Posts Tagged ‘decline in quality’

MODERNISM
CHAIRS
AS FURNITURE PRODUCTION steadily
shifted emphasis from craft-based manufacturing to industrial methods, so the look of the chair changed dramatically Ornament was doggedly erased from designs as structure became more important to the aesthetic look. Solid wood began to fall from favour (too expensive and inflexible) as moulded plywood and tubular steel stepped into the spotlight.
Just as the notion of open-plan space was creeping into Western architecture, so furniture was freed from fulfilling just one function. Chairs became
increasingly ambiguous, with some made for indoor and outdoor use, and others equally at home in an office or dining room. Chairs became lighter, too, as they were frequently moved around the house.
With mass production in mind, designers began to concentrate their efforts on fixtures. The aim became
to produce a chair made of a minimum number of components that fitted together easily and quickly It’s no surprise, then, that the cantilever chair became so popular, as the continuous loop of legs and base eradicated the need for numerous nuts and bolts.
While the structure of the chair became increasingly celebrated in its design, as opposed to any stylistic conceits, so the designer as an
individual receded into the background. Industry became more important than art, as designers sought to express nothing more romantic than the manufacturing process.
The reason the chair dominated the focus of designers’ effort`_ is because a person’s emotional attachment is far greater to a chair than to, say, a shelving unit. If Modernist designers wanted to alter their audience’s emotional and intellectual outlook, it was through the chair that they tried to do so.
The slender armrests display a use of cushioning that is rare fora chair by Marcel Breuer.
The steel struts beneath the seat have been bowed so they cannot be felt by the sitter.
The chair is made from non-reinforced tubular steel, thereby making it less rigid.
B34 CHAIR WITH ARMS
The frame of this cantilever chair is made from one continuous loop of tubular steel. Although the base looks as though it is all in contact with the floor, the side pieces bend slightly so that only the corners touch the floor — the idea
being that most floors are slightly uneven and the smallest change in level would make the chair wobble. This chair has arms with elbow supports, and a blue canvas seat and back. Designed by Marcel Breuer and produced by Thonet. 1928. H:85cm (33Vzin); W.57.5cm (22Vain); D:63cm (24-Xin), Qu I
This armchair was inspired by a model made by Alvar Aalto. The chair’s seat and back are made from a single sheet of laminated wood and sit within an oak open-arm frame. H:76cm (30in) CA
LANDI CHAIR
This easy chair comprises a series of square-section planks of pine, joined by wooden dowels. It has a slatted section on both seat and chair back. Designed by Hein Stolle. c.1930. BonBay 2
SIDE CHAIR
The seat and back of this early cantilevered chair are made of ebonized moulded plywood and sit on a chrome-plated tubular-steel frame. The armrests are ebonized beech. Mart Stam for Thonet. c.1930. BonBay 2
ZIG-ZAG CHAIR
One of a pair, this chair has a tubular-steel frame reminiscent of Rietveld’s Zig-Zag chair. The wooden seat is supported on steel rods and has a later vinyl cover. H: 82.5cm (321in); W.41.5cm (161in); D:63.5cm (25in). Qu I
Lightweight and durable, this stacking chair is made from pressed and bent aluminium. Each armrest and pair of legs is from one piece of aluminium. Hans Coray. 1938. H: 76cm (290); W.51cm (19in); D:55cm (21in). BonBay 2
CLUB CHAIR
AALTO-INSPIRED CHAIR
EASY CHAIR
The rectilinear frame is made from stained pearwood secured with brass fittings. The chair is upholstered in hand-woven woolen fabric. Peter Keler, Bauhaus Weimar. 1925. H:69cm (27in); W.62cm (24V:ln); D:68cm (26%0). WKA
LOUNGE CHAIR
CANTILEVERED ARMCHAIR
One of a pair, this armchair has a tubular-chrome frame and seat with cushions upholstered in a dark brown, brushed fabric with red trim. The armrests are black-enamelled. H:86.5cm (34in). SDR I
Designed by Gilbert Rohde, this cantilevered armchair has a bright chrome base and black laminated armrests. The cushions are upholstered in ivory leather with a black trim. H:94cm (37in). SDR 1
THE STACKING CHAIR
STILL FOUND IN CAFES WORLDWIDE, THIS ICONIC DESIGN IS PERHAPS THE FIRST STACKING CHAIR, AND CERTAINLY THE FIRST WIDESPREAD DESIGN, OF ITS KIND.
The so-called Bistro chairs These have a pressed-steel frame and are painted red; with plywood seats. c.1926. H:82cm (32Vin). DOR 3
The origins of this chair, despite the efforts of numerous historians, have proved murky at best. The design is most likely to have been developed in France some time around 1925, specifically for the country’s booming cafe culture. The chair bears a strong, albeit rather crude, resemblance to chairs designed by Emile Jacques Ruhlmann, although it’s doubtful whether the French high-society designer ever had a hand in its conception.
