Moorcroft

Kaleidoscope of colours : PLQ3    

When Rachel set about creating a commemorative plaque to celebrate Moorcroft’s 1919 bottle oven’s centenary, she expressed a desire to capture some of the iconic images to have emerged from this biscuit kiln over the decades, starting with the early days of William and Walter Moorcroft, and on to Rachel herself and the era of the Moorcroft Design Studio.

Around the base of her design, a row of bottle ovens are lined up like soldiers, spurting forth their grey plumes of smoke. However, from the dark billowing clouds comes light, which Rachel saw as a kaleidoscope of colour.

The early Pomegranate design of William’s, with his Claremont toadstools, and Walter’s wine-tinted Anemones, are joined by orange poppies and bright blue harebells which add a splash of colour. These are intermingled with dandelion heads to remind us of Rachel’s famous Destiny vase dating from 2003. A stylised Mackintosh rose is used to celebrate this particular designer’s impact within the Moorcroft Design Studio.

The Kaleidoscope of Colour plaque can be hung in any home as a proud reminder of the contribution over a century of design and colour that Moorcroft’s 1919 bottle oven has introduced to the world of art pottery for collectors’ enjoyment around the world.