Sabratha Vase by Rachel Bishop

Designed by Rachel Bishop. A limited edition of 100 pieces.

The method of production originated by William Moorcroft in 1897 remains basically the same today.

1. Most pieces are still turned on the lathe to perfect the shape and provide a blemish-free surface for decorating. After turning, the backstamps, "Moorcroft" and "Made in Stoke-on-Trent England" are impressed into the clay together with a symbol which denotes the year of manufacture.
2. The designs are applied by tube-lining or slip trailing, a process by which  the raised outline is applied to the pot in  the form of a fine extrusion of liquid clay or slip squeezed through a glass tube from a bag held in the hand.
3. The colours are based on metallic oxides, and are applied entirely by hand, one colour being gently washed over another to enable them to blend together at high temperatures, firstly with the clay pot and then with the transparent glaze. It is this second firing which produces the brilliance of colour which has become the unique hallmark of Moorcroft Pottery.