What is perhaps most impressive about the chair, apart from its stackability, is its economy of materials. The steel used is incredibly thin and, to give the legs rigidity, the steel has been subtly curved. To save further on metal, holes have been cut from the seat back. While the perfect low-cost, space-saving chair was to become something of a holy grail for 20th-century furniture designers, few ever bettered the chair design that first set the ball rolling.
FREE SWINGER ARMCHAIR
The base of this chromed-steel cantilevered armchair from Austria is the only part of the structure that is exposed. The chair seat and back are filled with down and upholstered in sand-coloured velour. H:84cm (331in). DOR 3
LAMINATED LOUNGE CHAIR
This chair has been made from one sheet of cut and moulded laminated birch and resembles the Gerald Summers classic (see p.438). The arms are fixed to the back with metal brackets. Hans Pieck. 1944. H:76cm (30in). Bon Bay 4
BAUHAUS ARMCHAIR
This chair was designed by Erich Dieckmann for the Weimer Bauhaus, in collaboration with Ernst Mayo. Made from solid beech, it has a bowed back and slatted seat. c.1930. H:81.5cm (321:in); W.52.5cm (21in). WKA
DINING CHAIR
This is one of a pair of stacking birch plywood dining chairs that were produced by Artek. The chair has a circular wooden seat and a pierced plywood back, supported on L-shaped plywood uprights. c.1930s.
DIAGONAL CHAIR
This chrome-plated, tubular steel chair is named after the supports between the seat back and legs. The arms, seat, and back are of laminated wood. W.H. Gispen. c.1927. H:82.5cm (321-in); W-54cm (2111n): D:60cm (23,Xln). QU 2
SLATTED CHAIR
This Viennese chair has a tubular-steel frame and solid, stained-beech wooden slats for the seat and back. The arms have wooden armrests. One of a set of four. 1925. H:84.5cm (33V4in). DOR 3

The French Revolution in 1789 brought a temporary halt to the output of precious jewels in the country which had until then been the leading producer. Ostentatious adornment was felt to conflict with the revolutionary principles of egalitarism. Moreover, the abolition of the traditional guild system, which in the past had ensured a high standard by regulating the terms of apprenticeship, led to a rapid decline in quality. And finally there was a lack of patronage and a scarcity of precious metals and gemstones. Many French aristocrats, the traditional patrons of French jewellers, fled the country, taking their valuables to sell abroad as a means of livelihood. French jewellers were therefore deprived both of old jewels with gems and precious metals for re-setting and of new imported bullion and gemstones. It was during this time of upheaval that the prized French crown jewels were stolen.
From the French Revolution to Waterloo
Not surprisingly, earrings created at this time reflect the impoverishment of design and production; only inexpensive examples of low artistic value based on Revolutionary motifs are to be found. One design used glass and debris from the demolished Bastille. Another commonly known as boucle dorellleii la guillotine, and favoured in Nantes rather than Paris, consisted of a small guillotine surmounted by a red cap, with a pendant below in the form of a decapitated crowned head.
Fine jewellery staged a gradual comeback during the years of the Directory (1795-99); France began to recover its leadership in the field; new motifs and designs were developed, remaining in favour until the early 19th century.
The new earrings, in line with the general interest in classicism, were designed to complement the ‘A la Grecque’ hairstyles and the fashion for flimsy white dresses inspired by Classical goddesses. (Indeed, the passion for pale, flimsy chemise-dresses with drapery clinging to the body was so great that some ladies even wore their clothes wet to enhance the effect. As a consequence there was an increase in deaths from pneu-
P. 90, 91 monia.) Fashionable earrings of the period were usually large and geometrical, with the emphasis on flat linearity rather than volume. Although quite large, they were usually very light; gold was still scarce and earrings would be cut out of thin sheets, frequently of low carat gold; enamel often took the place of gemstones. Once again, this tendency can be explained partly by the general scarcity of stones on the market, partly by a desire to create earrings which would complement the face without overpowering it with an excess of jewels.
