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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
Derby already had a long tradition of pottery manufacture by the time that porcelain was made there c.1748 by Andrew Planche, a French chemist
who had learned the art of making porcelain at factories in continental Europe. Early Derby production was very much aimed at the London market and imitated the white Rococo porcelain made at Chelsea.
EARLY DERBY WARES
The forms of the rare porcelain made during the Planche period are, like Chelsea’s, influenced by English silver. Chinoiserie figure groups, unique to Derby, are seen at their best when left undecorated. Derby’s
slightly creamy, glass-like glaze dribbled freely during the firing. To prevent adhesion to the kiln shelves, the glaze was initially wiped away from around the bases of figures and cream-jugs, giving
an appearance known as “dry-edge”. During Derby’s “transitional” phase (c.1755-6) the glaze, over a chalky paste, became whiter, and was lightly decorated in distinctive, rather delicate enamels, which have earned figure groups of this period the title “Pale Family”.
In 1756 William Duesbury (1725-86) and his partner John Heath bought the factory. From this time the influence of the German factory of Meissen became more apparent. Wares made under Duesbury’s direction are very similar to some made at Longton Hall and were likewise aimed at the London market. Tureens and leaf-shaped dishes were made, alongside some teawares and baskets. Derby developed distinctive styles of bird- and flower-painting that are conventionally associated with artists known respectively as the “moth painter” and “cotton-stalk painter”; in fact such decoration was applied by a number of painters at the factory.
Derby’s porcelain body meant that its teawares were prone to cracking during use, and examples are rare.
Instead, Derby became England’s foremost figure manufacturer. Influenced by Meissen, Derby figures of the 1750s and 1760s are very Rococo in style, standing on wide, scrolled bases, often backed with intricate bocage. To prevent kiln adhesion during firing, the unglazed bases of the figures were supported on raised clay pads that left distinctive “patch marks”.
THE CHELSEA-DERBY PERIOD
In 1770 Duesbury bought the ailing Chelsea factory and ran it until 1784 in conjunction with the Derby works. Following Chelsea’s adoption of the Derby porcelain formula, production at the factory improved, and new styles of decoration were developed, greatly influenced by the Neo-classical style fashionable in London. Figures continued to form the greater part of Derby’s output, but modellers engaged from Europe introduced new subjects and vastly improved the quality. They also developed biscuit figures into a distinctive Derby speciality. The fine detail of the modelling was displayed to full effect on white Derby biscuit figures and groups.
• BODY early Derby paste is chalky white
• GLAZE creamy white; c.1750-56 Derby porcelain is known as “dry-edge” because the edges of the bases were wiped free of glaze before firing
• FORMS tureens, leaf shapes, baskets; teawares are rare
• DECORATION birds, flowers; c.1756-65 sprays of flowers with very fine stems were painted, formerly attributed to the “cotton-stalk painter”
• FIGURES unglazed biscuit was used from 1770s; the styles are Rococo, including scrolled bases and bocage; “patch marks” were left by firing supports