A very unusual early Slab Vase from the Troika Pottery, this vase is 6¾ inches (17cm) tall by 4½ inches (11cm) wide and decorated by Honor Curtis (formally Perkins) who worked for Troika between 1968 and 1973. However she married in 1969 and changed her mark from HP to HC which along with no 'St. Ives' mark accurately dates the manufacture of this vase between 1970 and 1973.
This vase is unusual in that is is neither the classic 'smooth' St. Ives decoration, nor is it the later usual rough-ware 'Newlyn' type decoration; it is somewhere between the two, and exhibiting elements of both era's. One face has an interesting 'crop circle' type design above a deep plue rectangular 'high gloss' glaze panel on a light mottled moss-green colour ground. The reverse face has what is a more recognisable Troika design with a large circle and semi-circle over, but with an infil panel of high gloss glaze in mottled blue and copper on a light blue/green ground. The edges and inside of the vase are in the titanium white high gloss tin glaze. The base carries the usual Troika hand-painted marks and Honor's initials in black.
This vase is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, hairlines or restoration. The only thing to mention is a small amount of staining to the interior glaze. This could have happened during manufacture, or possibly as a result of use.
This is a really stunning vase in an unusual pattern and would certainly fit in to any Troika or Cornish Ceramics collection.
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