Falkland Pottery Acorn and Oak Leaf Majolica Twin-Handled Vase by Karen Ross, 1990s

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Applied clusters of sculpted acorns with textured cups and overlapping oak foliage encircle the upper rim of this substantial twin-handled … Read more Applied clusters of sculpted acorns with textured cups and overlapping oak foliage encircle the upper rim of this substantial twin-handled ceramic goblet vase. Robust, high-arching branch handles spring from the sides, detailed with curled foliate terminals and bark-like texturing that frame the swelling central bowl. The body is finished in a flowing, high-gloss majolica-style glaze where deep streaks of olive green, charcoal slate, and golden-brown melt downwards over a pale buff earthenware ground. Below the rounded bowl, a short waisted stem joins to a circular spreading pedestal foot decorated around its perimeter with a moulded Celtic knotwork band in low relief. Handmade and decorated by ceramic artist Karen Ross at Falkland Pottery in Fife, Scotland, the vase dates from the 1990s. It combines traditional Scottish Arts and Crafts motifs, such as Celtic knot interlacing and British woodland botany, with the fluid colour graduation of late Victorian art pottery. The recessed base displays an impressed circular maker’s stamp reading 'KAREN ROSS' surrounding a central six-petalled rosette, alongside a central pierced aperture. Substantial in scale and visual presence, the vase measures 26 cm in height and extends 30 cm across from handle to handle. Both the complex applied botanical relief and the glossy dripped glaze remain remarkably intact, presenting a distinctive piece of contemporary Scottish studio pottery. See less