Posts Tagged ‘vases’

Pressed glass
The invention and development of mould pressing c.1820 revolutionized glass manufacture; previously an exclusive and highly priced commodity, decorative ,,lass became accessible to all. The technique involved pressing a gather of molten glass into a metal mould using a plunger. When the glass cooled, the mould was opened, and any excess glass attached to the seams was removed by hand.
NORTH AMERICA
The most important pressed-glass manufacturer in North America was the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. 1826-88), founded by Deming Jarves (1790-1869), in Sandwich, Massachusetts. The firm produced inexpensive pressed-glass tableware in “lacy” glass with intricate stippled designs that resembled lace and covered the flaws caused by the pressing process; wares included table services and a range of coloured glassware. The earliest pressed patterns of Gothic arches, acanthus leaves, and scrolls were probably copied from cut glass. Another well-known company was the New England Glass Co. (1818-90), originally of East Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also founded by Jarves. Both firms specialized in the production of oil lamps and candlesticks with contrastingly coloured glass tops and bases. By the 1850s other pressed glass factories were also established throughout the Midwest.
Many firms produced brightly coloured pressed glass with a vivid orange or green iridescent surface, which is known as “Carnival” glass. It was made by spraying pressed glass with metallic powders, and was used to create eye-catching yet inexpensive tumblers, bowls, plates, and vases. Major makers include the Northwood Glass Co. (1888-1925) in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the Imperial Glass Co. (est. 1902) in Bellaire, Ohio, and the Fenton Art Glass Co. (est. 1904) in Williamstown, West Virginia. Between 1925 and 1950 mould pressing was widely used to mass-produce inexpensive glass items, such as trinkets, which were given away as premiums at petrol stations and in boxes of cereal, and also affordable pastel-coloured tablewares; these pieces are now known as -Depression” glass. Primary makers include the Jeanette Glass Co. (est. 1898) in Jeanette, Pennsylvania, and the Indiana Glass Co. (est. 1902) in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
BRITAIN
Mould pressing was used in the North of England before 1827, and from the mid-1870s was widely employed
by such firms as John Sowerby’s Ellison Glassworks (1847-1972) and George Davidson & Co. (est. 1867), both in Gateshead, Henry Greener & Co. (est. 1858) in Sunderland, and John Derbyshire & Co. (1873-6) in Manchester. Commemorative ware was
very popular in Britain, and in the 1870s John Derbyshire & Co. introduced patriotic mould-pressed figures to its range, including those of Britannia and Queen Victoria. In the 1860s
Henry Greener & Co. produced glass with a ground of small raised dots that was especially
well suited to press moulding. One of Sowerby’s most popular ranges was “Vitro-porcelain” glass, which closely resembled china. Launched in 1877, it was produced in several colours, including cream (registered as “Patent Queen’s Ivory Ware”), turquoise, white, green, and a marbled version known as “Malachite”. Ranges by George Davidson & Co., introduced in 1889, include opaque “Pearline” glass, which was produced in different shades of turquoise.
• DECORATION American pressed-glass designs are sharp; pieces with softer patterns are likely to be either copies or European; decoration is often in imitation of cut-glass designs; “lacy” patterns were also popular
• COLLECTING although primarily collected in the USA, pressed glass is now becoming more popular with collectors in Europe; generally, the more ornate the piece, the more desirable it will be
• BEWARE supposedly “rare” examples may be copies

