Signed Bronze Eagle

Ronald van Ruyckevelt was born in 1928. He began his career at the Wimbledon School of Art, where he earned the National Diploma in Painting. He then studied ceramics at the Royal College of Art, earning a postgraduate diploma after one year of study. After a year of industrial training, he received his full diploma from the Royal College of Art (RCA). Ronald joined the Royal Worcester team in August 1953 and, the following year, was awarded the travel grant from the British Federation of Pottery Manufacturers. He was closely involved in the production of Dorothy Doughty’s “American Birds” series before traveling to the United States himself to study tropical fish. Seven large fish were produced in a limited edition, and six smaller models were produced in unlimited quantities. This was followed by a series of six small American birds, Ronald’s final series produced in unlimited quantities for Royal Worcester. In the 1960s, Ronald designed some of the most technically daring pieces ever produced by Worcester: a limited-edition series of large sport fish, a series of large game birds, and several hand-crafted tropical flowers. After his wife, Ruth, left Royal Worcester in 1968, Ronald completed the series of Victorian ladies, which she had begun in 1958. In 1972, Ronald van Ruyckevelt created the magnificent wedding doves to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. His final creation for Royal Worcester in the 1970s was the series of six “Reigning Queens.” The factory’s model maker, Ken Potts, completed this series. Ronald van Ruyckevelt left Royal Worcester in 1974. During his career at Royal Worcester, he designed more than 65 models. Unfortunately, some were never mass-produced, but most were highly successful and are now collector’s items.