Bishop & Miller Auctioneers Ltd
Lot 122
Pair of two c1890 Bombay School of Art Pottery Vases, hand made terracotta, hand painted and glazed with marks on base (2) The second half of the 19th Century was an exciting time at the newly formed JJ School of Art in Bombay, India. Encouraged by the keen interest in Britain for all things Eastern, the newly formed School embarked on an experimental voyage to produce pots, chargers, vases and a host of pottery items, the like of which had never been seen before. This was a truly collective production with experts in all areas, clay, terracotta, painting and glazing experts, along with both Professors and students coming from different parts of the Sub-.Continent to offer advise and be part of the new ideas and artistic production. Two of the best known experts were Noor Mohammed, a Master potter from Sind, whose expertise in the clays was second-to-none and Lockwood Kipling who was Head of Sculpture at the School. Private Ateliers operated from the school with students, teachers and artists all working alongside each other. Artworks from the JJ School of Pottery, at the peak of its production from around 1870 to 1900, should be understood as just that, works of art and sculpture and distinct from fine-art pottery where experts seek out the faintest of fine hair-line cracks. Whilst this piece has no major faults, it does have imperfections; small patches of paint loss, paint chips to the rim and irregular glaze but this is all part of the piece and tells us about this important piece of history.
