The Home Beautiful: The Well Spring Vase, 1847-1865

The Well Spring
Richard Redgrave
Minton, 1865
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The design of this vase, dating to 1847, was known as the “Well Spring” and was developed by painter and writer Richard Redgrave (1804-1888). If the name is familiar to regular readers of this site, it’s because I’ve often mentioned Sir Richard in his role of Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, under Queen Victoria.

Redgrave originally produced the design in 1847 for Felix Summerly's Art Manufactures. This design is a great example of the early Victorian decorating ideal of the decoration of an object describing its function.

So, how did this vase and its design come about? The design, and others like it, was promoted by Henry Cole (1808-1882)—a proponent of the philosophy of form echoing function. Cole was approached by the Society of Arts in 1845 about a prize to be given for designs for a tea service. Cole decided to enter the contest, but preferred to use a pseudonym—Felix Summerly. Summerly/Cole won a silver medal in the 1846 competition and his design was produced by Minton. But, Cole yearned for more and personally wanted to “promote public taste.” To this end, he decided to start his own manufacture wherein well-known painters, such as Richard Redgrave, could produce designs specific to certain objects. Thusly, Cole founded in 1847 “Summerly's Art Manufactures.” The concern produced these sorts of objects for three years, but by 1851 Cole was distracted by the Great Exhibition and let other manufacturers, especially Stoke-on-Trent’s Minton, produce the designs which had originally created for Summerly’s.

However, before the end of Summerly’s, Cole enjoyed an association with many fine artists. The “Well Spring” was Richard Redgrave's first design for the Summerly scheme. Redgrave submitted the design to Henry Cole in January of 1847. The original design of a handled vessel, the handles shaped like leaves, was described by Redgrave as “the Water Jug.” The two-handled porcelain vase was adorned with scenes of water plants and water lilies in a garland.

While this example is clearly taken from Redgrave’s original design for the vase, the object itself was not made by Summerly’s, but, later by Minton in 1865. It is inscribed underneath: “MINTON & CO Modelled in 1847 Manufactured in 1865.”