Posts Tagged ‘coalport’

19th Century Victorian English Busts and Statues
Parian, or “statuary porcelain”, was possibly the most significant ceramics development in Britain during the Victorian period. Named after the Greek island of Paros for its resemblance to the white marble quarried there, parian was a bone china that contained a high degree of feldspar, which meant that it did not need a separate glaze. Decorative wares could therefore be displayed without becoming dirty, unlike earlier biscuit, or unglazed, white porcelain, which was coarse and difficult to clean. First made in the 1840s, parian was capable of being moulded without losing any detail, with the result that contemporary sculptors could have their works successfully reproduced for the mass market. Parian was also made in the USA at the United States Pottery in Bennington, Vermont.
IMPORTANT MAKERS
There remains Uncertainty as to which factory invented parian. The firms of Minton & Co. (est. 1793) and Copeland (1833-1933), both in Stoke-on-Trent, claimed to have discovered the secret; both were making parianlike porcelain by the mid-1840x, and at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London they displayed an extensive range of parian subjects. Other famous makers included Royal Worcester (est. 1862), Coalport (est. c.1796), and Wedgwood (est. 1759), all of whom made a range of wares, figures, and busts, while Wedgwood also made impressive, large figure groups. Smaller portrait busts were the speciality of Robinson & Leadbeater (est. early 1860s), in Hanley, and others were made by the firm of Goss ( 1858-1940), in Stoke-on-Trent. Parian dominated English porcelain production for display objects for about 40 years, and a great deal survives.
PORCELAIN BUSTS AND STATUES
Models for parian were provided by eminent Victorian sculptors, whose full-sized statues could be reduced in size and reproduced in quantity for commercial sale without losing quality. The work of contemporary sculptors such as John Bell (1812-95), Raphaelle Monti (1818-81), and Sir Thomas Brock (1847-1922), together with famous Classical statues housed in museums, could be reproduced and sold to a wide public. A device known as “Cheverton’s
Reducing Machine”, patented by Benjamin Cheverton in 1844, was developed to allow subjects to be scaled down and cast in moulds for the ceramics factories. Busts were made of various subjects, including royalty, politicians, philanthropists, poets, composers, and
characters from antiquity. Figures ranged from meaningful allegories to barely disguised eroticism; for example, The Greek Slave, a controversial sculpture by the American sculptor Hiram Powers (1805-73), was displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and copied by Minton & Co. Many parian figures were made either for the Art Union of London or for the Ceramic and Crystal Palace Art Union, which were lotteries set up by philanthropic Victorians to raise funds for the arts; parian works were frequently offered as prizes. The manufacture of artistic parian gradually diminished in favour of the large-scale mass production of portrait busts, and little of any consequence was nude after c.1880.
• BODY fine, highly vitrified, generally pure white
• FINISH matt, semi-matt, or with a slight surface sheen
• PRODUCTION usually slip-cast, therefore quite light
• FORMS sentimental figures; figures Of politicians, royalty, and composers; literary, religious, and allegorical subjects; copies of famous Classical statues housed in museums; works by Victorian sculptors
• IMPORTANT MANUFACTURERS Minton & CO.,
Copeland, and Robinson & Leadbeater

Rockingham
During the 1820s all established pottery works at Swinton in South Yorkshire was moved to the Wentworth estate of Earl Fitzwilliam, Marquess of Rockingham, and expanded by the Brameld family to include a porcelain works, with financial support from the Marquess. Bone china was first made there c.1825, and the factory, known as “Rockingham”, soon developed a very individual style.
THE ROCOCO REVIVAL
The Rockingham factory is synonymous with fancy shapes; indeed, the term “eccentric” is often used for the wares, with some justification. While certain Rockingham designs are plain and elegant, the makers became masters of the Rococo Revival, and specialized in lavish moulded decoration. Perhaps the most extravagant examples of this style are the two large “Rhinoceros” vases (c.1826) with rhinoceros-shaped finials, one of which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Tea-sets were made in the shape of plants with overlapping leaves, and handles were often in the form of gnarled branches. Many of the shapes have a rustic quality- even the most celebrated dessert service made for King William IV c.1830 included curiously shaped centrepieces. Fine painters, including Thomas Steel (1772-1850), famous for painting fruit, and George Speight, famous for figure Subjects, decorated plaques, vases, and dessert services. In competition with similarly styled wares made at the factories of Minton & Co. (est. 1793), in Staffordshire, and Coalport (est. c.17 96), in Shropshire, Rockingham porcelain encrusted with modelled flowers copied the style of contemporary wares made at the factory of Meissen in Germany.
