Stash it or trash it?

Linda Pietersen of Cape Town writes I’d love to know more about this jug and what it’s worth. Can you help?

Ainsley Taylor of Stephan Welz & Co. replies Moorcroft art pottery has been sought after by collectors worldwide since 1897 when William Moorcroft, the art pottery designer for an English company called Macintyre’s, first began producing wares for prestigious stores such as Harrods, Liberty of London and Tiffany’s in New York.

After winning a gold medal at the St Louis Exhibition in 1904 for his Art Nouveau-style ‘Florian Ware’, sales of his wares increased significantly and in 1913, with backing from Liberty, he opened his own company.