Between 1790 and 1810 two main types can be distinguished. The first is known as the poissarde, so called because it was originally worn by fishwives (poissardes) in the market of Les Halles in Paris. It is characterized by a hinged fitting at the back, either semicircular or S-shaped, running from bottom to top, where it fastens to the front section of the earring. The front is usually in the form of a flat panel or half-A pair of poissarde earrings set with citrines, early 19th century, front and side view. Note the S-shaped hinged fitting running from top to 5()ttom.
hoop decorated with enamel, often pierced and set with a few imitation or semiprecious stones. The second type is a long pendent earring with a combination of flat and extremely thin gold elements linked to each other by means of fine chains. As with the poissardes they are hardly ever set with precious stones but are decorated with polychrome enamel, pierced gold and filigree. One example incorporates marquise-shaped surmounts decorated respectively with grisaille miniature portraits of man and wife in profile on a light blue enamel ground. A double chain connects the surmount with a central element decorated with sentimental imagery: a dove above a pair of red enamel flaming hearts, followed by the inscription Fidel in a garland of blue forget-me-nots and red leaves. Though typical of early i 9th-century earrings, and probably French, to judge from the inscription, the sentimental imagery is an unusual feature. Earrings, unlike other forms of jewellery, are normally purely decorative and hardly ever display the explicitly sentimental motifs which are often found on rings — the traditional symbol of love and eternal union, and a normal betrothal gift since Antiquity.
Earrings of these two types were worn throughout Europe, not only in France. Maria de la Concepcion Rodriguez de Caspe, a lady from Granada, for example, was painted by Jose Gil in 18 16 wearing earrings that have two circular elements each set with a red unfaceted stone, probably coral, connected by fine chains. Once again the typical linearity, lack of volume and absence of precious gemstones are noticeable. Similar examples were also extensively produced in Sicily and in Northern Italy; some measure over 8 cms in length and still remain light, being made of thin 18 carat gold sheets and weighing on average 7 grams. Northern Italian earrings display some distinctive features, in particular a plaque stamped out of a thin circular, oval or rectangular sheet of gold. This is decorated at the centre in relief to simulate a cameo, with the profile of a warrior from Classical mythology. Classical martial imagery, such as Mars and Bellona, both war-deities, were popular subjects during Napoleon’s campaigns in Northern Italy of 1796-97. The borders, however, present a characteristic form of decoration with small hollow hemispherical motifs imitating beaded wirework, filigree, palmette and flowerhead motifs.
The coronation of Napoleon in 1804 and the creation of a grand Imperial court prompted demand for extremely important jewels. The overall design of earrings remained unchanged, but gold and enamel were replaced by precious stones, dia-
P. go monds being again in favour. This can clearly be seen in a pair of diamond pendent earrings, where the general design continues to be long and linear, but fine connecting chains, typical of the earlier gold earrings, have been replaced by a grand chain of brilliant-cut diamonds.
Until the closing years of the i 8th century gemstones had always been mounted in closed settings which did not allow light to pass from behind through the stone. This technique enabled the jewellers to match, modify and intensify the tint of coloured gemstones by placing coloured foils behind the stone, but this greatly reduced the sparkle and brilliance of diamonds. Towards i 80o jewellers, realizing the importance of light for the glitter of diamonds, started to claw- or collet-set them in open mounts, although smaller and rose-cut diamonds and coloured stones continued to be mounted in closed settings. Many pendent earrings of this time are transitional in type, with a large diamond, usually the centre stone, mounted in an open setting and smaller stones, generally in the border, in closed setting.
By the early i 9th century, French supremacy in jewellery design had been reestablished. This was largely due to Napoleon’s enthusiasm for the development of French arts and technology. He regarded the luxury of his court as an aspect of national prestige, not mere frivolity. This led to an immense number of commissions for jewellery, which was then distributed throughout Europe as diplomatic gifts.
It is at this time that complete sets of matching jewels known as parures begin to be worn. They consisted of a necklace, bracelets, a pair of pendent earrings and frequently also a tiara. Amidst such an abundance of gemstones, earrings continued to be simple, the favourites being long pearl or diamond pendeloques on small surmounts; they can be seen being worn by the Empress Josephine and other members of the imperial family in portraits by David, Gerard and Regnault. Another favoured type consists of a cluster with a large gemstone or cameo at the centre within a border of pearls or diamonds, often holding a similarly set pear-shaped drop. This is well represented by a pair of diamond and emerald briolette earrings, part of the parure probably by Nitot given by Napoleon to Stephanie Beauharnais, a niece of the Empress Josephine, on the occasion of her marriage in i 806. (This is an example of the political role of jewellery; she was marrying the Grand Duke of Baden’s heir, an alliance intended to consolidate the Confederacy of the Rhine.) This parure is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the bride is portrayed wearing it in a painting by Gerard. The popularity of earrings set with cameos, carved both in shell and hardstone and occasionally in precious stones such as emeralds and sapphires, was a consequence of Napoleon’s interest in carved and engraved gems. Following the Italian campaigns of 1796, when many cameos were brought back to France from Italy, Napoleon opened in Paris a school of gem engraving which boosted the production of cameos of Classical inspiration which were then frequently set in earrings.
