ordinary blue Delft patterns, but later, Oriental patterns were very
successfully copied, both in blue and white, and in mixed colours.
Both Sèvres and Dresden were then adopted as models, and with very
fine results. The colours were remarkably vivid, and only skilful
artists were employed, the specimens they turned out being exquisitely
decorated and finely conceived. The fine vases in the French style
in imitation of Sèvres, with _gros bleu_, crimson, turquoise, and
apple-green were made from 1760 to 1765.
Later, debased French forms were copied and an over elaboration was
employed which marked the decadence of Chelsea. This over elaboration
in art often marks the period of its decline. When wood engraving
attempted to copy the refinements and delicacy of steel engraving it
exceeded its limitations. To-day the glass-blower of Venice commits the
same blunder when he, with false art puts lace patterns on his glass
ware.
[Illustration: THE “FOUNDLING” VASE.
_In the Collection of the Earl of Dudley._]
The two most important specimens of Chelsea china, both from their
size and quality, are undoubtedly the “Chesterfield” vase, and the
“Foundling” vase. They are two feet high, with bold _rococo_ scroll
handles, surmounted by dome-shaped covers; they are painted with
pastoral subjects on white medallions. The reverse sides are painted
with exotic birds of rich plumage, and the body or ground of the vase
is of a rich _gros bleu_ colour. The former was bought for £2,000 by
the Earl of Dudley, and the latter, which was a gift to the Foundling
Hospital, was sold by the Governors to the same nobleman, and they are
now both at Dudley House. We give an illustration of the celebrated
“Foundling” vase.
The raised flowers arranged in vases and ornamental figures were a
feature of Chelsea ware; butterflies, bees, and other insects were
introduced among the leaves, and the modelling was always well done.
We reproduce a characteristic piece of Chelsea with delicate work, and
exhibiting many of the individualities of Chelsea design (p. 27).
[Illustration: Derby-Chelsea Marks.]
[Illustration: Mark Copied from Chinese ——.]
As the earliest specimens of Chelsea were unmarked they can only be
judged by the body, the general style of workmanship, and the glaze.
The ordinary Chelsea marks we have already given, but we now give the
marks which were used by Mr. Duesbury for a time when he was proprietor
both of the Derby works and those of Chelsea. This ware is known as
“Derby-Chelsea” ware, and is very much sought after. There are some
finely enamelled plates in the Victoria and Albert Museum with the mark
we give. They are magnificent specimens of the Derby-Chelsea and are
scarcely distinguishable from their Oriental prototypes except in the
softness of the paste.
It is interesting to remember that Dr. Johnson thought he could
discover a means of further perfecting the Chelsea china. He applied
to the proprietors, who allowed him to fire his compositions in their
ovens at Chelsea. The worthy lexicographer attended there about
twice a week and stayed all day, accompanied by his housekeeper, who
brought a basket of provisions with her. Nothing, however, came of the
experiments.
In taking leave of Chelsea we must remember that its success was an
encouragement for the formation of manufactories in other parts of the
country during the closing years of the eighteenth century. The workmen
trained there under Sprimont found their way to Derby and to Worcester,
and to parts of Staffordshire, and carried their experience with them.
If for nothing else Chelsea deserves to be remembered as an art centre;
and although Sprimont broke down in health and had to go to the “German
spaw,” and leave his pictures to be sold at Christie’s, for all that,
Chelsea spelt success.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHELSEA CHINA.
The glaze is a softer milky white, and is not so thick as that on Bow
pieces. It is carefully finished in every detail. The figure subjects
are not so crudely painted as those of Bow. Three spots unglazed are
sometimes found on Chelsea plates and dishes, caused by the three
points on which pieces have rested. Chelsea china is remarkable for
its great weight. The bases and rims, particularly of smaller
pieces, are ground quite smooth. Just above the rim black specks and
small tears of the coagulated glaze are noticeable. As in Bow, an
insect or spray was sometimes cleverly painted over flaws and defects.
