Pates vases

Pates pottery
made in Sydney, Australia c.1946-1958

I have waxed lyrical previously about my love of the ‘Australian’ green and brown hues of Sydney pottery of the post-war period…and here are some more examples from my collection. Pates pottery operated out of Belmore- an industrial suburb of inner-Sydney, from 1946 and only ceased production in 1990.

These drip glaze vases are large and form a nice trio on my timber table. Although the vases themselves are very different in shape and form, the colour palette unites them to form an ensemble.

When flowers are available [and I have native bottlebrush from a relative’s garden here] a vase/vases can be put into service…but the pieces look equally beautiful empty.

Kitsch vases [sold]

Kitsch vases
c.1950s

These vases are ‘extreme’ kitsch. It’s entirely possible I am the only person in the world who likes them. Certainly their manufacturer was reticent to put their name to the vases…they are all unmarked.

The vases look even better when bright, garish flowers are added…the weird juxtaposition of a rearing horse holding flower stems in its front legs is hilarious. That’s why I like kitsch…it’s often –unwittingly- very funny.

For all your kitsch needs….For sale: $AUD75

Styling with retro vases

Pates Pottery vase

This fantastic vase was made by Pates Pottery, which operated out of Belmore, Sydney from 1946 -1990. As you may have noticed, given the tenor of the posts of this blog, being a Sydneyite I have an affinity for the potteries that were producing domestic ware in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

Pates’ designs and colours were influenced by the 1950s furnishing and domestic colour trends; and like Diana pottery [examples of which are in a couple of posts below] also produced work with an ‘Australiana’ colour glaze- brown and green – apparently reminiscent of the Australian bush. This nationalistic colour combination was very popular, and since I am a landscape architect, and quite fond of the Australian bush, I have tended to collect both Diana and Pates pieces in this colour range.

This quite deco-shaped vase has a removable ‘frog’ in the same glaze. The frog is shaped with holes to support flower stems at the angle required…in this image I have attempted some free-form Ikebana, with Banksia flowers. That’s the great thing about retro vases- they lend a certain gravitas to one’s attempt at flower arranging!