About this objectDella Robbia earthenware dish that is slip-coated with sgraffito and hand-painted decoration in the form of a repeating daffodil motif on a blue ground. The designer Charles Collis was born in Birkenhead in 1879 and joined the pottery as a pattern designer. Much of the information about the daily workings of the pottery can be found in his diaries. In 1900, he left to work at Doulton & Co, but returned two years later. His pottery career ended with the outbreak of the First World War. The decorator Gertrude Russell was born in Liverpool in 1855 into a working-class family and had no formal artistic training. She joined the pottery as a colourist in 1903 after seeing an exhibition of Della Robbia wares. This piece illustrates the Arts and Crafts Movement's obsession with nature, and daffodils are also symbols of unrequited love and fleeting beauty in Victorian art.
MakerDella Robbia Pottery (active 1894-1906)
Maker Rolemanufacturer
MakerCollis, Charles (1879-1966)
Maker Roledesigner
MakerRussell, Gertrude
Maker Roledesigner
Period20th century
Place MadeBirkenhead, Merseyside
Style and IconographyArts and Crafts
Style and IconographyArt Nouveau
Inscription and MarksD R
mark: C
position: base
mark: GR
position: base
