(2) Antique 1930s porcelain lidded urns with romantic scenes by Empire Works For Sale

Empire Works was a prominent pottery manufacturer located in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, England, operating during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These decorative lidded urns were produced in the 1930s as ornamental mantelpieces and parlor accessories to bring a touch of classical elegance into middle-class homes. They were made using traditional slip-casting ceramic techniques, decorated with transfer-printed romantic scenes in the style of eighteenth-century artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and finished with hand-applied gilding.

Families used these decorative vessels to adorn mantelpieces, sideboards, and glass-fronted cabinets in formal sitting rooms across England and export markets. They served purely as aesthetic display pieces rather than functional containers, reflecting the popular revival of neoclassical and rococo revival styles in interior decoration. Over time, as domestic architectural styles shifted toward minimalism and mid-century modern designs, the popularity of such ornate decorative porcelain waned.