On offer is a stunning garniture of three potpourri vases with covers made by H & R Daniel in about 1840. The vases are from the Rococo Revival period, richly decorated with encrusted flowers in the "Coalbrookdale" style, and have painted reserves with birds on both sides.
If you thought you've seen this shape of vases identified as Alcock, Minton, or Madeley... you are right! They have gone through quite a journey as to who made them, but have very recently, after thorough research by H&R Daniel experts, been confirmed to be made by this factory.
Potpourri vases were meant to hold a mix of scented dried flowers and leaves to freshen the air in the often stuffy Georgian or Victorian homes in a time before vacuum cleaners. The lids therefore are perforated to let the scent out.
The H & R Daniel porcelain factory was founded by Henry Daniel, son of a family of master colour makers. He headed up the decoration department in the famous Spode factory where he oversaw all the beautiful early Spode decorations. In 1822 he opened his own factory with his son Richard, creating a truly iconic body of work with the most subtle colours and beautifully painted flowers and landscapes.
The Daniel factory was the last true cottage industry among the English porcelain factories, resisting the increase of industrialisation and mass production. This resulted in extraordinary and unrivalled quality, but it probably also led to the factory having to close its doors in 1846 because it could no longer compete with others who did modernise. Daniel porcelain can be hard to identify as the factory was only around for about two decades, but this short duration and thelow output also means that Daniel items have become true collectors' items.
These vases are of very high quality; the encrusted flowers are superbly made in the "Coalbrookdale" style named after the Coalport factory, which copied this style of encrusting with flowers from Meissen in Germany. The birds paintings are excellently executed as well; these are simple grouse and crows rather than the fancy birds that you often see, suggesting that these vases were made for a land owner who would display them at his stately home that he used for hunting parties. The vases are shaped in the Rococo Revival style, famous for its unpredictable, flowing shapes and was very popular between about 1825 and 1850.
The vases are unmarked, which is normal for Daniel items. Brian Smith, the author of "Identifying Daniel Ornamental Wares", shows an almost identical vase in Journal no.49 of Daniel Ceramic Circle, May 2022. This shape was only recently identified as Daniel and did not make it into the book.
CONDITION REPORT The vases are in excellent condition with very few flaws. There are some typical small losses to the encrusted flowers, however overall they are in very good condition. One of the covers has been broken and cleanly restuck, which is hardly visible and entirely stable. One vase has a chip to the handle, which does not stand out given the rather elaborately moulded style.
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 the smaller vases are 26cm (10.25") tall and the largest one is 30cm (11.5") tall.