1815-1830
The Congress of Vienna brought about the restoration of the legitimate monarchs in Europe in 18 15, and with it the desire to emulate the style of the Ancien Regime in all the applied arts. In jewellery earrings reverted to the form of i 8th-century girandoles and pendeloques, but they were adapted to the more impoverished economic situation. The scarcity of precious metals and gemstones prompted the development of filigree and cannetille which allowed jewellers to make do with very little gold. Both cannetille, named after a type of embroidery made with very fine gold and silver thread, and filigree techniques consist of working fine gold wires into lace-work patterns. Long but light pendeloque and girandole earrings manufactured on the Continent in this way were mainly set with semiprecious stones such as foiled topazes, amethysts and citrines. In England, which had been spared the consequences of the war, more expensive gemstones such as emeralds, diamonds and rubies (but never sapphires at this period) mounted in cannetille settings were often used. These gemstones are almost invariably set in closed collets lined with metallic foils tinted to intensify the colour and improve the match of the stones. The earrings are usually found as part of parures, accompanied by a pair of bracelets and a necklace with a detachable pendant at the centre designed to match the earrings either as a girandole, or, when the earrings are designed as pendeloques, in the form of a lozenge or Latin cross. These parures were extremely popular in the 18 2os and early 1830s: their gold filigree work of burr, tendrils, scrolls and lace-like patterns was often embellished with leaves and florets stamped out of thin gold sheet sometimes in contrasting colours. The two exceptional English examples illustrated, set with rubies and emeralds both comprising a necklace with girandole pendant and a pair of matching earrings, are particularly notable for the quality of the gemstones and for the pristine condition of the cannetille work, something which has rarely survived intact because of its lightness and fragility. The overall design of the girandoles, elongated in shape and with the central drop longer than the two at the sides, is close to late i 8th-century examples, but the cartouche-shaped surmount of the example set with emeralds, the parsimonious use of gemstones and the fine intricacy of light gold wire and granulation make them typical of their date.
The 183 Os
Around the 1830s long earrings reaching almost the shoulders became extremely popular. The fashion was prompted by changes in dress and hairstyle. Couturiers of the time had launched the fashion for dresses with wide bell-shaped skirts, narrow waists and leg-of-mutton sleeves which expanded sideways out of all proportion, giv-
P. 74 ing the upper part of the female silhouette a marked triangular shape. The head became the focal point of interest for jewellers and milliners: hairstyles became extremely complex, with tight curls and knots of false and natural hair gathered at the top and side of the head and embellished with all sorts of feathers, plumes and jewelled aigrettes. This exaggerated horizontal expansion of female silhouette and overabundance of hairstyle decoration needed to be counterbalanced by long drop earrings which also well suited the very generous decolletees of evening dresses.
The most fashionable earrings of the time were designed as elongated drops measuring up to TO— 12 CMS in length stamped out of thin gold sheet and decorated en
Portrait of a lady wearing a pair of long pendent earrings set with faceted semiprecious gemstone drops, to counterbalance the side expansion of the elaborate hairstyles fashionable in the 183os. By Adele Kindt (Belgian 1804-1884).
• are in shape to match the pendant of the necklace: lozenge-shaped pendants are in most cases accompanied by pendeloque earrings, girandole pendants by similarly designed earrings.
repousse (embossed); their rich scroll, shell and foliate motifs were often applied with minute naturalistic decorative elements in gold of various colours and set with gems. A good example of this type is the pair of torpedo-shaped earrings reproduced on P. 93, decorated with embossed quatrefoil motifs suspended from a shell-shaped surmount.
Some of the earliest examples of repousse earrings are also decorated with applied cannetille motifs in the form of burr and scrolling tendrils and can be regarded as transitional between cannetille and repousse earrings.
By the early 1840s gold repousse earrings had completely supplanted the costly and time-consuming cannetille type. Their lightness was dictated partly by economic considerations and partly by the necessity of keeping such large earrings light and comfortable for the wearer. Repousse earrings were cheap to produce. They were made on mechanical presses and needed only very thin sheets of precious metal, though the repousse work itself was often set with small semiprecious gemstones, turquoises being among the favourites.
If a large stone was used, it was likely to be aquamarine, chrysoberyl, amethyst, topaz or citrine, set within a scrolled border of rich gold repousse work. The aquamarine drops reproduced on p. 95 exemplify the trend particularly well, in that they are extremely long (12 ems approximately) and light (weighing approximately 1 _(we i gh i ng approx i mately 15 grams each) and are set with Brazilian aquamarines of fancy cut, well adapting to the repousse scroll-motif mount.
