Moorcroft Mug Tups 3/8 vase | LE 9/20 | Boxed

Moorcroft Mug Tups vase Shape 3/8 Issued in a Limited Edition of 20 pieces only Designer: Kerry Goodwin Approx 21cms (8 1/4") tall Approx 19cms (7 1/2") wide In excellent condition Complete with full Moorcroft boxing GUARANTEED free from damage and repair About Mug Tups Not since the Llandudno Goats, which kept us smiling during Lock Down, has Kerry used the curious characteristics of farm animals to raise a smile. The Teeswater sheep breed is native to Teesdale, County Durham, and are known affectionately by farmers as "Mug Tups" because of their facial colour. Due to Wensleydale sheep becoming more popular for breeding the Teeswater declined, until by the 1920s the breed was nearly extinct. As well as their striking markings, it was the lustrous, white ringlets, not unlike the darker ringlets of the designer herself, of this rare breed that captured Kerry’s heart. The Moorcroft designer takes this curious Longwool herd into the bleak basalt and limestone moorlands of Teesdale. Humorously, and unaware of the drama of their own panda-like faces, the sheep turn and stare at a tractor abandoned in the rough and high-gradient terrain, its trailer laden with bales of hay, as if bemused by its awkward parking. Softly, a flurry of snow covers the Pennines, as well as their divine ringlets, with pristine white to create the perfect backdrop for these Mug Tups.