Majolica Spotlight: Lear's Sunflower & Classical Urn and Narcissus

Lear majolica Sunflower platter

Few majolica patterns embody the precepts of the Aesthetic Movement more than Lear's Sunflower pattern, also sometimes referred to as Sunflower & Classical Urn. Registered in August of 1887 as Sunflower, the pattern is a mad explosion of rigidly organized abstraction typical of Japanese design mixed with images from the Aesthetic Movement. As the symbol of the movement itself, the sunflower was the primary focus of the pattern. The classical urn was a design device used quite a bit during this period, appearing in hundreds of different motifs including the two Wedgwood patterns below.

Wedgwood majolica Argenta Aesthetic Movement pitcher

Wedgwood majolica Grosvenor pitcher

Lear majolica Sunflower oyster plate

Lear majolica Sunflower creamer

Lear majolica Sunflower mustache cup

Lear majolica Sunflower cup & saucer

Lear majolica Sunflower pitcher

Lear majolica Sunflower platter

Lear majolica Sunflower platter

Lear majolica Sunflower sardine box

Lear majolica Sunflower punch bowl

Lear majolica Sunflower butter dish

Lear majolica Sunflower butter pat

Lear majolica Sunflower cuspidor

Lear majolica Sunflower tea pot

Sunflower was a successful and extensively utilized pattern for the company, made in everything from huge tea trays to cuspidors to cane stands. I have seen few marked examples.

It spawned an almost identical twin, Narcissus, where the sunflower and urn were replaced by intertwined red Narcissus flowers. 

Lear Narcissus tea set

Lear majolica Narcissus platter

Lear majolica Narcissus fruit stand

Lear majolica Narcissus oyster plate

Lear majolica Narcissus bowl

Lear majolica Narcissus plate

Lear majolica Narcissus butter pat

An advertisement featuring Lear’s work showcases their Sunflower pattern.

Both patterns are colorful, readily found and reasonably priced. They're a wonderful way of bringing a bit of the 19th Century Aesthetic Movement to your 21st Century home.

For more information on Samuel Lear majolica go here. For more information on the sunflower’s importance in late 19th century iconography go here.

*This post has been updated since it was first posted