In Switzerland and Northern Italy, where enamel techniques were mastered at the time, polychrome enamel plaques could replace gemstones.
These earrings might look massive but they were in fact fairly light, as one can tell from the fact that they did not, like the heavy girandoles of the 18th century, require an additional hoop to ease their weight: almost all examples are set with a simple hinged hook fitting into the lobe from back to front.
Typical of English earrings of the time is the widespread use of elongated drops in agate or chalcedony (either left white or stained blue or green) and applied with small semiprecious stones such as garnets and turquoises set in gold floral motifs. These earrings usually came with a matching Maltese cross pendant. There are varying degrees of decoration: some are plain drops carved in hardstone, while others show a greater complexity, with applied decoration of naturalistic inspiration. Similarly designed sets set with diamonds are now less common but we know that they existed.
Also popular in England, where diamonds were more plentiful than in France as a consequence of the more stable political and economic situation, were earrings in the form of diamond pear-shaped drops with a large pearl or diamond swing centre on a cluster of foliate surmount.
The simplest form of earring fashionable at the time had a large pear-shaped drop of semiprecious stone, usually a faceted amethyst or citrine, mounted in a gold collet suspended from a similarly-set single-stone circular or oval surmount.
1840s and 1850s
In the late 184os a new hairstyle with a parting at the centre and the hair brushed to each side of the face and gathered in a knot at the back, totally covering the ears, led to the virtual disappearance of earrings — another indication of the close relationship between hairstyles and earrings. One has only to look at portraits by Wintherhalter and other society painters to see how universal this fashion was. In the middle of the century Queen Victoria was consistently portrayed with her ears covered, and even in catastrophic situations such as those shown in John Martin’s The Great Day of His Wrath (1852) or The Last Judgement (1853), women in the last extremity of distress are depicted with their ears carefully covered by neatly arranged hair at the sides.
The temporary eclipse of earrings is confirmed by the fact that at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, although jewellery was well represented, earrings were not given prominence. Those that were produced at this time were attractive but generally small and compact in design, frequently featuring naturalistic motifs such as flowerhead clusters, bunches of grapes, acorns, and other foliate arrangements chased in gold, set with a gemstone depicting a bud or berry, or carved in coral and ivory. The trend towards naturalism was common to all the decorative arts and Jewellery. Other earrings assumed the shape of crescent hoops or elongated beads. Long gem-set earrings were never worn at important formal occasions because the ears remained completely concealed by the hair and covered by elaborate tiaras in the form
120, 121
A pencil and gouache design for a tiara, bracelet and corsage ornament by Mellerio, mid 19th century. Note the two lateral cascading spray of leaves and flowers which concealed the ears.
1840s and 1850s
In the late 184os a new hairstyle with a parting at the centre and the hair brushed to each side of the face and gathered in a knot at the back, totally covering the ears, led to the virtual disappearance of earrings — another indication of the close relationship between hairstyles and earrings. One has only to look at portraits by Wintherhalter and other society painters to see how universal this fashion was. In the middle of the century Queen Victoria was consistently portrayed with her ears covered, and even in catastrophic situations such as those shown in John Martin’s The Great Day of His Wrath (1852) or The Last Judgement (1853), women in the last extremity of distress are depicted with their ears carefully covered by neatly arranged hair at the sides.
The temporary eclipse of earrings is confirmed by the fact that at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, although jewellery was well represented, earrings were not given prominence. Those that were produced at this time were attractive but generally small and compact in design, frequently featuring naturalistic motifs such as flowerhead clusters, bunches of grapes, acorns, and other foliate arrangements chased in gold, set with a gemstone depicting a bud or berry, or carved in coral and ivory. The trend towards naturalism was common to all the decorative arts and Jewellery. Other earrings assumed the shape of crescent hoops or elongated beads. Long gem-set earrings were never worn at important formal occasions because the ears remained completely concealed by the hair and covered by elaborate tiaras in the form Ink design for a dormeuse earring, Kreuter, Germany, April 1877, front and side view.
of garlands of flowers which framed the face and cascaded in two sprays decorated en pampille down the sides of the head. During the day, bonnets with large brims tied under the chin with wide ribbons made earrings superfluous and difficult to wear; for the same reason brooches ceased to be worn high on the collar where they interfered with the hat ribbon tied under the chin. Simple single-stone earrings — know as dormeuses or ’sleepers’ because they were worn at night to prevent the pierced hole in the lobe from closing — were the only form of earring that continued to be used.

