Vintage Wellhouse Pottery Ceramic ‘Flour’ Canister with Wooden Lid

This is a stylish retro flour canister by Wellhouse Pottery, which was originally founded by Toni and Raymond Smith of Toni Raymond Pottery.

The barrel-shaped canister has a short vertical neck and an angular shoulder. The piece is decorated with the word ‘Flour’ and a band of six squares containing a swirled design. This has been created using the wax resist technique, and these sections have a matte finish. The remainder of the body, glazed in light brown, is glossy. The interior is glazed in a pale stone beige-grey shade.

The base is unglazed, revealing the underlying ceramic body to be terracotta in colour. It is marked twice with the well logo and the words ‘WELLHOUSE POTTERY’ around it. Unfortunately, due to the poor transfer of the mark, it is hard to decipher whether it was made at the earlier site in Paignton (1964-1982) or the Brixham site where it relocated to in 1982 until its closure in 2002.

The lid is made from solid wood in a discoid form. It has the original rubber seal, which is in good condition, and forms a good seal with the body of the canister.

It has a height (including the lid) of approximately 18.1cm, with a diameter across the rim of about 10.2cm and across the base of about 9.7cm.

It has an unwrapped weight of 1140g.

It is in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks, although there are some minor scuffs to the wooden lid commensurate with use. There is also the odd blemish within the glaze which is to be expected from handmade pieces.