James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) ‘Woodchester’ Design Beaker Vase No. 1181 in Sanctuary Blue

This is a beautiful example of a beaker vase designed by Harry Powell in around 1918 for James Powell & Sons at Whitefriars.

The piece is approximately cylindrical, tapering in towards the base. The body is diamond-moulded, with the diamonds being drawn out around halfway down the body. The base has a separately applied rigaree band around the edge. The base has a central polished pontil.

An example of this shape can be seen in plate 78 on page 113 of Lesley Jackson’s ”Whitefriars Glass: The Art of James Powell & Sons’ book. The design was inspired by fragments found on the site of a former 17th-century Huguenot glass house in Woodchester, Gloucestershire.

This piece has the pattern number ‘1181’ and is in the less frequently seen colourway known as ‘Sanctuary Blue’.

It has a height of 13.7cm, with a diameter across the rim of about 8.7cm and across the base of about 7.2cm.

It has an unwrapped weight of 220g.

It is in good condition, with no chips or cracks, although there are some horizontal scratches to the exterior of the body, as well as a little roughness to the edge of the base of the rigaree. This may be from the manufacturing process as this is the tip of the rigaree trail. There are also a few faint water marks in the base, which are only visible on close inspection.