Vase

Vase - with a faience lid, modest in size, designed on an oval base. It is decorated with a two-toned motif of poppy flowers (petals in burgundy-red, leaves, and stems in dark green) stylised in the spirit of moderate Art Nouveau, arranged into a striped border ornament. The semi-ellipsoidal vessel is supported on a low, conical, ring-like foot and features two small, volute-shaped handles positioned along the longer axis, not extending beyond the height of the vessel. These handles take the form of three-dimensional three-leaf motifs (the leaf veins highlighted with stencilled brown) mounted on a protrusion of the vessel. The broad end of each handle detaches from the wall surface, transitioning into a fully solid volute curl. The lid is relatively low, with a pear-shaped, undulating profile and a parapet-like rim. Inside, it has a recessed fitting that matches the vase's opening. The top of the lid features a handle in the form of an oval knob, adorned with radial grooves on its face and surrounded at the base by a rhomboid collar of leaves that lie flat against the convex surface of the top. The leaves and grooves are stencilled with brown. At the widest parts of the vase and lid—near their rims—runs a wide strip outlined with two brown stripes, filled with a green and burgundy poppy pattern. This pattern consists of a basic motif of a cup-shaped flower standing between a pair of leaves and two flower buds. These buds are attached to long, flexible stems that curve outward, interlocking with similar buds to form a chain-like pattern. The border on the vase features six poppy flowers, interrupted twice by the leafy bases of the handles. The border on the lid contains five flowers. The decoration was applied to the top of the vessel using a semi-mechanical method, i.e. by means of a stencil, with the green fragments of the pattern and the outline of the flower petals superimposed. The latter were painted freely by hand. On the reverse of the vase, near the foot, there are two green stamped signatures. One is the manufacturer's signature depicting an anchor within an oval, with the inscription S.B. and S/ENGLAND underneath. The other is the signature of the London store SOUTH AUDLEY S/ T. GOODE & Co/ LONDON. W. 

Joanna Kluz