CIRCA 1873-74, THE PAIR WITH BLACK PRINTED FACTORY MARKS AND DATE CODE 74, THE SINGLE EXAMPLE WITH PUCE PRINTED FACTORY MARK AND DATE CODE 73

Richard William Binns (1819-1900), art director at Worcester, was an enthusiast for East Asian ceramics and collected Japanese, Chinese and Korean ceramics. He encouraged the factory's designers to take inspiration from forms, images and motifs from these ceramics in their designs. James Hadley (1837-1903) worked for Worcester from the mid-1860s until 1875, when he left to work as a freelance modeller, selling most of his designs to the Worcester factory. The vase with scenes of ceramic production was designed by Hadley and was introduced and included by Thomas Goode in the second London International exhibition in 1872. A pair of similar vases are reproduced in The Art-journal catalogue of The International Exhibition: second division 1872, p. 59, where it is stated: 'The Royal Porcelain Works at Worcester exhibit these very remarkable productions... One peculiar interest attached to this set of vases is that their decorations illustrated the process of their own manufacture as conducted in the East.' A pair of the same form are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, museum no. 845A-1872.