Metcalfe produced a lion model in a strong modernist design for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 and 1925. The ceramic was produced by Ashtead Potters and became known as 'The Wembley Lion'. This was an early piece for Ashtead as the the model is numbered M1. A similar lion numbered M2 was produced by Metcalfe known as 'The Lion of Industry' Both works were produced in varying colouways and are highly collectable today. It's known that Sir Winston Churchill had an M1 Lion in his office during the war.
Percy Metcalfe
Percy Metcalfe was born in London's Fulham in 1895 and went on to attend the Leeds School of Art and the Royal College of Art. He gained fame as a sculptor as well as a coin designer and for producing designs for the Ashtead Potters in Surrey during the 1920s and 30s.
Other Ashtead pieces designed by Percy Metcalfe include Monkey and Baby, Harvest Putti with Pigeons (bookends), a Genozo Lion (for Genozo Toothpaste Ltd.) and political face jugs depicting Stanley Baldwin, S. M. Bruce, David Lloyd George and Lord Halisham. Character jugs were also produced by the pottery of Benjamin Franklin and Johnnie Walker, and a figure of the American film star Will Rogers.
Metcalfe also produced a number of plaques, namely: Earl Haig, the Prince of Wales and a plaque to hold an exhibitor's medal for the British Empire Exhibition. A fantastic Prometheus model was made in a strong art deco design for Hope's Heating and Lighting Ltd.
In 2022 auction House Woolley & Wallis sold an interesting Metcalfe stoneware model of some fantailed doves. Thanks go to Woolley and Wallis for allowing us to use the photo and other photos for our Ashtead Potters catalogue.
Percy Metcalfe For Sale
There are usually a number of Percy Metcalfe ceramics for sale on the Vintage Arts website. Other Art Deco ceramics available too.
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