[Illustration: CHELSEA FIGURE AND CANDLESTICK.
Man playing bagpipes.]
SALE PRICES.
CHELSEA. £ s. d.
Vases, pair, oviform, of tall, slender
form, slightly fluted, with mottled
dark blue ground, richly gilt with
pheasants and other birds and foliage,
and with white and gold scroll
handles, entwined with groups of
fruit and flowers, painted in rich
colours, 16-1/2 in. high. Christie, May 2,
1902 756 0 0
Teacup and saucer, painted with exotic
birds and fruit, and with alternate
mottled dark blue panels with gilt
borders. Christie, July 18, 1902 23 2 0
Inkstand, with sand vase and pen-box,
dark blue ground, gilt with flowers,
surmounted by a figure of a lamb.
Christie, November 14, 1902 26 5 0
Plates, twelve, with turquoise and gilt
scroll borders, each painted with
exotic birds and foliage in three
compartments, in claret-coloured riband
borders, butterflies and other insects
in the centre; gold anchor mark.
Christie, January 23, 1903 65 2 0
Boar’s-head dish, forming a bowl, cover
and stand, painted in natural
colours, the dish moulded with an
oak branch, rushes, and knife in
relief, on a maroon and gold ground,
10-3/4 in. high, 22 in. long. Christie,
May 8, 1903 94 10 0
Vases, pair, flat-shaped hexagonal,
with small necks, spreading lips,
and white and gold scroll handles,
each vase painted with a group of
Bacchantes and Satyrs in a landscape,
in upright panel on maroon
ground, and gilt with birds, festoons
of flowers and scrolls, 7-3/4 in. high.
Formerly the property of Sir Robert
and Horace Walpole. From Lord
Cadogan’s Collection, 1865 (£155).
Christie, February 27, 1903 304 10 0
Group of two birds on a tree-stump—raised
anchor mark, 4-1/2 in. high.
Christie, July 5, 1920 48 6 0
Figure of Justice, 11 in. high. Christie,
July 5, 1920 9 9 0
Pair of candlesticks, with figures of
Mars and Venus standing in flowering
arbours, 8 in. high. Christie,
July 5, 1920 9 9 0
Candlestick, the stem encrusted with
flowers, and with a figure of Cupid
holding a heart at the base, 9 in.
high. Christie, July 5, 1920 6 16 6
Pair of candelabra, with figures of a
shepherd and shepherdess leaning on
balustrades, holding a bird-cage and
bird, with a lamb and dog at their
feet, 9-1/2 in. and 11 in. high. Christie,
July 5, 1920 28 7 0
Figure of Minerva, 13 in. high. Christie,
July 5, 1920 5 5 0
Plate, the centre painted with a bouquet
and sprays of flowers, the border
with exotic birds, modelled and gilt
with foliage scrolls; gold anchor
mark, 8-3/4 in. diameter. Puttick &
Simpson, July 16, 1920 5 5 0
Plate, painted with exotic birds and
branches; and one, with green
scroll border. Christie, July 20, 1920 10 10 0
Two Plates, painted with birds and
insects on white ground, with white
and gold scroll borders. Christie,
July 20, 1920 6 6 0
Pair of Figures of a shepherdess, with a
lamb, and a youth, with a letter,
on plinths encrusted with flowers;
7-1/2 in. high. Christie, July 20, 1920 8 8 0
Three Figures, of Erato, Calliope and
Thalia, on plinths encrusted with
flowers, modelled by Roubilliac,
impressed R., on scroll pedestals
painted with butterflies, 15-1/4 in.
