Nantgarw is the elaborate painting of flowers and fruit on the pieces
manufactured there. We reproduce a beautiful Nantgarw dish, marked
“NANTGARW. C. W.,” with pink ground, having garlands of raised white
flowers bound with a knot, and encircled with richly gilded scrolls.
The centre is white, with a handsome floral piece from the brush of
Billingsley. The roses are exquisitely drawn, such as no other ceramic
artist ever drew them; and the pear, of a warm, luscious brown, has all
the bloom of the natural fruit upon it.
Mr. Dillwyn, of the Swansea works, has left us an interesting
memorandum concerning the proprietors of Nantgarw. He says:—
“My friend Sir Joseph Banks informed me that two persons, named
Walker and Beeley, had sent to Government, from a small manufactory
at Nantgarw (ten or twelve miles north of Cardiff), a specimen of
beautiful china, with a petition for their patronage, and that, as one
of the Board of Trade, he requested me to examine and report upon that
manufactory. Upon witnessing the firing of a kiln at Nantgarw, I found
much reason for considering that the body used was too nearly allied
to glass to bear the necessary heat, and observed that nine-tenths of
the articles were either shivered, or more or less injured in shape by
the firing. The parties, however, succeeded in making me believe that
the defects in their porcelain arose entirely from imperfections in
their small trial-kiln, and I agreed with them for a removal to the
Cambrian Pottery, at which two new kilns under their direction were
prepared. While endeavouring to strengthen and improve this beautiful
body, I was surprised at receiving a notice from Messrs. Flight &
Barr, of Worcester, charging the parties calling themselves Walker and
Beeley with having clandestinely left an engagement at their works, and
forbidding me to employ them.” This was in 1814, and it was in the same
year that Billingsley and Walker entered the service of Mr. Dillwyn at
Swansea and commenced to make the beautiful china, highly decorated and
of exquisite finish.
In concluding our remarks on Nantgarw we may observe that this factory
was not finally abandoned till 1820. From 1812 to 1814 is its first
period, when Billingsley and Walker and Young (of whom we shall have
more to say later) were all at Nantgarw. Its second period is when the
trio appear there again from 1817 to 1819. Billingsley and Walker then
left for Coalport, and Young carried on the works till their close.
[Illustration: FINE SWANSEA VASE AND COVER. HEIGHT, 14-1/2 IN.
(Richly decorated and gilded. With exquisite flower painting.)]
The only marks that appear on the china are the word “Nantgarw” with
the letters “C. W.” underneath, which in all probability meant China
Works, but which by some collectors are said to denote the name of
the artist. This is impressed in the china. Sometimes the word
“Nantgarw” is found in red, but this must be regarded with suspicion,
as a great many forgeries have been perpetrated in this china owing to
its rarity and the favour which it finds with collectors.
[Illustration: Swansea Marks.]
Swansea has a more extended history. In the middle of the eighteenth
century a small manufactory of earthenware existed here. This gradually
grew into the “Cambrian Pottery,” which, at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, passed into the hands of Mr. Lewis Weston Dillwyn,
a Fellow of the Linnæan Society and author of works on botany.
[Illustration: Swansea Marks.]
Before Mr. Dillwyn’s day a fine opaque china was produced at Swansea,
but under his management and guidance the china assumed a more artistic
appearance.
W. W. Young, whom we spoke of as having come over from Nantgarw, was
especially skilful at painting flowers and birds, butterflies and
insects, and sometimes shells. Some of the pieces of Swansea bear his
name upon them. Young was also employed by Mr. Dillwyn to illustrate
his works on botany and natural history.
[Illustration: SWANSEA PLATE (8 IN. HIGH).
Marked “SWANSEA,” in red.
(White ground, finely decorated with red roses.)]
