This is a small bottle vase made by Coalport in about 1855-1860. The vase is in the French taste with a "Sardinian" green ground, beautiful tooled gilding and hand painted birds by the famous porcelain artist John Randall, whose works have become collectors' items over the years.
Coalport was one of the leading potters in 19th and 20th Century Staffordshire. They worked alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport and Minton, and came out with many innovative designs. When we say "Coalport" we usually think of the one Coalport factory that became famous, but in its beginning years there were two factories, one run by John Rose and the other by his brother Thomas Rose. Thomas Rose went into partnership with Robert Anstice and Robert Horton and they were located directly opposite John Rose, across the canal. The brothers' factories had much in common with each other and they shared many different shapes and patterns. Ultimately, the John Rose factory proved more profitable and John Rose bought Thomas' factory in 1814, making it the one Coalport factory that became so famous. Many of the Coalport items, of either factory, are now collectors' items.
John Randall was born in 1810 and trained in his uncle Thomas Randall's decoration establishment in Madeley, which was famous for decorating imported French wares in the Sèvres style, passing them on for Sèvres in the English market. He later moved to Coalport, where he spent nearly 50 years being one of Coalport's most celebrated painters. Apart from being a brilliant artist, he was also an amateur geologist and historian, wrote several books, and once his eyesight failed him, he spent the last years of life as the local Postmaster. Randall died in 1910 at the ripe age of 100, reportedly still a witty man with a bright mind.
Michael Messenger perhaps best described Randall's genius as an artist, describing his earlier, more traditional style: "These stylised birds are fairly easily imitated, of course, but already one can detect the beginnings of a distinctive style: the stippled foliage and, perhaps even more significant, the almost three-dimensional effect of depth through the dark tones used in the immediate foreground. No less apparent is the suggestion of suspended animation in the birds themselves, even in stylised forms such as these." (Country Life, 5th July 1973).
The vase is not marked, as is common for items from this era. It must be from shortly after 1855, when this "Sardinian" green colour was first produced on a dessert service offered to the King and Queen of Sardinia.
CONDITION REPORT The vase is in excellent antique condition without any damage or repairs; it has some typical crazing and some light rubbing on the top rim and foot rim.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS 12.5cm (5") tall and 8cm (3.25") diameter.
Coalport bottle vase, Sardinian green and birds by John Randall, 1855-1860
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