high. Harland-Peck Sale. Christie,
June 23, 1920 283 10 0
Set of Three Vases and Covers, painted }
with Venus and Cupid, Apollo }
and Daphne and other subjects in }
panels framed with gilt garlands of }
flowers on claret-coloured ground, }
and with small panels enclosing }
landscapes and birds on the reverse, }
the necks pierced with shells }
and scrollwork, and with scroll }
handles and feet, 17 in. and 14 in. }
high. Christie, July 22, 1920 } 6310 0 0
}
Two Pairs of Vases and Covers, _nearly }
similar_, painted with Venus and }
Cupid and Leda and the Swan, }
14-1/2 in. and 15-1/2 in. high }
Cup on circular foot, decorated with
birds and flowers, 4-3/4 in. Sotheby,
May 17, 1920 8 10 0
Dish, painted with flower-sprays and
animals in colours, the borders
moulded with trellis and scrollwork,
14-1/2 in. diameter. Christie, July 5,
1920 9 19 6
Pair of groups for candlesticks of birds
in elaborate floral borders on scroll
bases, inscribed “The Cock and the
Jewel” and “The Vain Jackdaw,”
with handles and places for sconces.
Sotheby, May 17, 1920 41 0 0
Pair of miniature figures of a shepherd
and shepherdess, 3 in. high. Christie,
July 12, 1920 21 0 0
Two Figures of Birds, 2-3/4 in. and 2 in.
high. Christie, July 12, 1920 5 5 0
DERBY-CHELSEA.
Coffee-cups and saucers, pair, painted
in green and gold festoons and
Cupids in lake; gold mark. Sotheby,
May 4, 1903 25 10 0
Teacups and saucers, pair, fluted and
painted with sprays of flowers in
green, with alternate crimson panels,
gilt, with foliage. Christie, June 16,
1903 52 10 0
Derby-Chelsea Figure of John Wilkes,
11-1/2 in. high. Christie, July 5, 1920 12 12 0
Derby-Chelsea Figure of a youth, playing
drum, on gilt scroll plinth, 8-1/2 in.
high. Christie, July 12, 1920 10 10 0
Pair of Derby-Chelsea Figures of children,
emblematic of Autumn and
Winter, 4-3/4 in. high. Christie, July
12, 1920 11 11 0
Derby-Chelsea Teapot cover and stand,
painted with garlands of flowers in
green, in radiating panels with pink
ribbon borders, 5-1/2 in. high, teapot
with gold mark. Puttick & Simpson,
July 16, 1920 7 17 6
Pair of Derby-Chelsea Figures of Shakespeare
and Milton on oblong white
and gold pedestals, 12 in. high.
Christie, July 5, 1920 15 15 0
Pair of Derby-Chelsea Figures of a boy
and girl, with cat and dog, 6 in. high.
Christie, July 20, 1920 22 1 0
Two Derby-Chelsea Figures of children,
carrying baskets of flowers, 6-1/2 in.
high; and a figure of a child, with
a wreath of flowers, 6 in. high.
Christie, July 20, 1920 17 17 0
Pair of Derby-Chelsea Figures of a boy
and girl with dog and cat, 8 in. high.
Christie, July 5, 1920 12 12 0
Derby-Chelsea group of four children
around an obelisk, 9-1/2 in. high.
Christie, July 5, 1920 6 6 0
Derby-Chelsea Figure of a youth, seated
with an eagle beside him, 9-1/2 in. high.
Christie, July 5, 1920 10 10 0
Derby-Chelsea group of a shepherd and
shepherdess, with a lamb and grapes,
8-1/2 in. high. Christie, July 5, 1920 11 11 0
Derby-Chelsea Figure of Milton on
scroll base, 12-1/2 in. high. Puttick
& Simpson, July 9, 1920 5 5 0
Derby-Chelsea group of the Continents,
modelled by John Whitaker, 11-1/4 in.
high. Puttick & Simpson, July 16,
1920 17 17 0
[Illustration: CHELSEA CHINA (1750-1760).
Pair of groups of two figures. Harlequin dancing with a girl. Painted
in delicate colours.
(Height, 8-3/4 in. Mark, an anchor in red.)]
III
BOW
[Illustration: BOW VASE, WITH COVER.