THE ROCKINGHAM CONFUSION
Rockingham teawares competed with those produced by such factories as Ridgway (1792-1848) and Davenport (c.1793-1887), using coloured grounds and painted floral reserves. Rockingham figures were often exact copies of Derby, since all the principal English factories supplied the same
Englis
shops. The reason that Rockingham achieved greater fame than its contemporaries is that it marked so many of its
products. Unfortunately, unmarked tea-sets from factories such as Coalport, Ridgway, and Samuel Alcock & Co. (est. 1826) were mistakenly called “Rockingham” because they represented the same Rococo
Revival fashion and looked similar to
the marked Rockingham wares. Manv
Victorian homes owned such tea-sets,
and these have been passed on as
“Rockingham” china, although
very identify few were actually made by the
Yorkshire factory. To denrify such
sets correctly, it is important to learn the distinctive shapes made at the factory and its pattern numbers. In the same way,
Rockingham marks on small animals led to
the incorrect attribution of a great range of Staffordshire porcelain ornaments, especially
sheep, shaggy served as
shaggy poodles, and cottages, which served pastille burners. Because of such confusion, Rockingham became a household name for inexpensive ornaments.
Rockingham was also renowned for its lavish and ambitious dessert services, such as that commissioned for the coronation of William IV in 1831, which was ready in time for the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. Partly because of the costs associated with such services, the factory was forced to close in 1842.
• BODY bone china, ivory toned, prone to crazing and discoloration
• STYLE Rococo Revival
• FORMS decorative wares, pot-pourri vases, lavish tea and dessert services
• DECORATION heavily encrusted with flowers
• COLLECTING output was very small; handle shapes on teawares, and the shapes of vases, must match known Rockingham examples

Swansea and Nantgarw
The high reputation enjoyed by Welsh porcelain is very much deserved, for the body is truly beautiful and the decoration usually most elegant. Credit for the porcelain and the (albeit short) success of the Welsh factories lies firmly with the painter William Billingsley (1758-1828) who in 1813 brought to Nantgarw, near Cardiff, a new formula he had developed at Barr, Flight & Barr in Worcester. In 1814, with his backer, William Weston Young, Billingsley moved production to the Cambrian Works at Swansea. In 1817 he returned to Nantgarw, and in 1820 left for Coalport.
SWANSEA
Swansea made soft-paste porcelain, closer to the paste produced at Sevres than to Staffordshire bone china. Swansea paste is a glass-like, highly translucent body; three types were made, known as ‘: glassy”, “duck egg”, and “trident”. However, attempts to perfect the high-quality porcelain led to numerous firing problems; a very large proportion of wares were tlierefore lost in the kiln, and the factory struggled to make a profit.
Billingsley looked to France for inspiration, and most shapes and forms of decoration were in the French style – the height of fashion in the London market. The
delicate white porcelain was an ideal ground for flower-painting, and, in addition to Billingsley himself, many talented flower-painters were engaged at Swansea, including David Evans, Thomas Pardue (1770-1823), Henry Morris 1799-1880), and William Pollard (1803-54). Thomas Baxter (1782-1821), who later worked at Worcester, painted
atmospheric landscapes, figure subjects, and birds. Simple but elegant formal patterns were painted at Swansea, as well as rich “Japan” patterns; other rich decoration was added in London.
NANTGARW
By 1817 the Swansea venture was failing because of
continued firing problems, and Billingsley, striving to succeed on his own, moved back to Nantgarw where he erected new kilns. Nantgarw porcelain was still difficult to control, a problem that resulted most notably in a scarcity of teawares. Instead, plates could be fired with some success, and for a few years Nantgarw plates were made in reasonable quantity, although output was never large. A few wares were decorated in Wales, but most were sent to London to independent decorators, where the finest decoration, in the French style, was added; this included richly coloured grounds and ornate painting. Attempts to attribute painting to London artists as opposed to Welsh artists are always controversial, although it is likely that London painting was generally far superior to anything carried out at Nantgarw.
Although Nantgarw made extremely fine, beautiful porcelain, it was unable to make a profit. As a result the Venture failed, and in 1820 Billingsley retired to live near Coalport. Many unfinished pieces were left at Nantgarw, and some were decorated up to ten or even twenty years later by local artists such as Pardoc. Auctions held in 1821 and 1822 sold off the last of the wares.
