Born in Staffordshire in 1882, Charles Vyse is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of British studio pottery. After starting his apprenticeship at Doulton in 1896, he studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art between 1905-10, eventually setting up his own studio in Chelsea in 1919 with his wife Nell, a chemist and from then on working as an independent modeller and sculptor. The couple began by making slip-cast figures but later works were inspired by Chinese glazes and decorative styles. Vyse exhibited annually at Walker's Gallery in Bond Street, London, where many of his pots were sold. After the war, Vyse took up a teaching position at Farnham School of Art. This vase, Grey Green Vase with Horses is based on a Chinese method of decoration - with pads of clay incised with rearing horses.