The great ceramic decorator Jefferyes O´Neale produced some of the Worcester factory´s most impressive and memorable works. O´Neale is best known for his ceramic pieces decorated with scenes inspired by the English illustrator Francis Barlow´s Aesop´s Fables.

Probably born in Ireland in 1734, by the 1750s he was living in London and working as a china painter at the Chelsea Porcelain Factory. He later moved to Worcester where he worked as an independent decorator. This stunning vase has all the hallmarks of O´Neale´s work: heart-shaped reserves, mauve clouds, faceted rocks, blue mountains, leggy tree canopies and lively animals, all rendered with an illustrator´s whimsy.