The ceramic art of Great Britain from pre-historic times down to the present day, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b being a history of the ancient and modern pottery and porcelain works of the kingdom and of their productions of every classJewitt, Llewellynn Frederick William
History
The ceramic art of Great Britain from pre-historic times down to the present day, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b being a history of the ancient and modern pottery and porcelain works of the kingdom and of their productions of every class
Jewitt, Llewellynn Frederick William
Pottery, British -- History
“The next division consists of biscuit china, fragments of services
ornamented in relief, the favourite pattern being the Mayflower. The
hawthorn is represented quite after nature, with its thorny branches
and blossom. About a dozen of the moulds for stamping these flowers
were also found quite perfect; they are of biscuit, three inches by two
and a half in diameter. Fig. 408 is interesting, being the original
mould of a biscuit cup which has its exact counterpart glazed. These
pieces form a history in themselves.
“Another mould is of two roses and leaves on a stalk (Fig. 409). The
raised figures on the biscuit are remarkably sharp; but the application
of the glaze fills up the spaces.
[Illustration: Figs. 406 to 415.]
“The other decorations in relief are the basket pattern, overlapping
leaves, vertical bands overlaid with scrolls, ribbed cups and
basins, a biscuit candlestick in form of a vine-leaf, another of
different pattern painted blue. In this extensive collection we
find milk-pots, cups, cans, and saucers, open-work baskets, octagon
plates, cup-handles, lion’s-paw feet, small pots for colour or rouge;
but not a single piece has any mark which can be assigned to the
_fabrique_. One of the cups has the name of ‘Norman’ written on it
in pencil--perhaps the name of one of the painters. Among other relics
are pieces which have been injured in the kiln by falling into ugly and
distorted shapes, plates and saucers that have inadvertently gone in
contact with each other and could not be separated.
“There is a great variety of china biscuit knife-handles, some plain,
others with rococo scrolls in relief, heightened with blue; two
specimens are here given (Figs. 414 and 415).
[Illustration: Fig. 416.]
“Some few pieces of an ornamental character are among the débris. The
foot of a salt-cellar beautifully modelled in biscuit, formed of three
shells, with smaller shells and seaweed between; the upper shell, to
hold the salt, is wanting. A sketch of it is here given (Fig. 413).
To these may be added the foot of a large centre ornament of the same
character as the last, to hold sweetmeats, also modelled by hand in
shells of all sorts, rock-work, coral, seaweed, &c., with three escalop
shells: this has had one or more tiers above, but broken off at stem.
Some natural shells were found which served as copies. There are two
pug-dogs nearly perfect, with collars, on which are roses. Two handles,
in form of female heads, in high relief, for tureens and other large
bowls (Fig. 416); and a man’s head, with a high cap and feather, nicely
modelled (Fig. 417); also the body of a female figure in biscuit, with
laced bodice.
“The Bow paste is exceedingly hard, and the fracture very close and
compact; consequently the pieces, as a rule, are very heavy for
their size, but many of the cups and saucers are almost of egg-shell
thickness. The colour is a milky white.”
[Illustration: Fig. 417.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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