Charles Noke continued to experiment with glazes long after the departure of Cuthbert Bailey with whom he had perfected the Flambé glaze in the early 1900’s. And so in 1920 Sung was introduced, whereby painted decoration, colour and gilt are fused with the  flambé glaze. I am sure you will agree that early examples like the one illustrated are magnificent.

However, it is in the flesh that these pieces must be enjoyed to full effect as in this slide.

Vases, large and small were decorated with exotic birds, pixies in woodlands, fish in seascapes along with many other subjects. These pieces were painted principally by Harry Nixon, Arthur Eaton and Fred Moore.

Sung glazes can be found on Buddhas, as seen here in this advert from the 1920’s, a handful of suitable early figures from the HN range such as A Spook, as well as animals, in particular elephants, a favourite of Charles Noke.

Rare Sung vase featuring a bird of paradise and snake in combat!

This wonderful example of an Art Union piece is coming up later Lion and Unicorn Auctions this month.

Art Union of London

The presence of ‘Art Union of London’ on Doulton ware, indicates that it was produced in a series and specially selected for members of the Art Union, whose subscription brought them access to important art wares from many sources including Doulton. Both Lambeth and Burslem produced wares for the Art Union, although examples of Burslem pieces are much harder to find. Doulton began supplying items in 1885 through to the early 1900’s (approx. 1902) and typically their most celebrated artists such as Mark Marshall and Eliza Simmance provided the original designs. Despite these items not being one off pieces, prices for these marked ‘Art Union of London’ are in line with one off pieces by these major artists.