&
Music
Movement
Collection
www.moorcroft.com
Registered in England. Registered Number: 128500. Registered Office: Moorcroft Factory, Sandbach Road, Burslem, Staffordshire ST6 2DQ.
T
here is music in everything, whether wind
is rustling in trees, a river trickling over
stones or birds singing in our gardens.
In many ways, music is the handmaiden of
the natural world and those who can hear
it are free to enjoy life all around them. In
another way, music is the fruit of movement
and together they can make everything in
our lives both dance and sing. Certainly this
is so in the Moorcroft Design Studio where
movement weaves its way into much of our
designers’ work, whether scudding clouds as
they roll across the sky, nimble creatures of
the living world outside or the supple and
gracious dancers and acrobats who inhabit our
own human world.
For a Moorcroft designer, movement is an
integral part of much of their work- the
single characteristic which turns static
imagery into living art. Music always comes
with movement, right from its very creation
and up to the moment it captures our finest
inner senses. Like the rest of us, designers
will respond to the same influences in
different ways. Listening to music makes them
receptive to lyrics and the images those lyrics
push gently into their imagination. The Music
and Movement Collection brings alive some of
the greatest moments in a designer’s life and
has been created to show how each one first
explored and then concentrated intently on a
variety of musical ideas and brilliant motion.
Altogether, it is a kinetic, exciting and
melodic collection- stimulation of the mind,
the emotions and the senses and above all, a
feast of colour for the eye.
Bullnose Morris
Designer: Paul Hilditch
Shape: 769/10
Height: 10"/25cm
Limited Edition: 50
Moorcroft now grabs the attention of
thousands of collectors worldwide, not only
those with a keen eye for detailed places but
increasingly, among a new breed of Moorcroft
enthusiasts with an eye for motors, mechanics
and vehicles. Those canny collectors who
love the workings of Paul’s mechanical mind
and the way he brings vehicles to life and
action are offered the crème de la crème
of his work to date. Bullnose Morris, on a
prestigiously-sized ginger jar, is an awesome
medley of Morris Oxford motor car history.
William Morris’ first car was called Oxford in
recognition of its home city. It was announced
in The Autocar magazine in October 1912
and production began in March 1913.
Virtually all components were bought-in and
assembled by Morris. However, the car got its
alternative name, Bullnose, from its distinctive roundtopped radiator, at first called the bullet nose and
which Paul has cleverly incorporated into his design.
Set in Cowley, Oxford, where production first began,
it all came to a standstill when war broke out in 1914.
Morris’ purpose-built production lines were soon put
to use making munitions hence why Paul has scattered
this industrial scene with the heavy firepower and
explosives that were in production. In the foreground,
men take to their bicycles, leaving to fight, whilst the
women or ‘Canary girls,’ oversee manufacture. Paul
has successfully harnessed an appreciation of British
industry and its toils in this animated and lively design.
Folies-Bergère
Degas’ Dancers
One of the world’s most famous
female portraits, ‘A Bar at the
Folies-Bergère’, painted in 188182 by Edouard Manet, has received
decades of analysis and inspection.
However, Emma chose not to
revisit the mysterious face of the
barmaid and her position behind
a luxuriously laden bar, but took a
very unique and inspired alternative
in her approach to Manet’s work.
What her design captures instead,
is the lively entertainment and
activity of the rest of the bar. Had
it not been for the addition of two
small legs poised within an acrobat’s
swing in the top left corner of the
original painting, Emma may not
have designed this impressive
show of entertainers. Relishing
in the glamour of the fashionable
Parisian social scene, gymnasts and
performers adorn the circumference
of this vase. Manet’s barmaid can
still be spotted in a secluded corner
of the design as she leans towards
her customer. This new Moorcroft
design is all legs, colour, and
sensuality and maybe, as the French
would say, a little bit risqué.
Emma found herself inspired by an original painting, ‘Two Dancers on the Stage’, 1874 by Edgar Degas
on a recent research trip. These famous ballerinas actually featured across a number of compositions
that Degas created. In all of them he avoided coherent composition and offered instead illusive figures,
misty backdrops and a hazy meaning. Regardless of suggestion, Emma harnessed the flashes of blue in
the paintings and simplified the outlines of her dancers. By doing this, she has paid homage to those
beautiful bodices, light-reflecting tutus and the stretching limbs of supple ballerinas, there-by recreating
their graceful movements.
Designer: Emma Bossons FRSA
Shape: 9/12
Height: 12"/30cm
Limited Edition: 40
Designer: Emma Bossons FRSA
Shape: 4/8
Height 8"/20cm
Limited Edition: 60
Longchamp Race
Lucky
Before the benefits of photography, and closer studies of animal locomotion in the 1870s, it was difficult
for artists to capture fast-moving animals – their natural movements were far too quick to fully absorb with
the naked eye. The advancement in photography encouraged lively and technically accurate drawings
such as ‘The Jockey’. Longchamp Race is inspired by the original lithograph of ‘The Jockey’, 1899 by Henri
de Toulouse-Lautrec.
