Clarice
Cliff plate is 'Missing Link'
EXCLUSIVE!
We were very excited to see
an unusual, early plate in Bonham's
sale in
November 2003 , and Johanna Freidwall
kindly has provided an image of this piece.
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It is painted freehand, with some
outlining in black, turquoise and
orange enamels, in an abstract with
floral and fruit elements.
The plate is clearly date marked
October 1927, and this plus the Wilkinson
backstamp suggest it was decorated
soon after that date.
The other mark is hand-written in
rust enamel and says:
'Fantasy
in Bizarre by Clarice Cliff'
We have seen a cigarette box with
a 'Fantasy' mark before,
but this piece also alludes to Bizarre
AND Clarice Cliff.
We believe it is a sample, or perhaps
even just a notion for an idea
to show Colley Shorter, which was
hand-painted by Clarice Cliff herself.
We know that as early as 1929 she
was designing on paper, and getting her ‘girls’ to use these as a way of
originating samples, but this piece seems to show she designed on pottery
at this time. As such we believe it to be very rare, as few
pieces of her pottery were painted
by Clarice Cliff herself.
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The points that suggest
it is by Clarice are that the hand writing is IDENTICAL to hers; most pieces
with her signature were done in 'her style' by the 'girls'. Also, we know
she was a 'sloppy' paintress from the memories of several of 'girls'. On
this plate, the enameling does not fill the very casual outlines. Artistically,
it is more Spanish or Italianate in style, it does not have any of the
Art Deco motifs she was soon to introduce, but we must remember she regarded
herself as an industrial designer so it might have been prompted by Colley
Shorter?
It represents a fascinating 'missing
link' in the evolution of her style, how she created her ideas, and the
evidence suggests it was produced between October 1927 and September 1928
by which time the name of her new range was Fantasque.
The plate is to be sold in Bonham's
25 November sale (2003). We will post the result on our NEWS
page. |
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If
you have a piece in this design or any more information please contact
us.
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| Many Thanks to Bonhams, London for
providing the photographs. |
October 2003
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