Vase with bleeding hearts

John Bennett had headed the division of Lambeth Faience at the Doulton Pottery in England before immigrating to the United States in 1877 and setting up his own workshops in New York City. His work is dominated by floral decoration in a highly decorative mode, harking back to his days at Doulton, with the use of colored oxides. Here, the artist has painted bleeding heart, a flowering plant that many artists of the period favored. The main part of the vase features bleeding heart in a naturalistic mode; the collar at the base of the neck and the band at the rim feature the same plant, but interpreted in a highly decorative, conventionalized mode. The vase bears a cypher belonging to an unidentified decorator working in Bennett’s studio. The vase is marked with the address 101 Lexington Avenue, the location of Bennett’s first workrooms in New York City, before he moved to 312 East 24th Street some time in 1878.