The rear-view image
of two thoroughbreds
and their riders at
Longchamp gives a
brilliant
portrayal
of the power and
speed of galloping
horses. Kerry’s lifelike
adaptation offers the
same perspective on
the horses under a
fantastic, shimmering
Moorcroft glaze. It is
this which enhances
the excitement even
further.
The omen of a black cat varies
from culture to culture. Many will
delight in the sight of a slinky black
feline silhouette crossing their path.
As lovers of animals at Moorcroft,
superstition does not affect our
affection for such creatures; the more
varied and interesting, the better.
Paul found simple beauty in the
supple twisting and turning of a cat,
frolicking in an unsuccessful butterfly
chase. The clean colour combination
of blue, black and white helps to
illuminate the movement of two
elegant creatures, dancing to their
own tunes. His celebration of such
unadorned natural grace makes a
wonderfully appealing design, which
could only ever be granted as a lucky
talisman.
Designer: Kerry Goodwin
Shape: 102/7
Height: 7"/18cm
Limited Edition: 50
Designer: Paul Hilditch
Shape: 158/6
Height: 6"/15cm
Numbered Edition
Madama Butterfly
Senior Designer: Rachel Bishop
Shape: JU3/7
Height: 7"/18cm
Limited Edition: 75
Orientalism, and in fact Exoticism in
general, was highly popular during the midNineteenth Century, and by the close of
that century, Madame Butterfly, set in Japan,
was the cultural fodder of contemporary
socialites. The opera, by Giacomo Puccini,
had an Italian libretto based on the short
story ‘Madama Butterfly,’ which was written
in 1898 by John Luther Long. The tragic tale
of Lieutenant Pinkerton of the US Navy and
his geisha wife, Cio-Cio-San, or Madama
Butterfly, made ideal visual and musical
subject matter for this audience. Rachel’s
design, inspired by the theatrical side of the
opera, focuses on the glorious traditional
attire of Madama Butterfly and her jet-black
hair. As a work of art, Madama Butterfly is
stylised by dramatic black lines so typical of
the Arts and Crafts movement. The lines
cross and meet; some are parallel, some carry
intermittent dashes, dots and lines. Together
they are faintly reminiscent of the musical
notations and clefs which formed the very
foundation of the idea.
Waltz of Flowers
Senior Designer: Rachel Bishop
Shape: PLQ3
Dimension: (5.5" x13.5"/14cm x 34cm
including frame)
Numbered Edition
Tchaikovsky once told his fellow musicians
that he was working on a ‘fantastic’ ballet
to be called The Nutcracker. ‘It’s awfully
fun to write a march for tin soldiers, a
waltz of the flowers etcetera,’ he famously
said. Perhaps this feeling resonated
with Rachel who in turn, felt drawn
towards Tchaikovsky’s music. Using her
own natural gifts she created a visual
interpretation of orchestral music written
in 1892.
It seems particularly apt that Rachel
should create a flower tribute because
Tchaikovsky’s rehearsals also elicited
enormous bouquets of flowers which
poured down from the balcony. He and
his fellow musicians were often crowded
by mountains of flowers that had formed
on stage. Meconopsis blue Himalayan
poppies, violas, and wild flowers together
make up Rachel’s own special waltz.
Butterworth
Lakmé
Senior Designer: Rachel Bishop
Shapes: 72/6 (height 6"/15cm) PLQ5 (5.5" x 10"/14cm x 26cm including frame)
Limited Editions: 75
Rachel Bishop’s journey into classical music began in 2010 when Classic FM became involved with the
Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. Through this, the Senior Designer started to unravel
endless connections between the natural world and its place in music.
George Butterworth, English composer, folk song collector and soldier wrote ‘Loveliest of Trees’ in 1912.
The orchestral rhapsody captures the bucolic nature of the English countryside, from the languid clarinet
solo in the opening, to the more
poignant and intense violin solo which
closes the piece. The opening lyrics are:
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Having heard his lyrics, Rachel
instantly conjured up a glorious
shower of cherry blossom and set
to work on a new design using two
shapes. These graceful
creations are the visual
sisters, made over a
hundred years later, to a
beautiful and melodic
English song.
PLQ5
72/6
Senior Designer: Rachel Bishop
Shape: 216/8
Height: 8"/20cm
Limited Edition: 60
Opera played an important part in Rachel’s musical journey, and it was a part of the musical spectrum which
had already captured Rachel’s imagination in her design, Flower Duet in 2014. Lakmé, written 1881–1882
by Léo Delibes, was something she knew that she had to revisit for inspiration. Listening carefully to the
lyrics, ‘under the thick dome where the white jasmine with the roses entwined together’, the Moorcroft
designer knew instantly that she was not yet ready to put an end to time spent submersing herself in
this glorious music. Lakmé and
Rachel had unfinished business;
several months later, a new
design was born.