Although Italian maiolica reached its apogee in the masterpieces of the 16th century, there is still much to admire in the products of the following 100 years. Potteries in Deruta continued to make colourful albarelli (drug jars), although these
Undoubtedly lack the vigour of their 16th-century predecessors; and, while embossed wall plaques of the Madonna and Child were now virtually mass-produced at Deruta, some still convey a spirit befitting their imagery. The great istoriato (narrative) painting of Urbino became debased, and Montelupo dishes are of inferior quality. However, the depiction of soldiers boldly standing with legs apart – the characteristic Montelupo decoration of arlecchini – remained a powerful image on dishes and plates.
1650-1800
New varieties of fine maiolica were developed in the second half of the 17th century. At Castelli thin potting was combined with careful painting that employed perspective, quite unlike the Italian maiolica of the previous century. The workshops of the Gentile and Grue families in Castelli produced a large number of high-quality wares, including dishes, vases, and pharmacy jars, the best being made by Francesco Antonio Xaverio Grue 1686-1746) and Carmine Gentile. Most of their wares were essentially functional, but they also included plaques made purely for display. Dishes depicting Classical heroes, spirited hunting scenes,or biblical epics are the successors of 16th-century istoriato wares. Production continued at Castelli until the mid-18th century, although there was a gradual decline in quality.
Drug jars continued to be made, although with less spirit than in the past. Instead of [)right colours, the influence of Chinese porcelain led to borders of blueand-white scrollwork or naive landscapes, which were both pleasing and original. From the late 17th century, dishes produced in Savona represented the istoriato ato tradition in a fresh and lively fashion, combining somewhat sketchy painting with high-quality potting. The standard of maiolica produced by the various Savona workshops varies considerably.
In the 18th century, Italy was no longer the leading force in European pottery. Nevertheless the centres of Le Nove, Bassano, Turin, Milan, and Faenza produced good pottery influenced by silver forms, French faience, and Chinese porcelain. Potters in Milan made dinner services decorated with the Chinese famille-rose palette and Japanese Imari patterns. The Ferniani family in Faenza made good-quality dinnerware often decorated with potato flowers or carnations.
AFTER 1800
In the 19th century, Italian pottery was dominated by mostly debased copies of earlier models. Among these, the bold flower painting of G.B. Viero at the faience factory (est. 1728) in Le Nove stands out, as does the work of probably the best-known 19th-century Italian maiolica potter, Ulysse Cantagalli (1839-1901) of Florence. Original 16th-century dishes were already very valuable, and there was an eager market for high-quality reproductions. Cantagalli’s famous copies of wares from Urbino and other centres of Italian maiolica production were so good that they fooled many connoisseurs in the 19th century. Many other 19th-century potters also reproduced the glories of the past, maintaining a tradition that continues to the present day.
1650-1800
• BODY new, fine maiolica types, which were thinner than those made in the previous century were
developed after c.16-50
• GLAZE high quality, and generally a greyish cream
• STYLE influenced by silverware, Chinese porcelain, and French porcelain and faience
• FORMS decorative plaques, vases, dinner services
• PALETTE Castelli: naturalistic tones of olive green, brown, and yeIlov,
• DECORATION continuation of istoriato (narrative) painting; introduction of perspective in painting of landscapes; allegorical and mythological themes; flowers and figures; Oriental motifs, including Chinese landscapes and blue-and-white scrollwork
• IMPORTANT MAKERS the Grue, Cappelletti, and Gentile families
After 1800
• FORMS a return to classic 16th-century forms; many produced as tourist wares
• DECORATION high-quality reproductions of 16th-century designs (e.g. istoriato)
Marks
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Cantagalli used this distinctive cockerel mark,usually in black; collectors should tic wary as
unscrupulous dealers have often removed this mark in order to pass pieces off as originals
Savona: this late 17th/early 18th-century representation of the tower or beacon in the harbour of nearby Genoa has been much imitated

Kakiemon
A type of Arita ware, Kakiemon is a delicate porcelain with a distinctive palette. The name is derived from a family of potters and enamellers working in Arita, who are traditionally believed to have introduced overglaze enamelling on porcelain to Japan in the 1640s. The extremely fine, milky-white body (nigoshide) was believed to have been exclusive to the Kakiemon kiln, although this is now disputed. Wares include small dishes, bottles, bowls, and vases, many of which are of geometric form.
DECORATION AND FORMS
Although the Kakiemon kilns produced blue-andwhite porcelain, they are generally associated with wares expertly painted in a palette of iron-red, cerulean-blue, turquoise-green, yellow, aubergine, and gold. These delicate porcelains form a counterpoint to the heavier Imari wares.
Often asymmetrical, the designs enhance
the milky-white body of the best Arita porcelain. Kakiemon wares are usually painted with natural themes: birds in branches, flying squirrels, the “quail and millet” design, the “Three
Friends of Winter” (pine, prunus, and bamboo), trailing flowers, and banded hedges. Human subjects are rare; some have been given titles such as the “Woman and the Nightingale” and the “Hob in the Well”, the latter a design based on the story of a Chinese sage who saved his friend who had fallen into a large fishbowl.
