Pair of vases, with landscape scenes

Sumptuously gilded and painstakingly hand-painted in enamel, this pair of vases by Worcester are examples of the height of style and luxury in the decorative arts in early nineteenth-century England. In this period Worcester was a leading maker of fine, grand-scale porcelain and a supplier of dinner services to royal families and the nobility. This pair of vases in the French Empire style are testament to the technical and design achievement of the company in the early nineteenth century.

The Pair of vases features four large scenes drawn from British landscapes and monuments. The names of the scenes are written on the base of the vases and are: Derwentwater Lake, Cumberland and Conway Castle, and on the second vase Flesk Bridge, Lake of Killarney, Ireland, and Chingford Church, Essex. The shape of the vases takes its form from the ancient Greek volute krater, a form popular in ceramics from the eighteenth century in England. Vases with scenes on one side were used on mantelpieces, while those with designs on both sides were reserved as centrepieces for table settings, allowing them to be viewed in the round.

Rebecca Evans, Curator of Decorative Arts & Design