Besides Young and the two Nantgarw flower painters and decorators,
there was at Swansea Baxter, who was considered one of the cleverest
painters on china of his day. He came originally from Worcester and
eventually returned there. Some of the subjects from the canvases of
Sir Joshua Reynolds were successfully copied by him. Baxter was at
Swansea for three years, and while there decorated a service with
garden scenery in the style peculiarly his own. There was Morris, a
clever fruit painter, and Beddoes, a noted heraldic painter, and, above
all, Billingsley, the first flower painter of his day.
[Illustration: SWANSEA VASE.
Stamped “Dillwyn’s Etruscan Ware.”
_In Collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._]
About the year 1820 the Swansea factory was discontinued and the whole
of the moulds and appliances were transferred by Mr. John Rose to
Coalport. Since that date no china has been made at Swansea. Some of
the marks that we give are of a later date than 1820, and are upon
earthenware.
Among the marks of Swansea will be seen the oblong mark stamped on
“Dillwyn’s Etruscan Ware.” This ware was introduced in 1848, and was of
a fine rich red body. On this was printed, in black outline, Etruscan
figures, borders, and other details. The general surface was then
painted over, with the exception of the figures and designs within the
black outlines. The result was that the figures were left the original
red of the body and the effect was extremely good. The illustration we
give is of a specimen in Mr. W. G. Honey’s collection, late at the Cork
Exhibition.
The older pieces stamped with the above-mentioned mark are sought
after. Later the name and title of the firm changed and passed into the
hands of Messrs. Evans & Co. Besides the manufacture of white, and blue
and white china, they supplied Ireland and the West of England with
agate earthenware, and a good deal of it found its way to America. No
trade-mark was used by them.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NANTGARW AND SWANSEA CHINA.
_Nantgarw_ porcelain is of very fine texture; it has a glassy
appearance, and when held up to a strong light, such as an incandescent
electric globe, it exhibits a number of small bubbles, like pin-holes,
in the body. It is inclined to have the glaze cracked in parts with a
network almost like Chinese crackle ware. Some of the thinner pieces
will be found to be not quite true, being slightly warped or bent,
owing to its uncertainty in the kiln.
_Swansea_ china is frequently decorated with birds, butterflies, and
shells, drawn from nature by W. W. Young. Much of it is of a glassy
nature like Nantgarw; but later the Swansea ware was of a duller,
heavier nature, and having a hard white appearance.
SALE PRICES.
NANTGARW. £ s. d.
Plates, seven, painted with birds, bouquets
of flowers in border, all with
impressed mark. Foster, December
4, 1902 97 0 0
Dessert service, each piece painted with
a bouquet of flowers in the centre,
the borders with raised white scrolls
painted with birds and flowers, consisting
of centre dish, on foot, four
square-shaped dishes, two leaf-shaped
dishes, seventeen plates, two
small plates. Christie, January 23,
1903 128 2 0
Plate, painted with border of stippled
gold and roses, the centre painted
with a pastoral landscape, figures
and sheep, exhibited at the 1851
Exhibition. De Rome & Son, Kendal,
May 13, 1903 27 16 6
Plates, pair, painted with groups of
flowers, in gilt borders, and birds in
centre; impressed mark. Sotheby,
May 4, 1903 33 0 0
Plate, the centre with three roses, and
the rim with rose festoons on a
dotted gold ground, impressed
mark. Sotheby, May 17, 1920 18 0 0
Pair of Plates, painted with flowers
and fruit, and the borders moulded
with scrolls in relief, impressed
mark. Christie, July 20, 1920 26 5 0
SWANSEA.
