I’ve just spotted this Pilkingtons Royal Lancastrian lustre lidded bowl on eBay. It is an extremely finely-decorated piece by Gladwys Rodgers, one of the most collectable of the Royal Lancastrian artists.
Royal Lancastrian lustre wares are quite often worn or may have cracks, hairlines or crazing. Their thin bodies and the glazes that were used make this inevitable. However, this piece appears to be in excellent overall condition and is illustrated with no fewer than 12 photographs!
It’s a truly stunning and rare example of early 20th century art pottery.
Some of my favourite pieces of Troika pottery are the early and unusual smooth glazed sculptural wares in white. Simple in design and decoration yet strangely appealing. At the time only the smaller pieces from this range proved popular with collectors, along with the ever popular textured range. The larger pieces didn’t sell well possibly because of their high price tags.
Due to the unpopularity of the larger pieces fewer were made making them relatively scarce today. However I noticed a couple of these large pieces have appeared on eBay recently including this unusual double candleholder, and this large white glazed fruit bowl. Quite striking centre pieces on anyone’s dining table!