Condition: Good Chips to the upper corners, another small and a
few tiny around the edges. A hairline 1 1/2 inches
long origin a little under an inch from the top of
the right edge, some light scratches and a little
wear to the decoration near the top edge where the
glaze has pooled. The tile displays very well with
excellent colour and lustre. • Style/technique: Arts & Crafts
lustre A singularly excellent example of design and
decoration from William de Morgan the tile bears
alternating quartered designs of complex
stylised roses and swirling stems in two tones
of copper lustre giving excellent shades of red
and pink. The roses differ in style of petals
and their number, the upper flower having three
rings of seven petals and the lower having ten
in the two outer rings and five in the middle.
The painting has great feel and precision and
the firing is truly excellent, the kiln manager,
who may well have been de Morgan at this time,
deserves applause for his skill. Two versions of this design are recorded and
can be found in Martin Greenwood's catalogue of
de Morgan designs, this is better than either. A
somewhat similar but rather less full version of
this design bears V&A Accession Number 537,
Rose & Scroll (variation). The image below
is of V&A Accession Number 665, Rose &
Scroll from 'William de Morgan Tiles' by John
Catleugh wherein it is described as "a standard
repeat design adroitly painted and beautifully
fired". The example for sale is rather better
than standard, it has several times the
complexity and is considerably better painted,
also it is very well fired with good strength
and consistency of colour across the tile. Very likely an early tile for de Morgan from
the early Chelsea period, 1872 - 1881 as it is
decorated on the style of 'Wedgwood style' blank
that was typical of de Morgan's lustres of this
period. The greater complexity and skill
compared to the known versions both of which are
from patterns in the V&A and so were
production designs suggests either a very early
example or perhaps a specially commissioned
variation. This is indeed a rare opportunity to
find an early period de Morgan lustre of such
style and with such great colour, complexity and
quality of execution. Image from 'William de Morgan Tiles' by John
Catleugh showing a considerably simpler version
wherein it is described as "a standard repeat
design adroitly painted and beautifully fired".
Price: £725 (approx $1181)
Ref: 02629
• Manufacturer: William de Morgan
• Dimensions: 6" x 6"
• Date: circa 1880
