Object Type
This vase is a purely decorative object which meets fashionable taste of around 1900. William Howson Taylor, owner of the Ruskin Pottery, perfected the firing of a true flambé glaze, emulating 18th-century Chinese glazes. Its exclusivity gave it limited appeal but this vase would impress as evidence of the owner's knowledgeable and artistic taste.

Materials & Making
Based on mineral (usually iron or copper) oxides, flambé glazes (or transmutation glazes) are fired at high temperatures (up to 1500ºC) in a kiln atmosphere that is rich in carbon monoxide, owing to the shutting off of oxygen at a critical moment. (This is known as a 'reducing' atmosphere.) This results in a violent reaction within the glaze, which is transmuted into an unpredictable range of reds, purples, blues, lilacs and greens. The glaze was perfected by the Chinese in the 18th century and first copied successfully in Europe in the later 19th century. A less demanding version offering a similar appearance could be achieved by using a slip oxide fired at a low temperature. Unlike the true flambé, however, this was easily scratched.