Crown Ducal ‘Palermo’ Design Tube-Lined Vase by Charlotte Rhead No. 5803 c.1930s

This is a striking and unusual example of a large flower vase from the ‘Palermo’ range designed by Charlotte Rhead for Crown Ducal in the late 1930s.

The vase is of simple form, widening out at the centre and narrowing again towards the plinth-like base. It has a pale blue base glaze, over which is a stippled pale peachy-brown, which I believe may be called ‘Fawn’. The body has a complex tube-lined design of flowers and foliage, edged in ‘Danube Blue’. The motif is coloured with enamels in colours known as ‘Baines Pink’, ‘Baines Purple’, and ‘Goods Blue’. Much of the foliage has a lustred finish in a dark gold shade, and there are bands of gold below the rim and above the base.

There is a concise write-up about the ‘Palermo’ pattern, which I have used as the source for these glaze details; it can be found here. 

The base is marked with the words ‘CROWN DUCAL MADE IN ENGLAND’, surmounted by a crown logo. Crown Ducal was a trade name for A. G. Richardson & Co. Ltd, who were based in Staffordshire. This style of mark was in use from the 1930s.

In addition, the base is incised with the shape number ‘161’. There is also the facsimile signature of Charlotte Rhead, and the pattern number ‘5803’.

The decorators responsible for the tube-lining also signed these pieces with their initial(s). In this case, the letter ‘F’ after ‘Rhead’ is attributable to Fanny Morrey. There is an excellent piece about this on Ian Newton’s Crown Ducal Blog.

The vase has a height of approximately 21.8cm, with a diameter across the rim of about 11.5cm and across the base of about 10.5cm.

It has an unwrapped weight of 970g.

It is in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks.