Salopian Rhodian very tall vase with stylised floral decoration, including tulips and pomegranate,
and an interlocking salmon-pink tile pattern around the shoulder.
This vase is one of an unmatched pair; the other is numbered 7A, which is in a diferent colourway.
Mark: Hand-incised Salopian Rhodian script mark
Pattern number: 7
Height: 570mm / 22.5in
Date: c.1890s
The vases with pattern numbers 7 and 7A were originally in the possession of sisters Ethel (1881-1948) and Gladys Lister (1882-1978), of Broseley.
A reference in the Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, 21 August 1915, records the names of Benthall Pottery workers who attended the funeral of Julia Allen (wife of William Allen, who introduced art pottery to the Benthall Pottery). Among the mourners was "Miss Gladys Lester”, which must be a misprint for Lister.
In 1915, Gladys Lister was aged 33. Apart from this tantalising mention in the local newspaper, nothing is known about what Gladys did at the Benthall Pottery, though it is known that women worked as decorators, particularly in the slip painting room where vases were painted with floral designs. Could she have been a pottery decorator?
Provenance: Private collection, UK