Code: 11722
Dimensions:
A Large Art Deco Ivory White Pottery Twin-Handled Vase
Shorter & Son Ltd
Stoke-On-Trent
English
Late 1930s
Measures:-
41 cm wide x 17 cm high x 12 cm deep
Printed mark in brown "Shorter & Son Ltd / Stoke-On-Trent / England" and moulded shape no. "838 L/S"
A very useful and attractive Art Deco centrepiece or mantel vase. Earthenware pottery with a plain matt ivory-white glaze, stylishly moulded with swooping fluted sides. The success of this vase lies not in its decoration but in the innovative design of its moulded shape.
Owned by the Shorter family, 'Shorter & Son Ltd' worked alongside their other businesses 'A. J. Wilkinson Ltd' and 'Newport Pottery', forming a group of Staffordshire potteries closely associated with the celebrated designer Clarice Cliff (1899 –1972). Under the directorship of Arthur “Colley” Austin Shorter (1882–1963), the group became renowned for embracing the bold colours and geometric forms of the Art Deco movement, producing some of the most distinctively modern and stylish ceramics of the period.
Colley Shorter's commercial vision and encouragement played a crucial role in Clarice Cliff's success. Recognising her talents early on, Colley provided Clarice with her own studio and supported her artistic development, including studies at the Royal College of Art and visits to Paris. Their professional relationship ultimately became a romantic one and although Colley was already married he and Clarice conducted a widely-known affair. Following the death of his first wife, Colley and Clarice Cliff finally married in 1940 and she became Artistic Director across all the family’s pottery interests.
Shorter & Son Ltd also briefly employed Mabel Leigh (1915-1982) who further helped them to develop their innovative designs and ingenious moulding techniques.