(Finely decorated in colours.)]
[Illustration: BOW INKSTAND (DIAMETER 4 IN.).
“Made at New Canton, 1751.”
_At the Victoria and Albert Museum._]
III
THE BOW CHINA FACTORY
In this “Chat” we shall treat of the wonderful porcelain made at Bow,
or “New Canton,” as the makers called their factory on the banks of the
Lea. It was established about 1730, and it ceased about 1776. That is
to say, it commenced with the reign of George II. and continued for a
short time during the reign of George III. Pope was not dead, Fielding
was writing his novels, Burke was electrifying the country with his
genius, the great Doctor Johnson was in the midst of his Dictionary,
David Garrick was holding the town in a spell by his art, and Sir
Joshua Reynolds was, with his brush, perpetuating the beauties of his
day, while Burns and Scott, Wordsworth and Coleridge, and Byron,
Thackeray, and Dickens were then in the unborn future.
[Illustration: BOW FIGURE (6 IN. HIGH).
Woman playing _pastorella_.
_At the Victoria and Albert Museum._]
So this porcelain of Bow comes to us direct from the eighteenth
century. We have been taught to regard the eighteenth century as a
period of lace-ruffles and wigs, of powder and of patches, of dull,
insipid ladies, of hard-drinking squires, of rough soldiers—a century
with little or no love of art, when Shakespeare had been almost
forgotten. Of its china, certainly, we call up only a picture of ugly
grinning monsters, and little meaningless gee-gaws—snuff-boxes and
patch-boxes, and china handles for walking-sticks; but a glance at
what Bow produced dispels so crude an idea at once, and, let us hope,
for ever. Bow, in its own field, is worthy to stand by the side of what
Sir Joshua has left us, and what Gainsborough bequeathed to posterity
as poetic memories in paint and canvas of “dead women, loved and gone.”
As in our other “Chats” on Derby and Worcester and Chelsea, so with
Bow, we shall have to tell of the human lives that have gone to the
making of these fragile porcelain figures, all that is left to us of
dead men’s life-work—which Polly or Molly or Elizabeth Ann may demolish
by a fatal twist of the feather-brush. A patent was taken out by Edward
Heylin, in the parish of Bow, and Thomas Frye, of the parish of West
Ham, in 1744, for a new method of manufacturing “a certain mineral,
equal to, if not exceeding in goodness and beauty, china or porcelain
ware imported from abroad. The material is an earth, the produce of
the Cherokee nation in America, called by the natives _unaker_.” In
1749, Thomas Frye took out, alone, a second patent “for a new method of
making a certain ware, which is not inferior in beauty and fineness,
and is rather superior in strength, than the earthenware that is
brought from the East Indies, and is commonly known by the name of
China, Japan, or Porcelain Ware.”
A word or two concerning Frye. Our Irish readers will be glad to
learn that he was born at Dublin, in 1710. He came to London in
1738, when, he painted a portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales
for Saddlers’ Hall. At the establishment of the Bow factory he took
the management. To bring the china to perfection, he spent fifteen
years of his life among furnaces, which had so bad an effect upon his
health that his constitution nearly broke down. In 1759 he had to go
to Wales for a change of air, and in 1760 he returned to London, and
we find him taking a house at Hatton Garden, where he executed some
important mezzotint engravings—which, as Mr. Rudyard Kipling observes,
“is another story.” He died of consumption in 1762. Perhaps Oliver
Goldsmith had him in mind (who knows?) when he wrote his line—
“There the pale artist plies his sickly trade.”
To ladies it will be especially interesting to read that Frye had two
daughters, who assisted him in painting the china at Bow.
[Illustration: BOW CHINA.
Figure of Britannia with medallion of George II.
(Decorated in colours, on rococo base.)]
