WILLIAM 150 COLLECTION

THE POTTER WHO OPENED THE DOOR TO MOORCROFT DESIGN, TECHNIQUE & ARTISTRY

One hundred and fifty years ago, one of the most gifted potters of his generation, William Moorcroft, was born. Quickly, the art potter gleaned that the consummate skills of botanical design and a passion for the natural world was not enough for his ambitions. In truth, to become an icon for the Applied Arts, success lies not simply in surface decoration and shape design, as these change with what is in vogue during each generation. Something more is always needed. A door had to be opened for generations of potters to perfect.

Whilst the emerging Art Nouveau designs of the continent inspired the young Moorcroft in terms of shape and design, it was to be in his home in the Potteries where he would perfect his ceramic alchemy, during his first job in 1897, as a designer for James Macintyre & Co. There followed the arrival of gold medals from across the Atlantic in St Louis in 1908 to Europe, including a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition in1925. In 1913 William launched a company under his own name, Moorcroft, and the company we know and love today, was firmly established.

With each piece echoing the hallmarks of William’s most renowned work, the Moorcroft Design Studio step forward to honour the founder, of what is said to be one of the greatest Arts and Crafts pottery companies today, with their WILLIAM 150 collection.

Daffodil designs are one of the oldest Moorcroft blooms, first making their debut in Florian Ware (1897-1913) in the days when William Moorcroft was employed by James Macintyre & Co. After that, there were only a handful of blooms. In modern times, with ever increasing cultivars for inspiration, the Moorcroft Design Studio have created a countless host of golden daffodils, celebrating the arrival of nearly every spring with a vast array of bright jubilant faces.

Designer Emma Bossons has reimagined an old daffodil design holding shallow cupped soft-yellow trumpets with reflexed petals around the rim as sword-tipped foliage curls around the base and up the slender art nouveau shape. This time, daffodils also unfurl into a shower of gold at the base of the vase, with the neck holding foliage that curls like periscopes peeping up from the ground.

• Designer:  Emma Bossons
• Dimensions: H 29.00 x W 12.50 x D 12.50 cm