Jug, painted with bouquets and wreaths
of flowers and gilt, and with a shield
of arms, 10 in. high; and a pair of
plates with a wreath of flowers, impressed
mark. Christie, February
18, 1902 17 6 6
Jug, moulded with leaves, and with
flowers and butterflies in green and
colours, 10-3/4 in. high. Christie, February
5, 1902 8 8 0
Dessert Service, painted with cornflowers
and with gilt edges,
consisting of centre dish, on foot;
eight oblong, four shell-shaped and
four octagonal dishes; pair of
sugar tureens, covers and stands;
thirty plates; eighteen small
plates. Christie, November 21,
1902 65 2 0
Swansea china covered Porringer and
Saucer, finely decorated with flowers
in natural colours on a dotted gold
ground. Sotheby, May 17, 1920 14 0 0
Swansea Dessert Service, painted with
named flowers with gilt foliage and
trellis work round borders, consisting
of pair of sugar-tureens and
covers, four octagonal dishes and
twelve plates. Christie, July 5, 1920 25 4 0
A pair of Swansea small vases, painted
with panels of flowers on dark blue
ground, richly gilt, and with swan
handles, 7 in. high. Christie, July
20, 1920 22 1 0
X
MINTON
[Illustration: MINTON VASE.
Mazarin blue ground, raised and chased gold scrolls. First half 19th
century.
(_By permission of Messrs. Mortlock, Oxford Street._)]
[Illustration: MINTON DISH, _pâte-sur-pâte_, BY M. L. SOLON.
_By courtesy of Messrs. Minton & Sons._]
X
MINTON
Messrs. Minton, of Stoke, in Staffordshire, manufacture pottery,
porcelain, and majolica. By this latter, that massive ware, of bold
design and bolder ornamentation and positive colours, principally
blues, yellows, and greens, Minton’s at the Paris Exhibition of 1855
created quite a sensation, and won universal admiration.
Ten years before the commencement of the nineteenth century Thomas
Minton established his factory at Stoke-upon-Trent. Only earthenware
was manufactured at Stoke Works up till 1798, chiefly ordinary white
ware, ornamented with blue, in imitation of Nankin china. From about
1799 down to 1811 a semi-transparent china was also made, but was
abandoned as unprofitable. In 1817 Mr. Minton’s two sons entered the
firm. In 1821 the manufacture of china was again resumed; about
this time, too, a very marked improvement was noticeable in Minton’s
printed earthenware; the body was whiter, and the glaze was more highly
finished.
We give the two early marks of the firm down to 1837. These were
usually in blue, and very often had a number underneath. In these
earlier examples the flowers and other decorations were painted. They
very shortly became mostly printed designs, except in elaborate pieces,
and the personal character of the ordinary china grew, in consequence,
of less interest.
[Illustration:
[Minton and Boyle
1837]
[1851.]]
Sometimes “M. and C.” (the C. standing for Company), with an impressed
stamp “BB.” or “BB. New Stone,” occurs. BB. signifies “best body.” A
design of passion-flowers printed in blue is a favourite subject.
In 1836 Mr. John Boyle was admitted a partner, on the death of Thomas
Minton; the firm became then Minton and Boyle, and the marks were
accordingly changed. After continuing for five years Mr. Boyle went
over to the Wedgwoods.
[Illustration: MINTON PORCELAIN VASE.
(_Exhibited at Paris Exhibition_, 1867.)]
Mr. Minton was subsequently joined by his nephews, M. D. Hollins
and Colin Minton-Campbell. The second Minton seems to have been of
considerable business ability. In his father’s day fifty hands were
employed at Stoke, but in his time the factory employed no less than
1,500. The various branches he developed were earthenware, and ordinary
soft porcelain, hard porcelain, parian, coloured and enamelled tiles,
mosaics, Della Robbia ware, majolica, and Palissy ware.
It will be seen from the accompanying illustrations how highly
decorative Minton porcelain is. The vase we reproduce was one of the
most admired specimens of china in the Paris Exhibition of 1867.
What is known as the ermine mark (the dark trefoil with the three
dots), either indented or painted in gold and colours, has been used on
porcelain since 1851, and since 1865 the word “MINTON,” impressed, has
been used for both china and earthenware.
[Illustration:
[Used since 1868].
