The dazzling ceramics of Clarice Cliff and of the Wilkinson Pottery that first encouraged her work in the 1920s are among the best of many fine achievements of the renowned Staffordshire Potteries in the English Midlands. Today they have become one of the great collectables from the twentieth century. The exuberant colours and bold shapes of her classic Art Deco pieces have caught the imagination of collectors and auction houses the world over as prices move inexorably upwards.After years of research both in the Wilkinson archives and through oral testimonies of surviving employees, Greg Slater has produced the ultimate survey of Clarice Cliff's work and those of her largely uncredited colleagues from the 1920s to the 1950s.This massive reference work identifies the pattern name, designer, date and decoration method of all the significant piece, and a host of lesser known ones. Accessible through three indexes - pattern name, number and backstamp - the book is broadly chronological, organized by Pattern (including ranges assigned by the Wilkinson Pottery and recognizable themes) and also by Shape (an instant identifier for ceramics without a backstamp).With copious illustrations - all fully referenced and indexed - along with an introduction, bibiliography, glossary and collectors' guide, this is the definitive book on the subject, and will be for generations to come.
