The Iris pattern charger made an exciting appearance more than 25 years after its period of fame in the 1980s. It was sold at auction on 5th July 2013 at Tennants, Leyburn.
There were four items in the lot. Apart from the Iris charger there was another silent star of the Pottery Ladies film, the Persian Leaf bowl which sits on the table while Rose discusses tube-lining. Also of interest was an experimental colour variation of Foxglove on a 12” charger. The leaf colours are in the usual Cairo and emerald green but whereas the charger border is usually in the same shade of Cairo as the leaves, this example has a full strength dark Cairo border so it appears that the charger has three different green enamel colours, (enlarge the image in the Tennants link above).
There were some other lots at the auction with important and previously unrecorded Crown Ducal, Rhead designs. If I am correct in assuming they came from the same source then probably the 5623 charger and definitely the 5803 bowl in lot 338 also featured in the Pottery Ladies film. There was also a splendid galleon vase, which must surely be another Rhead rare design. See Peters blog for more details:
http://www.rheadpottery.com/charlotte-rhead/mysterious-galleon-vase-charlotte-rhead/
http://www.rheadpottery.com/charlotte-rhead/mysterious-galleon-vase-charlotte-rhead/
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| Charlotte Rhead tube-lined Iris charger of "Pottery Ladies" fame at Tennants |
The colourful Iris charger (12”) featured in the Pottery Ladies TV programme in 1985.
Then, during 1986-1987 it went on tour, to London, Bradford, Bristol and Stoke-on-Trent with the “Rhead: Artists & Potters 1870-1950” exhibition.
Bernard Bumpus also included it in his book of 1987, “Charlotte Rhead Potter & Designer”.
Since it is one of the few Charlotte Rhead designed Crown Ducal items that has some documented history attached to it, I thought it might be interesting to bring together what is known about it.
Charlotte Rhead DVD
For more info:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120211135847/http://artsonfilm.wmin.ac.uk/films.php?a=view&recid=152
For more info:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120211135847/http://artsonfilm.wmin.ac.uk/films.php?a=view&recid=152
In the Pottery Ladies documentary, Rose Dickenson is holding the charger and tells her anecdote relating to the charger.
Miss Rhead did this as a pattern, you know, as a sample actually.
And she said, “Well I don’t know Rose”, she says, “Whether it will become a seller”. She says “It could be”, she says, “But I think it will be too expensive to do. To put the gold on and to commercialise it”.
So I said, “Well Miss Rhead the pattern you did, it is still on the table, if you haven’t any further use for it could I possibly have it?”
She says, “Would you like it Rose?
I said, “Yes”.
She was a little bit on her R’s but very fascinating to talk to.
And she said, “Can you pay for it Rose before you take it off the works, that is important”.
And I said, “Yes”, because you couldn’t take anything off the works that wasn’t accounted for.
I treasured it, I’ll tell you, and especially something that Charlotte herself had done.
So from this, it has to be assumed that Rose Dickenson became the owner soon after the charger was made.
Rhead: Artists & Potters 1870-1950
Bernard Bumpus created a series of exhibitions in conjuction with the Geffrye Museum during 1986-1987, the catalogue he compiled became the basis for his two books on Charlotte and the Rhead family in general. The venues and dates were:
Geffrye Museum, London, 7 March- 25 May 1986
Cartwright Hall, Bradford, 6 July - 8 September 1986
Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, 26 October - 7 December 1986
City Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, 7 February - 9 May 1987
Copies of the exhibition catalogue can sometimes be found on bookfinder.com if you are interested – just search with keywords geffrye rhead:
http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?keywords=geffrye+rhead&mode=advanced&st=sr&ac=qr
Geffrye Museum, London, 7 March- 25 May 1986
Cartwright Hall, Bradford, 6 July - 8 September 1986
Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, 26 October - 7 December 1986
City Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, 7 February - 9 May 1987
Copies of the exhibition catalogue can sometimes be found on bookfinder.com if you are interested – just search with keywords geffrye rhead:
http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?keywords=geffrye+rhead&mode=advanced&st=sr&ac=qr
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| Extract from Geffryre Museum catalogue |
With regard to the Iris charger there are some relevant points to note.
- The charger is illustrated in the catalogue.
- F19 is the catalogue entry for the exhibit. The charger still has the original exhibition sticker on the reverse with F19. Anyone who bought items at the Bernard Bumpus Collection sale at Halls, Shrewsbury on 9th February 2011 will be familiar with these stickers as some of those items were exhibited at the same exhibition and had retained their stickers at the time of the auction.
- Mrs Norah Dobbs was the owner of the charger at the time of the exhibition and also features in the Pottery Ladies film. So perhaps the charger changed hands between Rose and Norah some time before the Pottery Ladies film was made?
- Bumpus annotates the entry with “Charlotte Rhead almost certainly tubed the iris flower herself on this trial piece and would have closely supervised the application of the mottled glazes. The standard border was executed by the tube-liner Fanny Morrey. The design was not commercially produced.”
Charlotte Rhead Potter & Designer
In 1987, after the exhibition Bernard Bumpus published his book. There is an image of the charger, (not the same one as in the exhibition catalogue), and a brief description under the “Patterns without numbers” section. It is recorded as “Naturalistic Iris in blue, yellow, pink with green leaves. Mottled blue and purple ground. Not commercially produced.”
Sotheby’s 1987?
The charger has a previous auction label on the reverse recording that it may have been in an auction at Sotheby’s in Chester on 7th September 1987. I have not been able to confirm this.
The exhibition ended in May 1987 and so presumably the owner consigned it for auction soon after.
The exhibition ended in May 1987 and so presumably the owner consigned it for auction soon after.
Tennants 2013
The charger reappears at auction in an antiques and interiors sale on 5th July 2013 at Tennants, Leyburn, without any of its history in the description, but with publicity on the internet it does not go by unnoticed.
What else is known?
The charger has the usual 1935-1938 backstamp style and has the facsimile signature of Fanny Morrey.
The glaze has been used before, it is documented and known as “Glaze 78”. The only numbered pattern that uses it is 5981, (Floretta). This pattern is illustrated in a previous post, (the last image):
The same glaze appears to have been used for a version of Persian Leaf/Tarragona. You can see an example on George Conners website:
https://web.archive.org/web/20101112194205/http://charlotterhead.jimdo.com:80/crown_ducal.php
https://web.archive.org/web/20101112194205/http://charlotterhead.jimdo.com:80/crown_ducal.php
Scroll down to the image after 5391 titled “Persian Leaf unusual colour way”.
Crown Ducal documents of the period record the following details for “Glaze 78”
Inside weakened yellow
Outside Blown White Matt Harrisons
Top Mottled
29 green
Yellow
Mauve
Blue
Foot
29 green
Off green
Fox brown
Lightly mottled primrose over plain white parts.
Based on the design date for Tarragona/Persian Leaf, (1938), which has examples with the same glaze and backstamp, and the fact that most examples of 5981, (Floretta), have younger backstamps than the one on the Iris charger, it seems most likely that the Iris charger was made in 1938.
There is not much else to say except that it is good so see it again and that it is safe and sound.
Based on the design date for Tarragona/Persian Leaf, (1938), which has examples with the same glaze and backstamp, and the fact that most examples of 5981, (Floretta), have younger backstamps than the one on the Iris charger, it seems most likely that the Iris charger was made in 1938.
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| Iris charger - centre detail |