Jodie Nayler
Sale Coordinator
Lot 28
Samuel John Peploe RSA(British, 1871-1935)Japanese vase with pink roses
8 October 2025, 14:00 BST
EdinburghSold for £279,800 inc. premium
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May Matthews
Managing Director, Scotland
Samuel John Peploe RSA (British, 1871-1935)
Japanese vase with pink roses
signed 'S J Peploe' (lower left)
oil on canvas
55.9 x 45.7cm (22 x 18in).
signed 'S J Peploe' (lower left)
oil on canvas
55.9 x 45.7cm (22 x 18in).
Footnotes
Provenance
The Wemyss Honeyman Collection.
Richard Green Fine Art, London.
Private collection, UK.
Richard Green Fine Art, London.
Private collection, UK.
Richard Green Fine Art, London.
Property of a Gentleman (acquired from the above in Aril 2008).
This classic and beautiful 'roses' oil displays all of the characteristics for which Peploe became celebrated in his quest to paint the perfect still life. Meticulously planned and executed, it exemplifies the balance between natural form and design which the Colourists explored and wished to master.
In the present work, the delicately depicted floral arrangement in the upper canvas, juxtaposed with the brilliantly bold, bright fruit in the centre left, and strong contours of the folded cloth in the lower section, create a uniformed confident aesthetic. The central pink rose practically blooms out the canvas, proudly facing us head on. Whilst other elements are cropped, such as the rose petals on the right and the cascading cloth on the lower edge, which invite the viewer into the composition.
As much importance is given to colour as it is to form and composition in Peploe's oeuvre. Each area of colour is perfectly balanced, placed against a background or given a shadow in its complimentary hue, to give the most dramatic tonal contrast.
The pastel coloured roses, Oriental vase and fruit are all familiar motifs in the artist's still lifes of the 1920s, but the dramatic flash of orange drapery lends the whole composition a boldness and impact which is not always evident in Peploe's work. This striking and daring element encapsulates Peploe's willingness to experiment and continuously evolve. It demonstrates his unique and distinctive style as he broke away from tradition, occupying a position at the forefront of Modernism in Britain.
