Incised decoration on Martinware can be attributed to either Edwin Martin or Walter Edward Willy up until 1899 when Walter Edward Willy left the factory. Since they were both taught to decorate by H.W. Fawcett, their work can be difficult to differentiate on stylistic grounds. In this case however, a strong resemblance can be found between a drawing of ‘three caricatures of birds’, signed by Edwin Martin illustrated in The Martin Brothers Potters, by Malcolm Haslam (1978)(pp89).

This vase comes from the collection of Sydney Greenslade, and was made in 1898, the same year Greenslade first met The Martin Brothers. Sydney Greenslade went on to become a great benefactor and mentor to the Martin Brothers, developing a particularly close relationship with Edwin.

Condition – A shallow chip to the lip of the rim restored

Provenance – Purchased directly from the Martin Brothers by Sidney Greenslade
Inherited by the Reverend William Henry Spottiswood Webb, Greenslade’s executor, thence by decent

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