• BODY both soft-paste porcelain; Swansea: types known as “glassy”, “duck egg”, and `trident”; Nantgarw: extremely fine and translucent
• FORMS teawares, flatwares, cabinet cups, ice pails, tea, dinner, and dessert services
• DECORATION superb flower-painting
• DECORATORS Baxter, Billingsley, Pollard, Pardoc,Morris; study can identify the characteristics of different Swansea flower-painters
• PATRONAGE Nantgarw received important commissions
from the aristocracy and local dignitaries
• BEWARE French porcelain was painted in London by the same artists who decorated Swansea and Nantgarw blanks; this can lead to a great deal of confusion
• COLLECTING Swansea shapes are well documented, and specimens must correspond exactly before a Welsh attribution can be claimed; correct identification of body and glaze is important, as Coalport took over some Nantgarw moulds and imitations are plentiful; Wares are often in good condition

Derby
William Duesbury the younger succeeded his
father in 1786 and guided the Derby factory through its best and most significant period. Production was aimed only at the wealthiest customers, with every piece finished to the highest standards.
DOMESTIC WARES
The speciality of Derby was cabinet wares, particularly cups or cans and saucers, or cabaret sets – far too expensive to use and intended purely to be admired. Decoration in panels or reserves was executed by such superb artists as Zachariah Boreman (1738-1810) and Thomas “Jockey” Hill (1753-1827) who painted landscapes, Richard Askew (active 1772-95) who was famous for figures, George Complin (active c.1755-95) who painted birds and fruit, and William Billingsley (1758-1828),the greatest of all English flower-painters. Derby rediscovered the charm of botanical decoration, and flower prints were accurately copied onto wonderful dessert services. Derby’s glaze was creamy white and very soft, accounting for a delightful, smooth, and subtle feeling quite unlike any other English porcelain. In consequence its wares are much in demand today, and the best vases and cabinet cups are hugely expensive.
During the early 19th century Derby excelled at copying colourful patterns inspired by old Japanese wares and really took this form of decoration to heart. Combinations of Chinese and Japanese designs were brought together in a totally English way to suit the
T The “Bemrose” garniture designed by Jean-Jacques Spangler (b.1752)
Named after William Bemrose, the collector and writer on Derby, this garniture borrows heavily from continental porcelain styles. These vases are also known as “Kedleston” after those in Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. (c.1790-92; ht of vase 38.5cmll5in; value L)
Regency taste for Oriental styles. Derby sold its Imari patterns in competition with Coalport and Worcester, and mass-production methods were used to keep costs down. As a result the patterns were painted quickly,
giving each piece a spontaneity that can be highly decorative. Some of the Derby Imari designs have name such as the “Old Witches”, the “Tree of Life”, or the “Kings” pattern, which was a particular favourite.
FIGURES
Figure-making was always important at Derby, and in the 19th century the factory was still Britain’s principal producer; however, there was now serious competition from two other quarters. Staffordshire potters copied every new Derby figure in inexpensive earthenware as soon as it came on sale, and seriously threatened Derby’ monopoly. At the same time Meissen figures were imported in great quantity into Britain and found an appreciative market. Derby countered this new competition by copying other factories’ works. During the 1820s and 1830s the reproductions of the latest Meissen models even carried the Meissen crossed sword mark. However, the great period of Derby had ended in 1797 with the death of Duesbury, and the factory went into a steady decline, eventually closing in 1848. Other factories were subsequently established in Derby, the trios successful being the Derby Crown Porcelain Co. (est. 1870), which was styled Royal Crown Derby in 1890.
• pure white soft-paste porcelain (post-1770)
• GLAZE creamy; frequently stained by surface crazing
• DECORATION gilding is of the very best quality; some gilders are identifiable by a number; fine botanical studies; birds; landscapes; Japanese Imari patterns
• LEADING PAINTERS Boreman and Hill (landscapes), Askew (figures), Complin (birds among fruit), Billingsley (flowers)
• FIGURES style after Meissen; rich colouring, including use of deep blue and gold
Marks
1782-1825: marks carefully painted in blue or purple; after 1800 usually painted in red with less care
c.1820-40: although Robert Bloor suffered from mental illness from 1826, the period through to 1840 is named after him; mark printed in red