Readers will, before now, have come to the conclusion that the study
of old china is not superlatively easy, and that the question of marks
is at the best a vexed one. Should there be any who have any lingering
doubts on this point, they will speedily join the majority when they
come to consider the bewildering marks of the Bow factory. These same
marks, be it said, have puzzled experts who have denied each other’s
conclusions, though with hardly as much vehemence as the late Mr. Bret
Harte’s learned society “Upon the Stanislaus,” who engaged in conflict
“with the remnants of a palæozoic age” in shameful manner—
“And the way they heaved those fossils in their anger was a sin,
Till the skull of an old mammoth caved the head of Thompson in.”
[Illustration: Bow Factory—Marks.]
We give one set of the known marks of the Bow factory, later we shall
give another set no less puzzling. It is difficult to attempt to offer
any definite conclusions, or to do more in the space at our disposal
than to state that these are marks known to have been used at Bow, and
are upon specimens in the national or well-known private collections.
The letter B and the drawn bow, of course, explain themselves. The
crescent in blue and the sword and anchor in red occur together on a
china figure of a sportsman with a gun. It is conjectured that the
introduction of a dagger may have been due to the fact that both
proprietors were freemen of the City of London, and the dagger, as is
well known, is part of the City arms. The triple mark of the anchor
with the vertical and horizontal daggers, by some collectors is
ascribed to early Chelsea, by others to Worcester; it is a disputed
point.
[Illustration: BOW FACTORY MARKS.]
The little figure we reproduce (on p. 50) is of a woman playing the
_pastorella_. It is one of a pair of figures. The other represents a
man singing. Each figure is marked in red with both anchor and dagger.
The _pastorella_ represented in the figure was a musical instrument
in general use previously to the introduction of the spinet. It may
be remarked that at the back of each of these figures, near the base,
a square hole has been pierced before glazing, for the purpose of
receiving a metal stem supporting nozzles for candles. As this square
hole is said never to be found on similar Chelsea pieces, it has come
to be regarded as a distinctive feature of old Bow figures.
[Illustration: PAIR OF BOW FIGURES.
Musical Subjects.
Man with flageolet and drum, Woman with triangle.
Marked with anchor in red, cross in blue.]
Among the various articles made at the Bow factory may be enumerated
the following, which have been taken from the account-books of the
factory: Shepherds and shepherdesses, cupids, fluter, fiddler,
harlequin, columbine, pierrot or clown, tambourine player, Dutch
dancer, woman with chicken, birds on pedestals, swans, boars,
squirrels, goats, as well as many miscellaneous articles for general
use, such as salt-boxes, candlesticks, mugs, pickle-stands, &c. We
reproduce an inkstand, four inches in diameter, of white glazed
porcelain decorated with flowers, which decoration we call attention
to as being characteristic of Bow. An inscription appears at the top:
“Made at New Canton, 1751” (p. 49).
Since Chaucer’s day, Stratford-le-Bow has come down to us in rhyme, for
the poet playfully pokes fun at the good nun in his “Canterbury Tales”:—
“And Frenche she spake ful fayre and fetishly
After the scole of Stratford-atte-Bow,
For Frenche of Paris was to her unknowe.”
But should china collectors who travel down the Great Eastern Railway
wish a further fillip to remind them of Bow, sundry soap and candle
factories, with stench so strong that it knocks at the railway windows,
will arrest their straying thoughts. The literary reader may, when he
catches glimpses of the brown and oily ooze of the River Lea, think of
Coleridge’s lines to Cologne and the River Rhine.
And here at Bow linger still the memories of the old factory—a century
old—where Quin as Falstaff was turned out in porcelain, and Garrick
posed as Richard III. in a china figure. A match factory stands on the
site of the old Bow China factory, but there is still a “China Row” to
suggest the old days of “New Canton” and its wares.
[Illustration: BOW TEAPOT.
Decorated in underglaze blue, in Chinese style. (Height 8-1/4 ins.)]
[Illustration: BOW PLATE.
Decorated with oriental floral design in overglaze colour in red,
green, and blue. (Diameter, 8-3/4 in.).
