Outlet Moorcroft Spring Squill Jug JU7 – Ltd Ed 50 Moorcroft

Moorcroft Spring Squill Jug

2021 R.H.S Fiora Bottan Collection

Designer: Nicola Slaney

Limited Edition of 50

Shape: JU7

Dimensions: H 18.5 x W 7.5 x D 7 cm

RHS Fiori Bottan Collection

A collection of 45 original watercolours on vellum from an album entitled ‘Fiori Bottan’ depicting cultivated plants including daffodils, anemones irises, tulips and lilies has this year inspired Moorcroft designer, Nicola Slaney.  ‘Fiori Bottan’ dates from the seventeenth century and the album is Italian but the artist is unknown.  It is also a mystery how the album and the original watercolours came to be in the RHS Lindley Collections but thanks to its careful preservation, the watercolours, and Moorcroft designs they have inspired, can be enjoyed by a new generation.

Spring Squill.

Scilla verna, commonly known as spring squill, is a flowering plant native to Western Europe. Its star-like blue flowers are produced during the spring.  It is a small plant, usually reaching 5-15 cms in height and can be easily overlooked, but thankfully not by designer, Nicola Slaney. 

Spring Squill can be found from northern Portugal through Spain, France, Great Britain (particularly the west coast) and Ireland, reaching as far as the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is found in short dry grassy areas, especially growing close to the coast.  Perhaps this is where the unknown Italian artist discovered it over 300 years ago, flanking the Italian coastline in the spring. 

Nicola was shown a watercolour of spring squills painted by the unknown and mysterious artist from Italy.  At a stroke, came an opportunity for both Moorcroft and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to introduce spring squill on a sought-after jug.