M. & Co.]
In 1868 the globe, with the word “MINTON” across it, was first used,
and all the firm’s works subsequent to that date are so stamped. In
1872 the design was registered, and frequently a rhomboidal stamp
occurs either without or in addition to the globe mark, which has the
letter R in the centre, denoting that the particular pattern of china
is “Registered” as a design. This rhomboidal mark occurs on chinas
other than Minton’s, and is a feature of modern china.
“Minton, Hollins & Co.” are a firm at Stoke largely engaged in
manufacturing encaustic and majolica tiles. They are an offshoot of the
main branch.
The illustration we give of the lion ewer is a fine example of Minton’s
reproduction of the celebrated Henri II. faïence. This wonderful ware
is of distinct character and ornamentation, differing from every other
kind of pottery. It was made at Oiron, in France, from 1524 to 1550.
There are less than one hundred known pieces. Five pieces are in the
Victoria and Albert Museum. Two are in the Louvre. Some of the pieces
are valued at over £3,000 each. Who shall say that there is no romance
in old china and pottery when vases and ewers, tazzas and salt-cellars,
have pedigrees as long as a race-horse’s, and whose whereabouts are as
well known as that of a reigning prince?
[Illustration: MINTON. LION EWER.
Reproduction of “Henri II. Ware.”]
The plaque of painted majolica is a good specimen of what Minton can
do. It was made about 1865, as was the lion ewer alluded to on p.
184, and the candelabrum is also of the same period. There is a fine
fountain executed in Minton majolica; it is 36 feet high and 39 feet in
diameter. At the summit there is a group, larger than life size, of St.
George and the Dragon. It was one of the features of the International
Exhibition of 1862; it now embellishes the scanty grass plot in front
of the Bethnal Green Museum.
[Illustration: MINTON. PORCELAIN CANDELABRUM.]
Some fine old Sèvres pieces have been copied by Mintons, and great
fidelity has been shown in reproducing the old ground colours of
rose-du-Barri, gros-bleu, turquoise, and pea-green. Chinese porcelain
has been imitated with especial success. The most notable artistic
achievement is the _pâte-sur-pâte_ work, by M. Leon Solon. The coloured
background is worked upon in white clay, and the delicate modelling of
figures in this material is of great artistic beauty. Each result is a
personal creation of the potter which cannot be duplicated.
SALE PRICES.
MINTON. £ s. d.
Vases, pair, gold wreath handles, with
panels of Cupids in gold and pink
on an ivory ground, 16-1/2 in. high;
and a vase nearly similar, by A.
Birks. Christie, January, 1902 42 0 0
(_These first nine items were from
the Colin Minton-Campbell Collection._)
Vases, pair, and covers, nearly similar,
with fruit in the Oriental taste on
brown ground, by A. Green, 46 in.
high. Christie, January, 1902 15 4 6
Vases, pair, beaker-shaped, painted with
lilies and grasses in colours and gold
on dark-blue ground, richly gilt, by
Leroi, 33 in. high. Christie, January,
1902 33 12 0
Vases, pair, with Cupids and flowers in
white and colours on black ground,
in coloured and gilt borders, by L.
Birks, 33 in. high. Christie, January,
1902 63 0 0
Vases, pair, oviform and covers, the
bodies encircled by four shaped
medallions in relief, suspended by
gilt cords and oak foliage, alternately
painted with camp scenes in the
Moran School and trophies-of-arms,
apple-green borders; the ground of
the vase _gros bleu_ with marble decoration
in gold, the whole executed in
the style of old Sèvres, by Boullemin
and Leroi, 21 in. high. Christie,
January, 1902 162 15 0
Cup and saucer, with panels of figures,
vases and festoons of drapery in
white on a sage-green ground, by
Solon. Christie, January, 1902 11 0 6
Candlesticks, pair, decorated in grisaille
and gold in the taste of Limoges
enamel, 12 in. high. Christie, January,
1902 6 6 0
Dish, on pedestal, with a figure of
Fortune in white on sage-green
ground, by Solon, 11-1/4 in. diameter.
