The design on this prestige piece magnificently captures the moment when a family of young Robins leaves the security of the nest, which normally happens when they are between 12 and 14 days old and have developed that wonderfully spotted plumage.

On the inside of the vase, three appealing youngsters, in different poses, remain on or near the nest (listening to the calls of their parents trying to entice them out?), while on the outside the "first one out" is posturing and making begging calls for food from its two parents.

Robins are familiar garden birds but Steve has chosen to portray his family in the more natural habitat of the hedgerow, where some delicately painted seasonal blossom, in the form of Mayflower (Hawthorn), provides a perch and Ivy provides cover for the nest. In a piece like this, a lot of time is spent on the design to ensure that every aspect of it blends together.

Stephen had deliberately chosen to revisit the theme of Robins for his first china vase. Ten years earlier, they had been the subject of the first "inside-outside" vase he had created on copper enamel for Moorcroft Enamels (..see DETAILS). That generated an enormous amount of interest and was the start of a huge worldwide following that now collects Steve's work.

He wanted to show just how much the "inside-outside" technique could be developed on this new vase, which had been specifically designed to show off the internal painting much more clearly. The old Moorcroft 4 vase wasn't ideal as the dark interior often meant that the design was hard to see.

There is clearly no comparison between the two editions. "First One Out" wins hands down on all counts - concept, design, colour, detail, internal visibility and all round interest. Perfection all round!

The name chosen for this edition is also perfect, as it succinctly expresses the sentiment of the design. But, in a different sense, the name also represents a collection of firsts - first design on this new shape, first prestige piece on china and the first of a series of vase shapes.

While Steve was painting the first vase of this edition he was often distracted by a pair of Robins building a nest just below the window of his workroom. It was as though they were giving a seal of approval to his choice of subject - the day he completed the first piece of the edition the first egg was also laid!

Steve was able to create a truly outstanding piece of art with a very fresh interpretation of a popular subject, well worthy of the description "prestige piece". Prestige pieces, more expensive than normal because they require proportionately more painting, are produced on an occasional basis. They can be distinguished by the gold signature that is fired into the base of the piece. Normal editions are signed only within the artwork.

He says that one of the most difficult things about painting a vase on the inside and outside is getting the perspective to balance between the two parts. Because the eye takes in a much larger area of surface when looking at the inside than at any part of the outside, it requires an adjustment in relative size that one would not normally make in a flat painting. He knows that keeping the same scale on both parts just looks wrong! This is where Steve's long experience of the technique that he first developed comes into play - he intuitively knows what will look right in the end product.

Steve's has captured what birdwatchers call the "jizz" of his adult Robins to great effect - the upright stance and the facial expression, for example. They also have that large, dark beady eye - which often seems to be fixed directly on the watcher - needed because they have a tendency to feed very early and very late in the day when the light is poor. Both adults in Steve's composition inevitably look alike - it is impossible to tell male and female Robins apart in the field, as they have identical plumage. Instead, it is their behaviour which gives clues as to their sex.

The nest is largely built by the female while the male watches and sings to defend the territory. Both will bring food to the nest for the newly hatched chicks. Once the fledglings leave the nest, however, feeding is increasingly undertaken over the next couple of weeks by the male - especially in the first brood when the female is keen to get on with the next clutch of eggs. If you feed Robins with mealworms it will most likely be the male that settles on your hand and collects a mouthful before flying off.

"First One Out" is quite probably of a style and concept that breaks totally new ground in the centuries old tradition of hand painted china. It is surely destined to become a much treasured and much desired antique of the future.