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Vase
Smallfield, Katherine B. - Enlarge image
Vase
- Place of origin:
Lambeth, England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1884 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Smallfield, Katherine B. (designer)
Doulton Ceramic Factory (maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Earthenware, glazed and painted
- Credit Line:
Given by Doulton & Co.
- Museum number:
18-1885
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 125f, case 1
Object Type
This vase, although functional, was made mainly for show. The overall decoration, in a comparatively restrained 'art' style, was made to appeal to the widest possible, yet fashion-conscious, home-owning market.
Design & Designing
The production of earthenware with painted pictorial decoration was developed at the Lambeth factory of Doulton & Co. around 1872. Five years earlier in the international exhibition, Paris, similar wares by the French potter Joseph-Th‚odore Deck (1823-1891) and Wedgwood wares painted by Emile Lessore had been exhibited, and in 1871 Minton's had opened their Art Pottery studio, specialising in painted wares, in Kensington Gore, London. Doulton's decided to follow this new fashion with the production of 'Lambeth faience'.
People
Katherine (Katie) Blake Smallfield worked at Doulton's Lambeth studio between about 1881 and 1912. Like many potteries, Doulton's attracted family members. Katie's sister Mildred also worked there. Katie seems to have been a versatile painter, producing work in Japanese, Art Nouveau and straightforwardly naturalistic styles.
