A wonderful Clarice Cliff Stamford teapot in her 1931 Sunshine pattern of hollyhocks with yellow and brown banding. It has good, bright paintwork, and is in great condition - free from any hairlines or restoration. The underside is stamped "Sunshine Bizarre by Clarice Cliff Wilkinson England Hand Painted", and it's a good early one, dating to 1931.  

History

Clarice Cliff (1899 – 1972) is one of the most renowned and accomplished ceramic designers of the twentieth century, and her ground-breaking Bizarre ware created from late 1927 through to the mid-to-late 1930s has - quite understandably - achieved worldwide recognition. Born in Tunstall, Stoke On Trent, UK, the heart of The Potteries, the ambitious Clarice Cliff worked her way up from modelling, gilding, outlining and enamelling in various ceramic producing factories until she became art director at A J Wilkinson, aged 30; unheard of, and a first, for a women - not a man - to be in such a senior position and in a highly prestigious firm.

Clarice was then given her own studio at the adjoining Newport Pottery, where she experimented with on-glaze enamel colours on factory seconds that had imperfections. Her Original Bizarre patterns were based around triangles, big and bold, which hid any defects to the bodies of the ceramics, and, more importantly, because they trail-blazed the new modern jazz-age look, which other UK potteries had failed to embrace, they proved to be an instant success. Clarice then developed her own ground-breaking modern shapes (that we now call Art Deco) to tie in with a vast range of her newly designed patterns, from stylised landscapes and florals to bold cubist, geometric and abstract designs that she developed from 1928 – and to stunning effect - as shown here in Clarice's iconic D-shaped Stamford teapot. It is no wonder that her work is so fervently sought after, and has been since the 1970s. It’s full of such joy, such style and such fun - and nothing then or since can compete with its unparalleled uniqueness.

Material: glazed earthenware

Manufacturer: Wilkinson Ltd, UK

Designer: Clarice Cliff 

Year of manufacture: c.1931

Dimensions of teapot, approx: Length from spout to handle 15cm  Height 12cm  Diameter 7cm

Condition: excellent - free from chips, hairlines and restoration. Just the weeniest of nicks, to the bottom corner of the teapot, yet barely noticeable - see image.