Grand ‘Terra-Cotta’ Garden Vase by J M Blashfield

A splendid huge buff terracotta vase or garden urn by prominent English maker J.M. Blashfield, Stamford.

John Marriott Blashfield, remarked in his essay Account of the History and Manufacture of Ancient and Modern Terracotta (1855) that he had been inspired to make a kind of artificial stoneware after seeing the pieces for which Mark Blanchard, the leading terracotta ornamentalist of the mid-19th century who had trained at the Coade manufactory, had been awarded prizes at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

This work bears the makers mark and is stamped twice with both “The Stamford TerraCotta Company, (Blashfield’s) Ltd” and “Terra Cotta Company (Blashfield) Limited Stamford”
The piece is also listed in the manufacturers trade catalogue of 1860 “A Catalogue of Seven Hundred Articles, Made in Terra Cotta, and Red and Cane-Coloured Pottery” - by J.M. Blashfield, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Entry 422. ‘A large bell-shaped vase, adorned with festoons of fruits and flowers’.

The vase demonstrates strong classical design which relates a period of influence that inspired Italian gardens of the Baroque and the Renaissance, originating from the classical antiquity of the Romans and Greeks.
The Campana shaped vase bears two lions masks symbolising strength and courage surmounting abundant festoons of fruits and flowers. The garlands and topped with ribbons and imitation ringed handle details.

The urn has wear and patina appropriate to age. This does not take away from the rarity and imaginative design of this highly unique piece of English terracotta history.