Cantagalli Vase
Della Robbia Pottery
Category
Ceramics
Date
1904 - 1906
Materials
earthenware with sgraffito and coloured glazes
Measurements
330 mm (H)250 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Birkenhead
Order this imageCollection
Standen House and Garden, West Sussex
NT 1213655
Summary
Vase, earthenware, spreading foot, with bulbous body rising to a narrow, slightly flaring neck, two handles attached from upper to mid body, designed and sgraffito by Charles Collis, painted by Gertrude Russell, Della Robbia Pottery, Birkenhead, 1904-6; decorated with sgraffito design of two horizontal planes of flowers with long stems, the handles moulded with stylised fish terminals, the design coloured with a ground of blue and green glazes, the flowers in yellow and brown.
Full description
This object was designed by Charles Collis, who also carried out the sgraffito (incised decoration), and painted by Gertrude Russell at the Della Robbia Pottery. It is a shape known as the ‘Cantagalli Vase.’ The Della Robbia Pottery was established in Birkenhead in 1894, taking its name and inspiration from the maiolica (tin glazed earthenware) masterpieces of Italian Renaissance sculptor Luca Della Robbia. It ran according to Arts and Crafts principles, aspiring to use local labour and materials, and to create works entirely by hand. Della Robbia employed many women as designers and decorators. The ceramics were bold, bright and colourful – the Magazine of Art reported that, with Della Robbia ceramics in a room, ‘the ordinary meal would have the comparative air of a banquet.’ Unfortunately, the venture was never profitable and it closed in 1906 after just 12 years in business. Gertrude Russell (1885-1974) grew up in Liverpool and was an artistic child – she won a national prize offered to schoolchildren from the Kensington Art Museum (now the V&A). She had no formal art training, but in 1904 started working as a decorator at Della Robbia Pottery. Before finishing school, she had seen and admired an exhibition of Della Robbia ceramics in Liverpool and told her mother she’d like to work there. Russell flourished in the creative and supportive environment at the Della Robbia studio, later describing her time there as ‘the most interesting years of my life.’
Marks and inscriptions
Underside of base: D [ship] R (maker's mark) C (designer's mark, Charles Collis) 948 / 899 (unknown marks) Underside of base: GR (cand painted in overglaze blue, colourist mark, Gertrude Russell)
Makers and roles
Della Robbia Pottery , pottery and porcelain manufacturer Charles Collis (1837 - 1896), designer Gertrude Russell, decorator
References
Hyland 2013: Peter Hyland, The Della Robbia Pottery, Birkenhead, 1894-1906, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club 2013