Christie, January, 1902 17 6 6
Jardinières, pair, fan-shaped, with
panels of figures and exotic flowers
in colours on a Rose-du-Barry
ground, painted in the taste of old
Sèvres, by Leroi, 7 in. high. Christie,
January, 1902 63 0 0
Vases and covers, pair, Solon ware, by
Minton, with Classical figures and
Cupids in arabesque borders, in
white on a sage-green ground, richly
gilt, 15 in. high. Christie, April 17,
1903 22 1 0
Pair of Minton pilgrim bottles and
stoppers, decorated with Cupids in
white on blue medallions, in the
manner of Solon, on pink ground
richly gilt, 9-1/2 in. high. Christie,
July 5, 1920 7 7 0
Minton Sèvres pattern vase and cover,
painted with panels of flowers and
trophies on green ground, 15 in.
high. Christie, July 5, 1920 9 9 0
[Illustration: MINTON. PAINTED MAJOLICA PLAQUE.]
XI
OLD ENGLISH
EARTHENWARE
[Illustration: BUST OF PRINCE RUPERT.
Made by John Dwight in Fulham Stoneware about 1671.
_At British Museum._]
[Illustration:
_W. G. Honey._] [_Cork._
SUNDERLAND JUG.
(Two positions.)]
XI
OLD ENGLISH EARTHENWARE[2]
It requires a word of apology for including the following “Chats” on
earthenware in a volume bearing the title “Chats on English China,” but
as the chief end of this little volume is to render to the beginner
such aid as may be useful in the determination of the various classes
of china, it was thought desirable in his interest to treat somewhat
generally of earthenware in this and the succeeding chapters.
Earthenware suggests pots and pans, and the word is redolent of kitchen
smells, but a Wedgwood teapot or a Toby jug, though earthenware they
be, are worth the having. Pottery is the poor relation of porcelain.
The one comes in silks and satins, in purple and fine linen; the other
in cotton gown, like Phyllis at the fair.
The following remarks may lend a zest to dusting days, and, mayhap, the
poor relation may be invited to come down from the top shelf in the
kitchen to occupy a niche in the drawing-room.
It is to be hoped that what has already been said on china may have
created a taste in the reader for the inventions of the potter. A blue
bowl may convey a world of meaning, and may be fragrant with memories
of the eighteenth century, if one cares to peer beneath the surface.
To the uninitiated it will be a blue bowl—and ugly maybe at that. To
some the potter’s art is as dead a thing as was Nature’s message to
Wordsworth’s insensate:—
“A primrose by a river’s brim
A yellow primrose was to him,
And it was nothing more.”
That it is not always easy to determine where a piece of china may have
come from we have already shown, even if it be “A Present from the
Crystal Palace.” The ordinary mind may possibly imagine some hitherto
unknown factory away at Sydenham, but the legend “Made in Germany”
underneath instantly dispels that illusion.
It is necessary here to state that the world of _bric-à-brac_ is
divided into two parts—earthenware or pottery, and china or porcelain.
All that is not earthenware is porcelain, and all that is not porcelain
is earthenware. One may liken it to prose and poetry; what is not one
must be the other, as Monsieur Jourdain discovered after he had spoken
prose for forty years without knowing it. To continue the simile, some
of Ruskin’s prose writings approach as near to poetry as do Wedgwood’s
finer wares to porcelain.
Porcelain is produced by the artificial mixture of certain minerals
known by their Chinese names of _kaolin_ and _petuntse_, or their
English ones of china-clay and felspar. The former is infusible under
the greatest heat, the latter is not, but unites in a state of fusion
with the china-clay, making a paste or “body,” which is hard, and, when
broken, shows a smooth, vitreous fracture. Those who have attempted to
mend old china must have noticed how different the broken surface is
from that of pottery with its rougher edges.
