief-pressed tiles for Pilkington's, which show all the influences of the Art Nouveau, are similar in style to Crane's imaginative book illustrations, on which he built his reputation.