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

Vases
Vases are designed for displaying floral arrangements, but as solitary objects they enhance a room’s decor. Instead of being merely flower containers, they are considered art objects or decorative accessories, depending on their price. Like table wares, Deco vases were made of either pottery, porcelain, glass or metal. The photographs in this section are arranged in that order.
French art glass vases are the most expensive. Examples shown here include pieces by Legras, Schneider and Verlys. Other French manufacturers such as Baccarat, Lalique and Galld perhaps are more famous. But as their creations have become scarce and very costly, other factories’ products have gained recognition. Consequently, most French art glass has moved entirely out of the range of the moderate collector.
For Deco image, however, less expensive vases made by European and American factories are quite pleasing. Much of this glass is unmarked and not attributable to any one factory. Lack of identification may serve the collector well when Deco shape rather than company or artist is the major concern. Czechoslovakian glass made between 1918 and 1939 has been gaining interest among Deco collectors for several years. Most of the pieces are marked “Czechoslovakia” or “Made in Czechoslovakia.  The shapes and vivid colors of this good quality glass are quite representative of the Deco era. Prices usually remain moderate. Black milk glass or black amethyst glass made during the 1920’s and 1930’s is another type of relatively inexpensive glass with Deco overtones. Black glass was made by several American factories, but most pieces are unmarked.
American glass makers such as Cambridge, Fostoria, Heisey and New Martinsville, to name a few, are noted for stemware and serving dishes, but vases and other decorative items also were produced by these factories. Clear and colored glass vases were sometimes made to match the modern table ware patterns. Fan shapes, blocked geometric forms and even etched nude designs project a Deco theme. Although this type of glass is avidly collected by Depression glass collectors, prices are far less than those for French art glass.
The most expensive ceramic vases are those made by European art potteries. Art pottery, however, usually is priced lower than art glass. This is apparent when prices are compared for the Amphora and Boch Freres ceramic vases with those for the Legras and Verlys glass examples. American art pottery is generally lower in price than European. Among American Art potteries, attention is being paid to the Deco production made by companies such as Roseville. Less expensive vases are Japanese or American pottery varieties which were sold by dime stores or florists’ shops. The angular white glazed Japanese vase shown here was originally cheap, but the striking Deco shape has caused its current value to increase sharply.
Porcelain vases are medium priced with few being either bargains or exorbitantly high. Porcelain is superior to simple pottery because it is stronger and translucent, but those qualities are not always reflected in prices. Most European porcelain vases are less expensive than European art pottery. The reason is because many decorative items such as urns, vases and jardinieres were produced in quantity by porcelain factories. Moreover, they were often decorated with transfer designs or exported as undecorated vases. The latter were purchased by aspiring amateur china painters, and thus the decoration is not as creative or professional as that of art potteries.
Metal adapts well to angular shapes. Although glass and ceramic vases are more common, those made of brass, bronze, copper or chrome often evoke the Deco image in a more eye-catching way. The chrome vases pictured here are priced at the low end of the scale, but the Deco features are quite obvious. Brass and copper vases vary in price depending on size, but most are over $ 100. The sterling on bronze vases were made by the Heintz Art Metal Company. Such pieces are rarely less than $100 or more than $300. French bronze vases may be out of an affordable price range for moderate collectors. But an urn like the one shown, or similar vases, is usually considerably less than a bronze statue would cost. If French bronze would lend a note of prestige to one’s collection, such vases are a good choice.

