A rare and very early Pomegranate vase by William Moorcroft, dated on the base as 1913. In stunning varied green and blue ground with eight bright clear pomegranates, two of which are open showing their seeds. The pomegranates are surrounded by leaves and grapes and one of the most stunning things about this vase is that the inside of the rim is decorated around its circumference with exquisitely detailed leaves and grapes.
The base of the vase carries the Moorcroft Burslem backstamp dating it accurately to between 1913 and 1916. Additionally there is William Moorcroft's full signature extremely clearly written in green glaze and underneath is the date which we have looked at very carefully and closely under a variety of light and it is marked as 1913. The backstamp would back this date up as ENGLAND was added to the Burslem stamp in 1916 and MADE in ENGLAND was added in 1918. We believe this vase was made and decorated right at the begining of the Moorcroft era at Cobridge just after William left Macintyres to start his own pottery.
The signature is wonderfully clear as most later are painted with a fairly broad brush. This has been done with a fine brush so gives an absolutely perfect signature. This early version of William's Pomegranate design is incredibly rare, and pieces with this version of the pattern are seldom offered for sale.
In really beautiful condition with no chips, cracks or restoration, though it does have the usual age related crazing which is comforting to see (indicating it hasn't been restored), although not particularly visible on the decorated body shows quite heavily on the cream base which is not uncommon for pieces of this age. This vase would make a stunning focus for any Moorcroft collection and is approximately 4½ inches (11.5cm) high by 5½ inches (14cm) maximum diameter.
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