About this objectA red earthenware vase on foot, with a high shoulder and narrow trumpet neck and 2 handles, as part of a set. It features sgraffito decoration through a white slip with green, heart-shaped, stylised leaves on tall stems against a ground of yellow flowers and blue circles.
Walker was a mainstay artist working for the pottery for the majority of its existence. She gained a reputation as being an elite member of the pottery for her painting techniques and artistic designs, even being called on for special commissions. She was also a regular exhibitor at the Walker Art Gallery's Autumn Exhibitions and frequently attended art classes at the Liverpool College for Applied Art and the Art Sheds. The closing of the pottery heavily impacted her finances, later emigrating to Canada in 1908, where she spent the remainder of her life. In her personal life she was described as being free-spirited and also had suffragist sympathies.
The intricate repeating pattern is reminiscent of Islamic patterns and demonstrates the artist's skill in obtaining difficult symmetry. This piece echoes the Arts and Crafts obsession with nature as well as human craftsmanship, as seen in the glaze's brushstrokes and the asymmetry of the leaves.
MakerDella Robbia Pottery (active 1894-1906)
Maker Rolemanufacturer
MakerWalker, Cassandra Annie (1875-1936)
Maker Roledecorator
Date Made1897
Period19th century
Medium and Materialsearthenware
Place MadeBirkenhead, Merseyside
Style and IconographyArts and Crafts
Inscription and Marksinitials and date
DRPM / 1897 / CAW
Method: inscribed marks
Position: base
