The Lotus Pottery Bull by Elizabeth Skipworth

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The Lotus Pottery bull is a design by potter Elizabeth Skipworth, that was produced in the 1960s and 1970s. The design is based on the ancient Chinese art of pottery and features a stylized bull with intricate patterns on its body. The bull was glazed with the main colour being an olive-green which was popular at the time. Other glaze colours included blue and rarely white.

Elizabeth Skipworth Lotus Studio Pottery dark green bull and smaller blue bull — Elizabeth Skipworth – Lotus Studio Pottery – Two original 1960’s retro vintage studio art pottery ceramic figurines of bulls / bull figurines comprising of a larger black example with blue painted floral spray and a similar graduating smaller example in light blue with painted blue flower. Measures: 19cm x 34cm x 14cm. Sold for £95 at East Bristol Auctions, March 2020.

Patterns on the bull included most commonly flowers but also petal, leaf, circles, foliate seaweed and spirals.

A Lotus Pottery figure of a bull with green glaze and fern leaf pattern — A Lotus Pottery figure of a bull, green glaze. with leaf pattern in quadrilateral. 23cm long x 14cm high. Sold for £60 at TW Gaze, November 2021.

The bull was made in four sizes from 12.5cm (5 inches) to 32.5cm (5 inches). The Lotus Pottery Bull is glazed in a deep blue color, and the bottom of the pottery is stamped with the Lotus Pottery logo. A few a wax resist design to expose the red clay body with patterns including spiral and flower.

A Lotus factory pottery model of a stylised bull with daisy pattern — A Lotus factory pottery model of a stylised bull, 1960’s, glazed in dark green with radiating blue daisy flowerheads, 24 cm long. Sold for £30 at Mendip Auction Rooms, April 2021.

The bull is considered to be one of Skipworth’s most iconic designs, and it has been reproduced by several different companies over the years.

The Lotus Pottery Bull Price Guide / Value Guide
Although these look fantastic and are a design icon most of the bulls only sell for £10-£20 / $12-$24. Rarer blue and white glazes sell for up to £40 / $48. Size does not make too much difference, so the main difference is price is colour and pattern.

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A look at the Lotus Pottery