A Staffordshire Watermill Spill Vase, circa 1840
This Staffordshire porcelaneous landscape spill vase is modelled as a watermill, the holder for the spills a hollow tree trunk. The miller stands with a laden packhorse at the bottom of the steps to the mill house, and beneath the tree is a lady wearing a shawl and carrying a basket. A clock in the pediment to the mill house gives the time as just before three o’clock, and two ducks are bobbing in the running stream below the water wheel. The front of the base is decorated with a gilt line, and shredded clay ‘moss’ has been applied and coloured to resemble vegetation.
Decorated only on the facing side, this Staffordshire flatback would have sat above a fireplace and held ‘spills’, typically strips of paper or wood, which could be used to transfer a flame from a candle to the hearth or vice versa, in the days before matches.
Condition: The end of one of the branches is lacking from the tree, and the tips are missing from three of the water wheel paddles. There are three faint hairlines and very minor wear to the decoration. No restoration. From manufacture, there are small clay tears where the individually modelled figures were attached, glazed and fired. This charming spill vase remains attractive and displays well.
Dimensions: Height 12.8 cm; Length 14.5 cm
A Collector’s History of English Pottery, Griselda Lewis (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1987).
English Pottery and Porcelain, Geoffrey Wills (Guinness, 1969).
£30.00 (plus Postage & Packaging)