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Moorcroft Vases Get All Fired UpMoorcroft Vases sell more new production today than they did in their heyday. What's the story behind this famous Staffordshire Pottery? Read on below to find out ..... 
For an online auction price guide to Moorcroft ceramics, please scroll to the bottom of the page Moorcroft Manufacturer ProfileThe Moorcroft pottery firm was born of an association of James Macintyre & Co with a young 24 year old ceramic designer called William Moorcroft in 1897, Staffordshire, England.Originally a studio within James Macintyre & Co, Moorcroft was backed until 1962 by Liberty of London, a company well known to me as I was a buyer for Liberty before I became a full time ceramic sculptor in 1993. William Moorcroft was a born and bred Staffordshire potter, hailing right from the heart of Stoke in Burslem, no less. Born in 1872, he soon flew the nest, wanting bigger and better things – going to Art School in London and then completing his artistic training in Paris. It was obvious from the start that Moorcroft was not just a good potter, he was primarily an artist with an artist’s take on pottery. It was almost inevitable that he would develop his own unique style and technique which would go on to become world famous and synonymous with his name. The techniques were complex and difficult to produce involving precision lathe work, slip trailing / tube lining, color application one over another to blend with each other and the over-glaze producing a brilliance of color. Each Moorcroft vase was signed as if it were an original piece of artwork. Moorcroft vases won the young man his first gold medal at the St. Louis International Exhibition in 1904. He went onto supply Tiffany of New York and Shreve & Co. of San Francisco (he was already supplying Liberty of London). Moorcroft vases continued to develop. In the 1920s he began to work on his Flambe glazes and produced the famous large exhibition vases shown at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924. Moorcroft was appointed as Potter to HM The Queen in 1928. He readily survived the slump of the 1930’s and continued to attain great acclaim for his vases right up until his death in 1947. By this time, his work was being exhibited in museums all around the world. Moorcroft's elder son, Walter, took over management and design on William's death. Unfortunately, unlike many family ceramic firms that we see as household names today, Walter was unable to take the baton and really run with it. They remain a successful firm today mainly due to their patronage by Liberty of London. In 1984, the family sold the bulk of their shares on the open market and no longer have a say in the running of the firm. In 1993, Rachel Bishop joined the company. She was only the fourth designer of a Moorcroft vase in nearly one hundred years.Today, under the successful stewardship of Bishop, the company sells more of its vases than it did in its heyday in the 1920’s. ANEMONE BANKSIA BERMUDA LILY BUTTERCUP CHESTNUT CLAREMONT CLEMATIS COLUMBINE CORAL HIBISCUS CORAL HIBISCUS CORNFLOWER DAWN DINOSAUR DRAGON EVENTIDE FAIRY RINGS FINCHES FINCHES FLORIAN FRUIT & VINE GRAPE AND LEAF HAZLEDENE HERON HONEYCOMB LEMON MAGNOLIA MOONLIT BLUE MOORCROFT BLUE MOORCROFT YELLOW OWL MOORCROFT POTTERY ORCHID PANSY PERSIAN PINEAPPLE PLUM POLAR BEAR POMEGRANATE POPPY REEDS AT SUNSET ROBIN ROSE SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION SPANISH MOORCROFT SPRING BLOSSOM MOORCROFT POTTERY SUNFLOWER TEMPTATION TULIP MOORCROFT VIOLET WILLIAM MORRIS BLUE MOORCROFT POTTERY WILLIAM MORRIS IVORY MOORCROFT POTTERY WISTERIA Moorcroft Pottery |
