This is a most fabulous LARGE antique jardiniere or plant pot.
It was made by Bretby, as annotated with an impressed mark on the base, as photographed.
The jardiniere is certainly a most stunning piece of Bretby - it has a very Japanese feel to it - which was popular in Aesthetic Movement designs.
The pot has a finish to the glaze which is to give it a feeling that the planter was made from bronze and had been inset with dull old gold decorative panels.
There are six applied comical feet on the pot which runs up the outer side and finish at the top rim where they from stylised florishes with look like pelicans - or an exotic bird. The creatures on my Bretby planter are certainly reminiscent of strange creatures found on Martin Brothers wares.
There are decorative panels or lozenges in between each creature - these are stylised Art Nouveau designs with whiplash details and show abstract flowers - certainly most appropriate images for a large planter.
When you pop a plant in it - and place on display - it would be difficult to assess this as being a pottery item and not made of actual bronze. It would look stunning with a tall plant with fleshy leaves such as a large aloe vera or mother in law's tongue plant - which would give dramatic effect.
These antique Bretby plant pots are now getting hard to find - especially such a stunning design as this one and in such good condition. I cant find listed in this bronze patina and design - so quite a rare piece of later Victorian pottery - this is reflected in my asking price.
The pot is in good antique condition with no chips or cracks - there is a little water mark towards the base inside - but a light mark and commensurate with both age and use.
Dimensions - a very heavy and large piece of Bretby Pottery . The height is 8 1/2 inches (21.5 cm). The diameter at the top is 10 3/4 inches (27 cm). It is a bit of a stonker of a pot - and unpacked is 3 kg in weight.
It was made by Bretby, as annotated with an impressed mark on the base, as photographed.
The jardiniere is certainly a most stunning piece of Bretby - it has a very Japanese feel to it - which was popular in Aesthetic Movement designs.
The pot has a finish to the glaze which is to give it a feeling that the planter was made from bronze and had been inset with dull old gold decorative panels.
There are six applied comical feet on the pot which runs up the outer side and finish at the top rim where they from stylised florishes with look like pelicans - or an exotic bird. The creatures on my Bretby planter are certainly reminiscent of strange creatures found on Martin Brothers wares.
There are decorative panels or lozenges in between each creature - these are stylised Art Nouveau designs with whiplash details and show abstract flowers - certainly most appropriate images for a large planter.
When you pop a plant in it - and place on display - it would be difficult to assess this as being a pottery item and not made of actual bronze. It would look stunning with a tall plant with fleshy leaves such as a large aloe vera or mother in law's tongue plant - which would give dramatic effect.
These antique Bretby plant pots are now getting hard to find - especially such a stunning design as this one and in such good condition. I cant find listed in this bronze patina and design - so quite a rare piece of later Victorian pottery - this is reflected in my asking price.
The pot is in good antique condition with no chips or cracks - there is a little water mark towards the base inside - but a light mark and commensurate with both age and use.
Dimensions - a very heavy and large piece of Bretby Pottery . The height is 8 1/2 inches (21.5 cm). The diameter at the top is 10 3/4 inches (27 cm). It is a bit of a stonker of a pot - and unpacked is 3 kg in weight.