The chrysanthemum, the national flower of Japan, is a very common form for
Kakiemon wares, as is the pointed bracket-shape. Many Arita wares, especially the Kakiemon type, are hexagonal or octagonal in form. An iron-brown dressing (fuchi-beni) was applied to the edges of many Kakiemon porcelains to embellish them and to protect the rims from being chipped; this was probably introduced around the mid-17th century, following the example set by Chinese potters. Kakiemon porcelain was arguably the most influential Japanese porcelain in Europe; after it was exported to Europe at the end of the 17th century, the forms and decoration were copied by many major factories including Meissen, Saint Cloud,Chantilly, Chelsea, and Bow.
• BODY a pure milky-white (nigoshide)
• GLAZE almost colourless
• PALETTE iron red, cerulean blue, turquoise, brown, yellow, and gold; black is used for detailing; iron-
brown edges (fuchi-beni) are typical
• FORMS geometric; dishes are hexagonal, octagonal, or decagonal
• DECORATION mainly flower motifs and only rarely figures; asymmetrical and sparse; popular patterns include the “quail and millet”, the “Three Friends of Winter” (pine, bamboo, and prunus), banded hedges, flying squirrels, and the ho-ho bird (phoenix)
• COPIES made in many European factories from the end of the 18th century, including Meissen, Chantilly, Saint Cloud, Chelsea, and Bow

Arita blue-and-white wares
Almost all early Japanese porcelain was produced in Arita on Kyushu, the westernmost of the main Japanese islands and, significantly, the closest to Korea. It is most unlikely that the manufacture of porcelain would have developed in Japan as early as this without the know-how of Korean potters, who were brought to Japan when Toyotomi Hideyoshi returned from his invasion of Korea at the end of the 16th century. Early Arita porcelain is generally, if superficially, classified into three main types: Arita blue and white, Imari, and Kakicmon.
A Ming-style blue-and-white dish
This large dish is a fairly faithful rendition of late Ming kraak porcelain Emblems used by the Chinese as decorative motifs, including the “Eight Precious Objects” of the scholar (a musical stone, jewels, a coin, a pair of books, an open tied lozenge and a closed tied lozenge, and the artemisia leaf), were often copied by the Japanese. The artemisia leaf can be seen in this dish in the broad panels in the top right corner. (c. 1660-80; diam. 40cmll6in, value H)
DOMESTIC WARES
The earliest Arita wares wore crude-bodied, heavily potted porcelain, casually decorated in blue and white, and were generally not exported. These wares were clearly influenced by both Korean blue-and-white and imported late Ming porcelain. By the mid-17th century the Arita potters were producing a more refined and broader range of objects for the newly established export market, as well as for the domestic market. The type of decoration on these later wares was complex, combining natural themes with geometric patterns; dishes or bowls featured leaf or flower forms and, more rarely, bird or animal shapes. The underglaze blue used ranges from a poor-quality grey or blackish blue through to a bright purplish blue. Wares made for the domestic
EXPORT WARES
In 1647 the civil war in China between the Dynasty and the invading
disrupted the well-established trade between Japan and Europe. The Japanese were persuaded by Dutch East India Company to supply - white wares in the style of either the Chinese kraak porcelain or the Transitional
decorated with semi-botanical subjects narrative themes applied in a mechanical These are not close copies but loose
Japanese decorators were hampered by she they had to work from wooden models of originals supplied by the Dutch.
Wares produced at this time included
northern European metal or ceramic forms example the Enghalskrug (narrow-necked
or Kugelbauchkrug (bulbous globular rank:_
and the Birnkrug (pear-shaped tankard
specifically Chinese shapes as the kendi a
drinking vessel) and the klapmuts (a wide-dish) were also made. The trade with Europe continued until the kilns in China were reestablished in 1683, after which the Dutch mainly
returned to their patronage of Chinese porcelain. which was much less expensive than Japanese wares. However, porcelain made in the kilns at Arita continued to be exported to the West until the mid-18th century
market include small dishes and c.1640 Japanese wares include The third type of blue-and-white solely for the export market.

Korea’s close proximity to China has resulted in a marked Chinese influence in its ceramic production, ev ident in both the forms and the techniques used by potters. However, Korea has also produced stonewares and porcelains unique to its culture.
