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A selection of bluebell designs for pottery made by Moorcroft in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, between 1898 and 2023.
This gallery includes work by William Moorcroft, Walter Moorcroft, Sally Tuffin, Rachel Bishop, Emma Bossons FRSA, Kerry Goodwin, Paul Hilditch,
Vicky Lovatt, Nicola Slaney, Sian Leeper, Philip Gibson, Anita Harris, Shirley Hayes, and Elizabeth Todd. And many highly-skilled modelers, molders,
casters, turners, spongers, tracers, tube-liners, painters, glazers, and firers.
My interest is how this work illustrates the varied treatments of the same subject that can be made by the same and different
artists in the same media over many years' time.
Page 3: 2017 to 2023 1898 to 2008 • 2009 to 2016 • 2017 to 2023 |
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Baby Bell trial master dated 23-3-17. |
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Red dot for minor flaws.
The two small lakes of Grasmere and Rydal Water are in the Lake District in Northwest England. ![]() |
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Red dot for minor flaws.
![]() ![]() The 2017 production vase, edition of 50 in the "I Am Not My Father" Collection.
W. Moorcroft Ltd photo. |
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![]() This trial dated 27-11-18 |
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![]() This trial dated 12-02-19 |
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Dingle Dell is a wood near the River Derwent in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
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Renishaw Hall and Gardens is a country house in the parish of Eckington in Derbyshire, the home of the
Sitwell family for 400 years.
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Tubeliner and painter initials,
no designer monogram.
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I include this teapot here, although this similar 2019 trial plate design I think are Columbine flowers. |
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Roydon Woods is a nature reserve near Brockenhurst in Hampshire managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust,
a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of New Forest Special Area of Conservation.
![]() ![]() Roydon Woods trial.
W. Moorcroft Ltd photo. |
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Tubeliner and painter initials,
no designer monogram.
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The design watercolour for this jug was the winner of the first Moorcroft watercolour design competition in 2020, voted by 617 Moorcroft member entries. |
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![]() One of five designs, one by each of the five women of the Moorcroft Design Studio, in the 'Memories of the
Moorcroft Design Studio — 25th Anniversary Collection' 2023, with the MDS 25-year backstamp. "Rachel proved that a moonlit night in the New Forest can be a deeply spiritual experience within clay form." |
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Emma Bossons' original design watercolour. |
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![]() ![]() The production vase.
W. Moorcroft Ltd photo. |
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This design illustrates the John Masefield poem, The Bluebells:
"We stood upon the grass beside the road, At a wood's fence, to look among the trees ..." ![]() ![]() The related trial vase above is Masefield 2.
W. Moorcroft Ltd photo. |
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This trial dated 16.6.22.
![]() Moorcroft 'Mini of the Month' for May 2023. "In May the British hedgerow is a vibrant lime green, dappled with the white froth of hawthorn. There is vibrant colour to be found too, as along the base of the hedgerow bluebells are at their peak." |
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In August 1998 W. Moorcroft Plc. acquired Kingsley Enamels Limited, a family company distinguished in decorative metal work since 1904.
The name was changed to Moorcroft Enamels, and traded from 1999 to 2006. I have not had a particular interest in the enamel work, which have included bluebell designs, but have this example. |
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Left, a Moorcroft bluebell enamel by Jayne Bishop, and right an enamel by Phillip Gibson. Auction photos. |
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British pottery artist Anita Harris was a member of the design studio for Moorcroft Cobridge Stoneware and Black Ryden from 2002, until
those projects were closed in 2005. The ten years prior she was head designer at Poole Pottery; then in 2006 she founded Anita Harris Art Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent. |
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The Bluebell Lustre design was produced in different shapes and sizes, also with a yellow-ochre base colour.
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The Bluebell Forest design was produced in several shapes and sizes.
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Jeanne McDougall produced some worthy designs for Moorcroft when the Design Studio was founded in 1997. McDougall was designer for Old Tupton Ware, originally in the village of Old Tupton, Derbyshire, later moving to Powys, Wales, a substantial producer. |
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The Old Tupton Ware designs were produced in a variety of shapes and sizes.
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The significant omission here for an actual example is the 2001 Emma Bossons bluebell vase. Auction photo. Please let me know if you know of any others. |
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This outstanding ginger jar trial by Rachel Bishop was produced in 1995.
Sold at Hansons in 2020. |
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This gallery was created for recreational interest only. I have very little experience with photography, taking these photos with a Samsung S-10+ phone camera using a white nylon sheet for a background. Brightness is low in favour of reduced glare and accurate colour. Contact at paul@pauldavies.net • www.pauldavies.net • www.sybiltawse.info |
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