Lakmé, the design, captures the
ambience of the Orient seen
through Western eyes, something
which was periodically in
vogue during the latter
part of the nineteenth
century. Across the
surface of Lakmé,
old pink roses,
complete
with
buds, hips and
prickles,
roam
across a dark
core, laced with
white
jasmine
and earthy green
leaves in line
with the original
operatic lyrics.
Polish Flowers
Flight of the Bumblebee
Polish
composer
Mieczysaw
Weinberg’s Symphony No. 8 uses
texts from Julian Tuwim’s epic
poem, Polish Flowers. The music
and lyrics reflect on Poland’s
troubled past in a moving and
powerful work. Rachel chose
to focus on Iris sibirica, which
may sound Russian in origin but
has a grounded significance in
Poland. As well as being used for
traditional medicines in Poland,
it also featured on their postage
stamps. Rachel has cast the
violet blossoms under her famous
symmetrical patterned style and
enriched the elegant bud vase
with a very select colour palette
of jewel-like greens and bramble
blues.
The distinguishing feature of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ is the instantly recognisable violin, frantic and
frenzied in style. The orchestral interlude, written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera ‘The Tale
of Tsar Saltan,’ was composed 1899–1900. It conjures the animation and energy of a bumblebee in flight,
corresponding with the story in
which a magic Swan-Bird changes
the Tsar Saltan’s son into an insect
so that he can fly away to visit his
father. It is not so much the pitch or
range of the notes which are played
that challenges the musician, but
simply the musician’s ability to
move to them quickly enough.
Because of this and its complexity,
it requires a great deal of skill to
perform.
Senior Designer: Rachel Bishop
Shape: 138/12
Height: 12"/30cm
Numbered Edition
Senior Designer: Rachel Bishop
Shape: 7/3
Height: 3"/7.5cm
Limited Edition: 100
Well-acquainted with skill and
complexity, Rachel designed an
artistic accompaniment to the
interlude which remains dominated
by that very same frantic bumblebee.
The outcome is a delightful treasure
written in clay, inspired by music
and the natural world.
Londinium
Salvation Army Band
Home to Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Maritime
Greenwich and the Royal Botanic Gardens to name but a few. All Britons have a soft spot for London, even
though it is easy to grumble about the busy hum-drum of such a hectic, tireless city. Its skyline is packed full of
famous buildings and the streets are endlessly in motion with colourful events, eclectic transport, exciting
people and everyday quirks. Nicola’s highly-stylised vision of London includes a detailed skyline above
the
Thames.
Silhouetted
buildings include
the Shard, the
Gherkin, Big Ben,
the Millennium
Dome,
Tower
Bridge,
the
London Eye, the
Monument and
the BT tower. In
the foregrounding,
a
traditional
double-decker bus,
a classic phone
box and post-box
PLQ5
all contrast to the
backdrop in iconic pillarbox red. Accompanied by
a famous black-cab, all
are taking their part in
the ceaseless action and
movement of London
and the hustle and bustle
of everyday life in the
city which never sleeps.
When The Salvation Army’s founder, William Booth,
was told by his son about all the homeless people
sleeping on the banks of the Thames, his response
was simple, ‘Go and
do something.’ That
was in the middle
of the Nineteenth
Century. But today
The
Salvation
Army’s
philosophy
is exactly the same.
Ahead of their time,
the Booths took an
innovative approach
by
demonstrating
their faith offering
practical support to
people in need out on
the streets in London
and beyond. The
early
Salvationists,
as today, took their
Gospel message to
the people in their
own environments,
largely in the streets
and markets of the
towns.
In
1878,
Charles Fry and his
three sons formed
a
brass
quartet
which played during
outdoor meetings in
Salisbury; it was this
which was essentially
the beginning of the Salvation Army’s brass band
programme. 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of
The Salvation Army, so as a celebratory tribute, Kerry
Goodwin has designed a vase depicting a Salvation
Army brass band. Band music has always been an
integral part of their worship, public events and church community. It is therefore a pleasure to see a
smartly-dressed bandsmen and songsters parading around Kerry’s design, triumphantly sharing their
‘soul-saving’ messages. The background of the design sees the characteristic black and white buildings of
Cathedral city, Salisbury, where the first Salvation Army Band played. This amusing and jovial design
induces the same ‘feel-good’ notion that The Salvation Army have been spreading for 150 years.
Designer: Nicola Slaney
Shapes: PLQ5 (10" x 6.5"/25cm x 14.5cm including frame), 3/5 (height: 5"/12.5cm),
780/4 (diameter: 4"/10cm), Mu2 (height3.5"/9cm)
All Open Editions
Designer: Kerry Goodwin
Shape: 121/10
Height: 10"/25cm
Limited Edition: 75
3/5
Mu2
780/4