Excellent Antique Milk Pitcher Old Leeds Sprays by Royal Doulton of England For Sale

This is a a lovely milk pitcher or jug made of earthenware made by ROYAL DOULTON in the pattern called Old Leeds Sprays. This pattern was made between 1912 and 1942, and the backstamp on this, without the lion on top of the crown, shows it was made in the earlier range, probably before 1923. Leeds is a city in the northern English county of Yorkshire, that has been in existence since the Middle Ages, and I assume the “Sprays” are sprays of flowers!

The pitcher is in excellent antique shape, with no cracks or chips. It does have crazing, which is so common on older pieces especially glaze on top of earthenware. The glaze is still smooth and unaffected. Feeling the smoothness of the glaze, I realized something unusual for this piece. The design is under the glaze, including the trellis design on the handle and the green trim at the top, which is the reason the design has not faded or worn off over time. There are a couple of spots around the rim, missing a speck of green trim, but they are smooth and under the glaze. That’s when I realized the whole design had the glaze applied over it.

The pitcher is an interesting octagonal shape starting at the top with the spout, then that octagonal shape is extended to 8 rounded panels that form the body of the pitcher. The handle is squared off, with a Greek key design where it attaches to the pitcher, that gives it a bit of an art deco flare, popular at the time this was made. The background of the pitcher is a creamy white, and in the pictures the color looks whiter than it looks to me in person. It is edged in a dark green around the top, with sprays of red, yellow and blue flowers and ribbons, sometimes in blue and sometimes red. There are 8 red or yellow flowers just on the inside the pitcher, again highlighting its octagonal shape. The handle is decorated with an interesting green trellis design. This pitcher would be pretty to display in a cabinet or add to a collection, a slice of history from 100 years ago, when mealtime was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach!

The pitcher is 4 & 1/4 inches tall, about 5 inches long from spout tip to outer handle, and the base and opening is about 3 inches wide. It weighs 13 ounces and holds about 2 & 1/2 cups.

Please zoom in on the pictures for a closer look and the 360 degree video too.

I pack with lots of bubble wrap for safe shipping and ship out quickly, within one business day, sometimes same day, and on Saturdays if I can pack it up and get to the Post Office before they close at noon.

Any questions, please ask, and thanks for looking!