_In the collection of the Author._]
The discovery is interesting of fragments of old Bow porcelain, and
portions of “saggers” on the site of one of the kilns while digging a
drain from the match factory.
[Illustration: BOW WHITE CHINA CUPS HAVING RAISED MAYFLOWER PATTERN
AFTER CHINESE DESIGNS.
_Victoria and Albert Museum._]
The children of the neighbourhood were observed to have as playthings
bits of broken china of a high-class and delicate ware, never emanating
from the china shops of Bow, and Mr. Higgins, attached to the match
factory, henceforth kept strict watch over the excavations, and careful
examination unearthed a number of broken specimens of the Bow ware. He
and his sister carefully arranged the broken pieces, and they form an
excellent authority, these trays of broken china, for determining the
paste and glaze, and identifying the decoration and designs of Bow. By
means of this find it was possible to classify many doubtful pieces of
china in well-known collections hitherto wrongly attributed to other
factories. This discovery by excavation was followed many years later
by a similar find at Lowestoft.
It is interesting to note that among the fragments found, not a single
piece is of Delft or common earthenware, but all are of porcelain.
The designs of many of them are of Chinese landscapes, with flowers,
figures, and birds. Their general character may be gathered from sketch
of four examples. They are all painted in blue with the exception of
a cup painted with green leaves and crimson-lake flowers. None of the
pieces is printed, but all are painted with a brush. The other two
illustrations we give are of china ornamented in relief, the favourite
pattern being the mayflower. Each of these Bow cups is a typical
example. The design stands out very sharply, and is raised from the
surface of the china. The cups are rather heavy for their size.
Among the _débris_ were found many pieces of an ornamental character, a
salt-cellar beautifully modelled, formed of three shells, with smaller
shells and seaweed between, but the upper shell to hold the salt is
missing. Pieces of dishes, evidently intended to hold sweetmeats, were
unearthed from this sewer hole, with finely designed corals and shells
and seaweeds. Some natural shells were also found, which had evidently
served the artists as models. Two china pug-dogs were discovered with
collars bearing roses on them.
Bow paste is exceedingly hard, and the fracture when it is broken is
close and compact. The pieces as a rule are very heavy for their size,
but many of the cups and saucers are almost of egg-shell thinness.
The colour is milky white. Should any of our readers be possessed of
Bow china, they may ratify its origin by carefully examining it, if
possible, under a magnifying glass. On scrutinising the blue pieces
it will be found there is a peculiarity in the glaze, which arises in
this manner. At that time blue was the only known colour that would
bear the intense heat of the kiln. It was always painted on the biscuit
before being dipped in the glaze. It is found that certain portions
of the blue, however slight, are apt, while the glaze is in a fluid
state, to spread over the surface, giving it a blue tinge. The other
colours as well as the gold were painted over the glaze, and set in a
kiln of lower temperature. Hence the blue, being _under the glaze_, is
imperishable, and the other colours from frequent use get rubbed off.
We have given a number of marks used at Bow; we supplement that list by
two others, one of which is exclusively composed of signatures actually
used by Thomas Frye himself.
Although none of the ware unearthed at Bow was printed, yet printed
ware did come from there. In all probability it was sent to Liverpool
to have the transfer engravings, so much in vogue when Bow flourished,
put on the china. As early as the year 1756 this was done, for certain
entries appear in the Bow books: “One pint _printed_ mug: a sett
compleat of the second _printed_ teas.” Or it is possible that they
were sent to Battersea to be printed. It is not a far cry from Bow
to Battersea. Transfer printing on enamel was in vogue at Battersea
before 1755. Horace Walpole, writing to a friend in 1755, says, “I
send you a trifling snuff-box, only as a sample of the new manufacture
at Battersea, which is done with copper-plates.” But Battersea and
Battersea enamel—that is another story.
[Illustration: Bow Factory
Various Signatures of Thomas Frye.]