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

Later export porcelain
The loss of imperial patronage at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province in 1608 prior to the death of Emperor Wanli (d.1619) encouraged the Chinese potters to seek new markets for their wares. They made dishes to European specifications, introducing new shapes and decorative motifs. They also had an unrivalled artistic freedom, which unleashed a great creativity, while the technical quality of the body and glaze improved noticeably.
TRANSITIONAL WARES
Blue-and-white porcelains of the Transitional period (1620-83) are characterized by the purplish tone of the blue, and by the easy naturalism of the brushwork. Narrative scenes were common, while landscape painting was given unprecedented importance. Colophons were very rarely added, but when they are found they often give details of where the object was produced, which clearly aids the dating of such items. Enamelled Transitional wares are the forerunners of the group of wares known as fanzine verte, and the colours are noticeably bright and clean. The Transitional period also marks the appearance of the first truly European shapes, including table salts, mustard-pots, square flasks, and candlesticks.
EXPORT PORCELAINS FROM JINGDEZHEN
The porcelains produced at Jingdezhen after Emperor Kangxi reorganized the kilns in 1683 are markedly more refined than earlier wares. The potting is economical and neatly trimmed, while the glaze is very thin and glassy. The foot-rims often have a faint amber blush due to oxidization. The blue varies from a silvery hue to an almost purple tone. After c.1730 export wares began to decline considerably; this is evident in the poorly trim med foot-rims and in the presence of sugary kiln grit, as well as in deeper oxidization, and an irregular and bluish glaze.
The range of decorative themes is varied and includes flowers and plants growing among rocks, sometimes enclosed within a fence, especially from the Yongzheng period (1723-35). The landscape designs used during the Kangxi period (1662-1722) have a sense of craggy remoteness, which later gives way to a more comfortable, idealized structure, with pavilioned isles, drifting sampans, and bending trees.
In the early 18th century northern-European clients
began to order dinner services decorated with their own
coats of arms, although the Spanish and Portuguese had ordered individual pieces with arms more than a century earlier. These armorial services were executed in underglaze blue or in the famine-verte palette (green, iron-red, blue, yellow, and a manganese purple). However, the later famillerose armorial services, often embellished with gold, are more numerous; hundreds of thousands of pieces were dispatched each year as wealthy British families ordered vast dinner services.
Europeans commissioned a variety of designs to be copied, sending paper patterns and wooden models to the Chinese. Early during the reign of Qianlong (1736-95), plain, blank porcelains from Jingdezhen were probably sent to be decorated in Guangzhou (later Canton) in Guangdong Province; blue-and-white ware was already fully decorated, as the decoration was underglaze. Their close proximity to the decorators’ workshops enabled East India Company employees to complete their private trade orders quickly and effectively. By comparison with general-trade porcelains, these private orders form a much more interesting and collectable group. In addition to the armorial wares, which are by and large formulaic, there are pieces with designs meticulously copied from European engravings.
By the second quarter of the 19th century tailor-made wares were the exception, and production concentrated on heavily enamelled decorative wares and dinner services. Pink, green, and gold with touches of yellow and turquoise were the usual palette of these later porcelains, decorated in Canton and known as “Canton” wares. The material and glaze are generally of secondary quality, with deposits of sugary kiln grit.
SHIPWRECK CARGOES
Among the many ships carrying tea, porcelain, spices, and silk from China to India and Europe, a number inevitably sank before they completed their journeys. In recent years some of these shipwrecks have been salvaged and their precious cargoes auctioned. They include the Dutch ship Geldermalsen, carrying the so-called Nanking cargo, which sank in 1752 with 25,000 pieces of porcelain intended for sale in Amsterdam and was found in 1986. The Diana, which sank in 1817 in the Strait of Malacca en route to Madras, was salvaged in 1994; just under 24,000 pieces of intact blue-and-white porcelain were recovered from the ship, indicating the popularity of this type of export ware.
SWATOW WARES
Named after the port of Shantou (Swatow), Swatow wares are roughly decorated porcelains made around Chaozhou in Guangdong Province from the mid-16th century for export principally to India, South-East Asia, and Japan. Although wares include blue-and-white and slip-painted pieces, it is the polychromes that are best known. The decoration is executed with great flourish in overglaze red, green, and turquoise, with a sparing use Of black. Forms include plates and dishes, and kendi ritual vessels), while characteristic motifs include the ..split pagoda”. Often red character seals are alternated with cartouches around the edges of these wares.
DEHUA PORCELAIN
White porcelain from Dehua in Fujian Province was produced from the Song period. Ming wares from Dehua have a warm ivory tone, while the Qing wares are usually more bluish, or dead white. The most typical forms of Dehua porcelain (known in Europe as blanc-de-Chine) are hollow figures of Buddhist deities – most notably of Guanyin, goddess of mercy – although in the Ming period figures of the Madonna and Child were also produced for the Portuguese. Small cups decorated with reliefs of blossoming prunus were also exported. Dehua wares are usually signed with a small seal impressed into the back of the sculpture.
YIXING WARES
Yixing wares are red stonewares, made in Jiangsu Province, which were exported to Europe from the mid-17th century until the end of the 18th century. The most commonly exported wares were small teapots and cups, either left plain or decorated with ,garden scenes in relief, or with sprigged decoration such as prunus branches. In the 1670s potters in Delft began to produce a low-fired redware in imitation of Yixing, and from the late 17th century potters in Staffordshire produced a similar ware. A number of small Yixing figures were exported to Europe.
Transitional wares
• BODY greyish-white porcelain
• BLUE rich and purplish, applied in washes
• DECORATION taken from printed sources: narrative scenes and flower studies applied as outlines filled in with a wash, a technique known as “line and wash”
• THEMES narrative scenes taken from literary classics
Kangxi blue-and-white porcelain
• POTTING generally very economical and neatly trimmed around the base
• GLAZE very thin and glassy
• FOOT-RIMS faint amber blush due to oxidization
• BLUE varies from a silvery to an almost purple tone
• THEMES flowers and plants growing among rocks; landscapes
Jingdezhen enamelled export porcelain
• SHAPES many European shapes drawn from silverware or European pottery and porcelain prototypes
• DECORATION translucent overglaze enamels with dominant green in densely meshed patterns; gilding
Dehua wares
• BODY white porcelain
• GLAZE warm ivory (Ming); bluish white (Qing)
• SHAPES tall, hollow sculptures of Buddhist deities, figures of the Madonna and Child, and small cups
• DECORATION reliefs of plum blossoms on cups
• MARKS seal signature on the back of sculptures
Yixing wares
• BODY red stoneware
• GLAZE some figures are covered with a pale-grey glaze
• SHAPES small teapots and cups
• DECORATION relief or sprigged decorations
• COPIES made in Europe in the late 17th century by the Elers brothers in Staffordshire and Arij Milde in Delft

Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is regarded as the classic period of Chinese ceramics, when simple, elegant wares decorated with attractive monochrome glazes were produced. The five “classic wares” – Ding, Jun, Ru, Guano, and Ge – were produced for imperial use, while other wares, notably Cizhou and some of the northern celadons, were made for a much wider market.
CELADONS
The most characteristic Song ceramics are the celadons, with their iron-derived, semi-translucent, usually greenish glaze. When the Song court was situated in northern China (960-1126), such centres of production as Yaozhou in Shaanxi Province became important for celadons; the most distinctive northern celadons are those with incised or moulded decoration of floral scrolls covered with an olive-green glaze. The later Longquan or southern celadon usually has a pale-grey body that shows the thick, opaque, bluish-green, slightly bubbly glaze to advantage. The best Longquan wares include archaic forms and items for the scholar’s desk, bowls, and vases. Jun wares made in Yu xian and Linru in Henan Province are thickly potted stonewares with a lavender-blue glaze often splashed with purple derived from copper oxide and, very rarely, green. Typical forms include chunky globular jars. Ru wares, the rarest and most coveted of all Song ceramics, are simple, elegant stonewares with a crackled blue-green glaze. Guan wares have light buff or dark stoneware bodies with a very thick, pale-greyish glaze that is usually strongly crackled and may be black, brown, or clear. The bodies show dark brown or black on the unglazed rims and feet.
OTHER WARES
Ding wares, made in Ding xian in Hebei Province, are fine porcellaneous stonewares with a warm ivory glaze, made in delicate shapes, including ewers and vases as well as small plates and bowls. Most flatware was fired upside down – the rims were left unglazed, and were bound with gold-coloured metal (now
patinated). Moulded decoration was introduced in the 11th cenrury; in this a reusable stoneware mould was impressed onto the hard clay, creating closely meshed designs; the earlier, more fluid, hand-carved ornament was also used. Qingbai (bluish white) wares from
Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province have a fine white porcelain body and a glassy blue glaze that tends to pool. These items are very delicate and elegant, and include thinly potted conical bowls and beautifully proportioned vases.
Fine black-glazed stonewares were produced during the Song period in Henan Province and at Jian in Jiangxi Province. Blackwares were sometimes decorated with red-brown floral designs. Cizhou wares, named after the kilns in Cizhou in Hebei Province, are sturdy stonewares with robust designs in black-and-white slip; often part of the black slip was scraped away to create a textured pattern (sgraffito), while on other wares the designs were sometimes painted on. Common shapes include “pillows” and meiping (an inverted-pear-shaped vase).
Marks
Song wares are generally unmarked, although a few stoneware moulds have survived with 12th- or 13th-century dates incised on the surface

• BODY most Song wares are stonewares, although Ding and Qinghai wares are porcellaneousSTYLE
• subtle and scholarly, in contrast to the flamboyance of the preceding Tang period and the subsequent Yuan period; from the 12th century there is a strong archaizing tendency, with a fashion for classic jade and bronze shapes
• DECORATION many Song wares are without ornament, relying for effect on the harmony between glaze and form; early Ding and northern celadons are decorated with restrained carved designs – some later wares have busier moulded floral and foliate decoration; Cizhou wares show the greatest variety of decorative techniques