The 13½in (34cm) twohandled vessel, with a Merton Abbey mark, is decorated in the Isnik taste with a floral design in turquoise, blue, black and green.
It dates to c.1882-88. Encouraged by William Morris, De Morgan moved from his Chelsea home and decorating workshop to Merton in 1882, giving him the space to throw pots and vases of his own design for the first time. He was there for six years until the eight-mile journey proved too much for William and he moved his business to Sands End in Fulham.
In perfect condition, this vase came for sale from the estate of a gentleman who had collected antiques for many years. Bloomfield managing director Karl Bennett told ATG: “It was a complete shock to see a piece of De Morgan here. I didn’t think we would ever find one in Northern Ireland and certainly not one this good.”
The buyer, at a price that was on par with other vases of this type sold in the past decade at specialist sales in the UK, was an English collector.
