Royal Doulton circa 19th Century Jewelled Fish Handle Pair of Vases

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Royal Doulton circa 19th Century Jewelled Fish Handle Pair of Vases

About the Item

An impressive pair of Royal Doulton fish handle vases that presents in an oval form with a short waisted neck and turned out rims. The main body of the vases are decorated with trailing leaves and vines with some porcelain jewelling. The neck painted in blue with acanthus flowers and vines that goes around and a patterned collar in a raised design wraps around the neck. Sitting on the shoulders of the neck are handles in the form of fishes with upturned tails and a large ring firmly clasped inside their mouths. A ribbon hangs at the other end of the ring. The fins are spread over the the shoulder of the vases displaying the beauty of the handles. Surrounding the base are trailing leaves. The vases are unmarked which was very common around this period. Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of English pottery. From the start, the backbone of the business was a wide range of utilitarian wares, mostly stonewares, including storage jars, tankards and the like and later water filters, electrical porcelain and other technical ceramics. From 1853 to 1901, its wares were marked Doulton & Co., then from 1901, when a royal warrant was given, Royal Doulton. It always made some more decorative wares, initially still mostly stoneware, and from the 1860s, the firm made considerable efforts to get a reputation for design, in which it was largely successful, as one of the first British makers of art pottery. Initially this was done through artistic stonewares made in Lambeth.

Creator:
Royal Doulton (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 27.5 in (69.85 cm)Diameter: 12 in (30.48 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Pottery,Hand-Crafted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1900s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU5548233402012

Shop All Royal Doulton

Royal Doulton

The redoubtable British ceramics maker Royal Doulton has long embraced popular tastes and enjoys a devoted following among aficionados of English pottery. Some are drawn to the company’s intricately decorated bone china dinner services; others are passionate collectors of Royal Doulton’s artfully hand-painted figurines, vases and bowls.

When founded by John Doulton, Martha Jones and John Watts in 1815, in the Lambeth section of suburban London, the manufacturer produced bottles and other storage containers and even sewer pipes in stoneware, a cheap but durable cousin of porcelain. Amid the Victorian era’s rising concern for hygiene, food safety and sanitation, the company flourished. During the late 1850s — having rebranded as Doulton & Watts and then Doulton and Co. — the firm was colloquially referred to as Doulton Ware. And in the late 1870s, it expanded its business into the applied arts.

The firm took over a factory in Staffordshire, in northern England — the traditional home of British ceramics manufacturing — to produce tableware. Around the same time, Doulton opened an art pottery studio in Lambeth, where vases, urns and other forms were decorated with painted scenic images, flowers or historical motifs.

Taking a cue from the venerable Meissen porcelain workshops in Germany, Doulton artisans began crafting figurines modeled on characters from literature and theater. The firm also helped popularize Toby Jugs and other “character mugs” — handled cups shaped as the heads of figures from folklore and popular culture. Doulton purchased a factory in Burslem in 1882, and King Edward VII granted the factory his Royal Warrant in 1901.

Royal Doulton china will always make an elegant yet not-too-formal appearance in a traditional table setting. Prices for dinner services vary according to size, age and condition, but generally range from $2,000 to $15,000.

Authentic Royal Doulton art pottery might be used by some as a bright decorative note; others collect the company’s figurines with the same interest and dedication as stamp and coin enthusiasts. A typical Toby Jug might fetch $50, while very rare figurines can sell for $7,000. Most of the finest Royal Doulton art pottery pieces sell for around $500.

As you will see on these pages, few decorative-arts companies are as aesthetically and stylistically diverse as Royal Doulton. The firm truly offers something for everyone.

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