A rare Whitefriars pattern 9817 'Chess' vase designed by Geoffrey Baxter, produced between 1972 and 1974 and in the iconic and stunning Kingfisher Blue colour. Quite hard to obtain pattern, this particular vase is in wonderful unmarked condition and bears no chips, cracks or scratches. The base has the usual ground and polished Pontil mark where the punty rod was attached to control the glass whilst the rim was flame polished whuch gives a much smoother finish than grinding and polishing, and much less prone to being chipped whilst being used. The base has a few small wear marks as is normal and expected for a piece of this age.
In 1965 Baxter dragged the Whitefriars glass works in London into the 20th Century with his iconic 'textured range' which used radical production methods whereby many of the moulds were 'patterned' with nails, wire, bark, bits of wood and metal to create the designs, with the mould not only giving the surface texture but also the shape. Each piece is hand blown and no two pieces are exactly the same.
Vase would make a lovely addition to any growing or established Whitefriars collection, and is priced to make it attractive to buy as a present for that 'collect-a-maniac' in your life!
Dimensions: height 5¾ inches (14cm) approximately.
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