THE SILLA AND KORYO PERIODS
During the Silla kingdom (57 BC—AD 935) ceramic production in Korea consisted of grey- or brownish-bodied stonewares of distinctive architectonic form. Tall vessels with hemispherical bowls on an elongated spreading foot were decorated with geometric
windows and incised bands. Bowls were decorated with punched circlets, small repeated motifs, scratched geometric patterns, and, occasionally, animals or humans. Drawing inspiration from the Yue wares of south-eastern China, Korean potters developed celadon wares during the Koryo period (918-1392). Even if some of the forms are noticeably Chinese, there is almost always a distinctive Korean feel to them.
The green glaze is of a subtle tonality akin to the colour of the famous Ru wares of the northern Song Dynasty. However, er, the sangam celadons, which are painstakingly inlaid with black-and-white clays, are unique to Korea. A wide range of objects was made, including large blossom vases, ritual water ewers, and tiny covered boxes. Porcelain was also produced, albeit in very limited quantities, during the Koryo period.
CHOSON DYNASTY (1392-1910)
Developed from the sangam celadons of the Koryo period are the robust and often crude punch’ong wares, a greyish-green celadon-type stoneware made for about the first 200 years of the dynasty. Production ceased at the time of the invasion of Korea by the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-8). The wares are decorated by stamping and washing through with slip. Decoration may feature tiny repeated motifs, flower-heads, or scrolls. Korean wares are generally very heavily potted with a curiously sticky glaze. The greyish-green glaze is thin, translucent, and mostly crackled, and it occasionally flakes. Choson whitewares were made throughout the period; earlier wares were often plain white, although many pieces can be painted in underglaze copper red, iron brown, or blue. Bulbous forms, often with faceted sides, are characteristic of the later Choson period, as are pierced vessels such as brushpots, pipe rests, and waterpots.
Early stoneware
• BODY dull dark grey or brown; potting tends to be very thick, and there is strong tendency for the items to warp
• FORMS “architectural”
• TYPES funerary wares
• DECORATION pierced and incised; often geometric patterns, rarely figures
celadon
• BODY generally a distinctive greyish blue-green like the classic Ru ware of the northern Song Dynasty
• GLAZE of greyish-olive tone; usually irregular; frequently crackled
• IDENTIFICATION celadon wares were fired on gritty kiln supports, often leaving crude patches on the underside of the foot-rim
• DECORATION the miniaturized inlay technique (sangam), using black-and-white clay, is unique to Korea
Porcelain
• BODY heavily potted; sometimes large pieces are warped or cracked; pierced and carved wares of the 18th and 19th centuries are very sophisticated
• GLAZE bluish or greenish irregularly crackled glaze
• DECORATION most common is the dragon; also cranes, tigers, and other animals
Marks
Most ceramics are unmarked before the late 19th century

Qing after 1800
During the Qianlong reign period (1736-95) the directorship of the imperial kilns passed from imperial officials to regional supervisors, and from that time there followed a slow decline in the quality of wares from Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. While some fine pieces continued to be made, there was a general tendency to over-elaborate in both form and decoration.
BODY AND GLAZE
The changes in the quality of the material were gradual and, when wares are unmarked, it can be very difficult to distinguish between one reign period and another. The dragon and phoenix wucai bowls, which were first made during the Kangxi reign period (1622-1722), continued to be made right into the 19th century and are a good example of the problem; their smooth bluish-white glaze and neatly drawn enamelling are virtually the same whether they are from the Qianlong or the Jigging reign periods (1736-1820). Without reference to the seal marks, most specialists would be hard put to tell the difference.
There was, however, a perceptible decline in quality during the Daoguang reign period (1821-50), and the inferior quality persisted to the end of the dynasty. The cool and lustrous glaze gave way to a grainy off-white, while the enamels were duller or harsher than their
brilliant predecessors. The decoration of enamelled porcelains was arranged in a crowded or ineffective manner, with over-complicated colour combinations.
STYLES, SHAPES, AND DECORATIVE THEMES The porcelains that had been produced in the 18th century continued to be made in the 19th. They included Ming-style blue-and-white wares such as moon flasks and pear-shaped bottles, as well as large saucer dishes. Likewise, monochromes continued to be produced, notably sang-de-boeuf red, “peachbloom”, and yellow. There were also artistic innovations, among them the production of “medallion” bowls.
• GLAZE marked deterioration in quality from the Daoguang period; “European-green” turquoise wash appears on the inside of many vessels
• DECORATION tendency to over-elaborate, complicated colour schemes and overcrowding; greater use of gilding; introduction of “medallion” bowls and “rice-grain” pierced wares; use of show and other auspicious characters; heavy use of enamels
Reign marks
Reign marks were inscribed on most 19th-and 20th-century domestic, imperial, and export porcelain; the mark shown here is in conventional script for the Guangxu reign period (1875-1908)