Crocus pot
Barr, Flight and Barr
Category
Ceramics
Date
1804 - 1807
Materials
Soft-paste porcelain, painted with enamel colours and gilding
Measurements
179 x 238 x 104 mm
Place of origin
Worcester
Order this imageCollection
Blickling Hall, Norfolk
NT 353347.1
Summary
Crocus pot . Barr, Flight and Barr, Worcester, c.1804-7. Garniture de cheminée, soft-paste porcelain, painted with enamel colours and gilding. Demi-lune commode shape. 3 landscape views in gilt panels between gilt mock columns. Lower section has 2 gilt lozenges on grey-marbled ground, and 4-arch arcaded base. Left side view of lake with building and cliff, two figures in foreground with tree. Central view of windmill and cottage on mound with building in background. Two figures, sheep and cattle in foreground with tree. Right side view of lake and boat with two figures. Two towers on cliff, mountain in distance, tree at right. Marked on base with a crown above 'Barr Flight & Barr, Worcester, Flight & Barr, Coventry Street, London. Manufacturers to their Majesties and Royal Family'.
Full description
Between 1775 and 1825, the English ‘garniture de cheminée’ featured not only vases and jars for cut-flowers, but also pots for growing plants and bulbous root-pots for forcing hyacinth and other bulbs in water alone. Many of the shapes were inspired by French garnitures in porcelain or ‘tôle vernis’ (painted metal). Vessels were often supplemented with covers, converting them into holders for potpourri or for burning perfumed pellets. Thus, throughout the year, they filled the drawing-room air with varied aromas. Here, the central bulb-pot has a cover with nozzles to support bulbs, their roots fed by the water below. Small holes in the cover held wooden sticks, tied to the hyacinth stems to prevent them from toppling and smashing the pot. Named Irish and Scottish topographical views on the smaller vases cater to the growing popularity of British tourism in search of the Picturesque.
Provenance
Part of the Lothian Collection. The hall and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust by Philip, 11th Marquess of Lothian (1882-1940).
Marks and inscriptions
Base: [crown] 'Barr Flight & Barr / Worcester / Flight & Barr / Coventry Street / London / Manufacturers to their Majesties and Royal Family'
Makers and roles
Barr, Flight and Barr
