Beautifully coloured Mintons Secessionist art vase 1908. The vase has an ovoid body with tapering neck. Slip decorated abstract design in green, blue, amber and red. Designed by John Wadsworth. Base has Mintons Ltd printed mark and design number 42. Impressed Minton mark together with year cypher for 1908. The vase is 13 cm in height.
 
Leon Victor Solon joined Mintons in 1895 with the aim of revitalising the company’s designs – resulting in Mintons extremely successful Secessionist range. Early pieces designed by Solon were more overtly art nouveau in shape, pattern and even colour – featuring flowers and various art nouveau motifs and favouring blues, greens, and turquoise grounds with sand and salmon pink decorations which were popular at the time. Wares were produced in a variety of techniques with the basic shape being produced in some quantity in moulds incorporating the raised relief. These would then be passed to decorators. They were encouraged to be quite loose in their technique so that runs and irregularities could be seen. This in effect meant that the pottery was a combination of industrial production and ‘art pottery’ finish. Solon left Mintons in 1905 resulting in new designs from John Wadsworth who joined the company, also in 1905. Many of Solon’s most successful designs continued to be made but with the introduction of stronger colours, especially reds, pinks and blues. At the same time Wadsworth introduced new patterns using slip trailing which after 1906 virtually replaced moulded relief on new designs. Most of Solon’s designs were dropped by 1912 after which designs became increasingly abstract – even looking forward to the art deco style. Production continued until 1919 when the last catalogue was produced.