Strictly speaking these “Chats” on earthenware ought to have appeared
at the commencement of the volume, for earthenware comes first
chronologically. In passing we will glance for a moment as to how
porcelain came into Europe.
Porcelain was first invented by the Chinese some two centuries before
Christ. It reached Europe as the Eastern civilisation penetrated to the
west, and for hundreds of years vain attempts were made by potters to
reproduce the fineness of porcelain with its beautiful glaze and hard
paste. At Venice, at Florence, in France, and in Spain, during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, an approximate success had been
arrived at; soft paste had been developed to its furthest limit, but
the real ingredients of the Chinese hard paste were unknown.
Accident, however, completed what centuries of industry had attempted.
From perruque to porcelain seems a far cry, but the story is worth
telling.
John Schnorr, an ironmaster, riding near Aue, observed that a soft
earth adhered strongly to his horse’s hoofs. Considering that this
earth might be used as a substitute for wheat flour as hair powder,
he carried some away with him, and it was subsequently sold in large
quantities for this purpose at Dresden, Leipsic, and other places. This
_kaolin_ (the base of hard paste) continued to be known as “Schnorr’s
white earth.”
Johann Friedrich Böttcher, chemist to the Elector of Saxony and King
of Poland, discovered the secret about 1709. One morning, on taking up
his wig, he noticed it was much heavier than usual. He was informed by
his valet that a new kind of hair-powder had been used. This was the
ironmaster’s white earth. Böttcher was convinced that he had discovered
at last the base of porcelain.
This was the foundation of the manufacture of porcelain at Meissen, and
the factory then established has supplied the world with Dresden china
ever since.
So great was the secrecy at first, that Böttcher and his assistants,
when Charles XII. of Sweden invaded Saxony, were removed by the
Elector for greater safety to the castle at Königstein, where they
were practically imprisoned. Even the clay was sealed up in barrels
by dumb persons, and every workman was required to take a solemn oath
not to reveal the secret. “Be silent unto death” was the motto of the
establishment.
How the method of manufacture and the secrets of Meissen finally became
known to other countries, and how manufactories came to be set up at
Vienna and Petersburg, is one of the romances of trade.
So much for the early history of porcelain in Europe. During this
period the art of the potter had not made very great progress in
England. These “Chats” have shown of the heroic attempts to emulate the
success of Meissen, but it was slow, uphill work to reach the heights
of Worcester and of Derby in porcelain and of Wedgwood in earthenware.
Stoneware mugs were more in accordance with the taste of our
forefathers than pewter pots for drinking purposes, a comparatively
modern prejudice. A variety of mugs called Longbeards, largely imported
from Low Countries, were in general use during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries at inns for serving all the customers. The name
“Bellarmine” was sarcastically given them in reference to the cardinal
most conspicuous in opposing the Reformed faith in the Netherlands,
the potter representing, with grotesque art, his Eminence with short
stature and rotund figure.
[Illustration: JOHN BULL JUG.
Blue and white (10-1/2 in. high).
_From Collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._]
It is but a short step from the ware imported from the Low Countries to
the pottery of Staffordshire. The celebrated pattern of the Toby jug
is well known. Dickens, in “Barnaby Rudge,” makes Gabriel Varden ask
Dolly to “put Toby this way.” Uncle Toby himself might have suggested
the design, but it is said to be derived from one Toby Philpot, “a
thirsty old soul as e’er drank a bottle or fathomed a bowl.” We give,
from Mr. W. G. Honey’s collection at Cork, two fine specimens—one an
old Staffordshire jug (10-1/2 in. high), representing John Bull, and
marked “I. W.”; the other, the well-known pattern of the Vicar and
Moses (9-1/4 in. high). This latter is the work of Ralph Wood, of
Burslem, and was frequently reproduced by later potters. Both these
pieces are blue and white.
[Illustration: