Ceramic ware

“ Colors are prepared from refractory materials and upon clay or soft burned biscuit ware, scenes, in more or less conventional form, are painted, or else a design purely conventional in character is applied by the artist. The ware is then glazed and subjected to the severe fire which all porcelain undergoes. The result is that the porcelain and the painting are united in a sense that can never be the case with over-glaze treatment. The colors become part of a purely ceramic unit; the spirit of the artist is fixed by the fire. ”

“ In pestles and mortars the factory has considerable trade, and of the minor articles of patch-boxes, &c., there is enormous produce. For supremacy in these objects it is indebted to the purity of the clay and felspar, producing a clear brilliant white, and singular “compactness,” resulting in remarkable hardness and durability. In sanitary ware, cabinet-stands, plug-basins, and other articles, form a staple part of the trade of these works. ”

“ The ceramics of England are of special interest to the American reader. In many of our old homes are to be found samples of English pottery and porcelain brought to this country long before Revolutionary{390} times. Many of them are, like heirlooms, passed on from generation to generation, the remnants being all the more highly prized as they become fewer in number. A great deal of the earthen-ware and porcelain used here within the last century has come from the centres of which we have been treating. To the student of the art, also, England has an interest all its own. ”

“ In that year he had conveyed to him, by deed, some premises which were situated “by the river running from Merton Mill to Wandsworth, in the county of Surrey,” and consisted in part of a mill, “used for a colour-mill for grinding colours for the glazeing of white ware” made by him. The original deed, which is in my own possession, was first made public by me in my “Reliquary,” and is altogether one of the most interesting contributions to the history of the ceramic art in England which has of late been made. The deed is as follows:—
THIS INDENTURE, made the Tenth Day of March, Anno Dom. ”

“ This new ware was first made public at the Great International Exhibition of 1851, and from its peculiar qualities of durability, hardness, and freedom from cracking with heat, attracted considerable attention. The surface of the semi-porcelain bears every characteristic of the finest china, and, of course, in colour, in painting, and in gilding can be made quite equal to it; but it has the additional advantage of being so completely vitrified that the inside, in case of being chipped or broken, remains of its original whiteness. ”

“ THE ceramic history of the British Isles is invested with a peculiar interest by reason of its nearly perfect continuity from the early Celtic works to the Romano-British wares, the early Saxon, the Norman mediæval imitations of Saracenic tiling, the lead-glazed wares of the sixteenth century, the stone-ware of the same period, the pottery of Staffordshire and Wedgwood, the first appearance of English porcelain, and so on, downward, to the works of Minton, Doulton, and others at the present time. ”

“ The goods produced by the Company are of the usual useful classes of table, tea, toilet, and other requisites, in fine earthenware, stoneware, buff, turquoise, and cream-coloured ware; and in decorations of the fine earthenware services improvements have been effected by which the printing of enamel upon the glaze, and lining on the bisque, are effected. The last is produced at considerable less cost than enamel lines, and while making a tolerably near approach in point of colour, is more durable, because protected by the glaze. ”

“ It turns out both faience and porcelain. Figures and groups in porcelain biscuit and artificial porcelain are made. The factory is also known by a fine white stone-ware. In the fine faience of Sarreguemines, certain works may be found which are, in many respects, the most extraordinary of the present time. Imitations of jasper, marble, granite, and porphyry, are produced of the most beautiful description, and other pieces resemble the jasper-ware of Wedgwood, with white decoration on a blue ground. The vase (Fig. 258) can hardly be described in words. ”

“ Queen’s ware has already several of the properties of porcelain, but is yet capable of receiving many essential improvements. The public have for some time required and expected them. Innumerable experiments have been made for this purpose. There are immense quantities of materials in the kingdom that would answer this end; but they are locked up by a monopoly in the bowels of the earth, useless to the landowners, useless to the manufacturers, useless to the public ”

“ We are in the dark even now as to the date and place of origin of more than one class of Oriental porcelain. On the question of the relation of the ceramic wares of China to the contemporary sister arts, there are many points to be cleared up,—I mean especially the question how far the early wares were influenced by the art of the bronze-caster and the carver of jade, and again to what extent the decoration of porcelain in later times was dependent upon the example of the contemporary schools of painting. ”

“ First, as to the nature of the Invention, it is well known to the manufacturers of earthenware, that all the sorts of common ware now in use are now, and have been heretofore at all times, both in this and all other countries I know, glazed either by sea salt, or by lead ore, or by some preparation of lead, or of lead and tin united to ground flints or clay, or both. ”

“ It is also singular in this respect that the articles are glazed before being burned; and by one process of firing to a very high pitch of heat—higher than that to which any other kind of pottery ware is subjected—a hard, vitreous, and very sonorous ware is produced, glazed inside and out with a transparent glaze, which allows the buff colour of the clay to be seen, and which is quite proof against the action of both alkalies and acids, rendering vessels made by this ware highly suitable for storing and transporting acids and other chemicals. ”

“ China. At the Manufactory in Castle Green, Bristol, are sold various kinds of The True Porcelain, Both Useful and Ornamental, consisting of a new assortment. The Figures, Vases, Jars, and Beakers are very elegant, and the useful ware exceedingly good. As this Manufactory is not at present sufficiently known, it may not be improper to remark that this Porcelain is wholly free from the Imperfections in Wearing which the English China usually has, and that its Composition is equal in fineness to the East Indian, and will wear as well. ”

“ This ware is of peculiar, but highly pleasing character, and in it a large variety of fancy articles, flower-baskets, candlesticks, jugs, vases, pilgrims’ bottles, &c., are made. The clay is peculiarly light, and of tolerably close texture, and it is capable of working into any form. The glaze, which is of equal richness with that of “Rockingham” ware, is of exceedingly good quality, and it has a rich effect over the mottling or “splashing” which characterizes this ware. Many of the productions are very artistic, and evince much taste and skill in manipulation. ”

“ A third quality of ware is called “Semi-china,” and is nearly as translucent as porcelain. It is made from American kaolin clay, with a large admixture of felspar. It is decorated in styles{459} similar to those found upon the iron-stone china. Mr. Carr also makes statuettes and busts in terra-cotta, of a warm, rich tint, and in a fine, partially translucent parian. Besides these, the works produce cream-colored ware and majolica. The latter is made into a great variety of forms—jars, pedestals, seats, boxes, and cups, the leading colors of which are a clear deep blue, yellow, and green. ”

“ There may be a beauty of a certain kind in the ware itself. As a rule, porcelain should never be overloaded with gold or any kind of decoration or color less beautiful than its own enamel. It demands lightness of ornamentation and gracefulness of design, rather than brilliancy of decoration. ”

“ A manufactory formerly existed at this place, and the ware produced may be described as very closely approaching, in general appearance and effect, the common descriptions of Turkish pottery. The patterns were produced, in coarse and rude designs, in a kind of copper or red lustre, on the plain buff clay ground. Examples are somewhat rare. The works were carried on by Richard Frank, of Bristol, and his family, but were closed in the latter part of last century. The works, which were of course but small, still stand, but are converted into cottages. ”

“ Of this pottery, now closed, Mr. Mayer thus wrote in 1855: “The ware manufactured here at present consists principally of earthenware and stoneware, chiefly of blue and colour printed ware, and, lately, parian has been [55] made of a good quality. Here has been introduced one of the throwing tables for making hollow ware, cups, bowls, &c., by machinery, with the aid of which four boys who are quite unacquainted with the art can, in a day or two’s practice, produce as much work as by the old process of hand throwing could formerly be made by five men in the same space of time. ”

“ The first of these was for a “new discovered and invented method of making earthenware, whereby the article of earthenware may be made at a less cost than hitherto, to the great advantage of the manufacturers thereof, and of the public.” This consists “in casing over inferior compositions with compositions commonly used for making cream-coloured ware, white ware, or china.” “Thick bats or laminæ” of the inferior are covered on each side with thin bats of the superior clay, and if the edges of the ware are required to be cased, they are surrounded “with a square piece commonly called a wad.” ”

“ It has been said that, as a rule, Americans take a pride in their own manufactures. That of pottery is an exception. Almost anywhere granite-ware can be seen bearing as a mark the royal arms of England, with the motto in full—in this case very appropriately—honi soit qui mal y pense. It is a curious mark for an American potter, or at first sight seems so. The ware may have been made at Trenton, or anywhere else in America, and the explanation is simple. The dealers will not buy it without that mark, and first suggested its use as they would order a certain style of decoration. ”

“ That they were skilful and rejoiced in exercising their skill is evident; but no one can look without admiration upon their exquisite coloring and flower decoration. If one could find anywhere a complete collection of Chinese pottery, stone-ware, and porcelain, it would be found to contain nearly everything admirable in ceramics, although occasionally hard to appreciate or understand. ”

“ Greenpoint Biscuit Porcelain.
There has yet to be considered the staple product of the Union Works, viz., its household porcelain. The paste is, as we have seen, of good quality, and the manufactured ware is strong and serviceable. One of the great obstacles in the way of the success of other enterprises—the lack of skilled artists—Mr. Smith has overcome, and now employs a number of decorators whose work augurs well for the continued prosperity of the establishment. ”

“ The four principal kinds of pottery manufactured by Messrs. Stiff and Sons are: 1. Brown salt-glazed stoneware, in which the [142] tubular socket drain-pipes so extensively made here are produced; water-filters, jugs, bottles, jars, and all kinds of chemical apparatus are also made in this class of ware. 2. White stoneware or “double-glazed” ware, or “Bristol ware,” in which salt is not used, but the glazing is obtained by the application of a liquid glaze to the interior and exterior of each article before it is placed in the kiln. ”

“ A strikingly good example (Fig. 815) is in my own possession. It is 91⁄2 inches in height, and formed of the usual hard brown glazed ware of this pottery. The whole, with the exception of the neck, is powdered with small fragments of dry clay (not “potsherds” as usually, but erroneously, stated) which have been sprinkled over its surface before firing and burnt in with it. This, it may be remarked, is the usual characteristic of these vessels whenever made. The one under notice has the eyes, outlines of the ears, teeth, and claws, laid on in white “slip.” ”

“ The ware made at Upchurch must have been in considerable repute, for it is found in Roman localities in most parts of the kingdom. On Roman sites in France and Germany and in Flanders, &c., wares of a precisely similar kind are found, and show that it is probable they were simultaneously made at different places. The prevailing colour of the ware is a bluish or greyish black, with a smooth and rather shining surface. A good deal, however, is of a dark drab colour. The black colour has been produced by the process of “firing” in “smother kilns”—a process well known to potters. ”

“ The quality of the stoneware or “Bristol ware” produced at the “London Pottery” is remarkably good, being extremely hard, and covered with an excellent, clear, and firm glaze, not surpassed by any other house. The same remark will apply to the porous ware, which is fine in composition, and possesses to an eminent degree the porous quality so essential in vessels of this description. The terra-cotta goods are of very fine, hard, and durable quality, and of a peculiarly pleasing tone of colour. ”