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Design Gallery

Venetian Glass

 

1

Cristallo

 

Glass had been produced in Venice since Roman times. In the mid 15th century Venetian glassmakers invented cristallo, an almost colourless glass that could be blown and moulded into thin and elegant shapes. It became a luxury product desired by wealthy families throughout Europe.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

GOBLET AND LID

Early 17th century

Venice, Italy

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.298

 

TAZZA

About 1500

Tazza is the Italian term for a vessel with a shallow bowl on a stem. They were used for drinking wine but also for serving ‘sweetmeats’ at grand dinners. These were different sorts of sugared and spiced fruits, biscuits and other confectionery that made up the final ‘sweet’ course of a banquet.

Venice, Italy

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.289

 

GOBLET

Late 16th century

Glasses of this shape may have been used for drinking wine at special occasions. To drink from a glass this shape without spilling anything took a lot of care and skill and was probably a sign of great sophistication.

Venice, Italy

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.296

 

2

Enamelling

 

The fine, colourless glass made in Venice (cristallo) could be made into elaborate shapes. But before Venetian glassmakers fully realised the possibilities that it offered, they copied the shapes of metalwork. They replaced the jewels that were embedded in silver objects with brightly coloured enamel and gilded decoration.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

Tankard

1620-1640

Germany

Glass with enamelled decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.332

 

FOOTED BOWL

About 1500

The gold leaf and painted enamel decorations on this bowl were applied after it had been shaped in a furnace and slowly cooled. After this the bowl went back into the mouth of the furnace, where the enamels melted and fused with the surface of the glass.

Venice, Italy

Mould-blown glass with enamelled and gilt decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.290

 

BEAKER

Early 16th century

Leading families throughout Europe ordered their finest glass from the Venetian island of Murano. Single vessels like this goblet, decorated with a family’s coat of arms, have survived from the 16th century. They may have once formed part of larger, expensive sets of glassware.

Venice, Italy

Blown glass with enamelled and gilt decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.291

 

3

Filigree work

Venetian glassmakers discovered they could stretch canes or rods of molten white glass into threads and incorporate them into clear glass in intricate patterns. An inventory of Henry VIII’s possessions made in 1547 includes Venetian glass in ‘diaper worke’, which probably refers to this filigree technique.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

TAZZA

About 1600

Venice, Italy

Filigree glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.294

 

VASE WITH TWO HANDLES

About 1600

Venice, Italy

Filigree glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.295

 

TAZZA

Late 16th century

The simplest forms of filigree glass include white canes used to form a series of parallel lines (a fili). More complex designs include canes twisted to form spirals (a retorti) and combinations of the two techniques.

Venice, Italy

Filigree glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.293

 

4

English Façon de Venise

 

In the 1680s English glassmakers began to make high quality glass using lead as an ingredient. They copied the shapes of fashionable Venetian glass but because lead glass was very different to delicate Venetian cristallo, the English versions were heavier with thicker decoration.

 

TOP SHELF FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

GOBLET

1680-1690

Lead glass with mould-blown and pincered decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.21

 

GOBLET AND LID

1680-1685

Lead glass with mould-blown and pincered decoration, silver foot added in 1935

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.18

 

POSSET GLASS

About 1685

Posset is a spiced ale curdled with milk and thickened with eggs. It was a popular winter drink in the 17th century. Lead glass with mould-blown and trailed decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.16

 

MIDDLE SHELF FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

FLASK

About 1690

Lead glass with mould-blown, trailed and pincered decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.27

 

GOBLET

About 1680

Lead glass with mould-blown and pincered decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.13

 

JUG AND STOPPER

1680-1685

Lead glass with mould-blown and trailed decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.17

 

5

The Netherlands

 

The trade in luxury Venetian glass encouraged other European countries to make cristallo. To begin with it was made by glassmakers who had left Venice. Glass made in countries like the Netherlands was so similar to that made in Venice that it can be hard to tell the difference.

 

CENTRE OF CASE

 

GOBLET AND LID

17th century

Goblets with serpent-like stems (known as vetri a serpenti) were first made by Venetian glassmakers in the late 16th century. They became very popular and by the 17th century were also being made in the Netherlands and Germany. A goblet like this would have cost five times as much as an ordinary glass.

The Netherlands

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.308

 

ON SHELF FROM FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

BOWL

17th century

The Netherlands

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.306

 

GOBLET AND LID

17th century

The Netherlands

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.307

 

TAZZA

About 1600

Tazza is the Italian term for a vessel with a shallow bowl on a stem. They were sometimes used for drinking wine at special occasions.

The Netherlands

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.297

 

1500-1700

 

Tin-glazed Earthenware Pottery

 

Tin-glazed earthenware originated in Iraq in the ninth century. Adding tin to the glaze gave it a white, glossy finish that could then be decorated in bright colours. It spread to Italy (where it is known as maiolica) and from here to the Netherlands and Britain (delftware) and France, Germany and Spain (faience).

 

1

BOWL

Late 17th century

Tin-glazed earthenware was fashionable in Spain in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Wealthy families had their silver melted down to help pay for military campaigns, so less expensive ceramics became popular. The city of Talavera de la Reina in central Spain became famous for this brightly coloured pottery known as faience.

Talavera, Spain

Tin-glazed earthenware

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.783

 

2

DRUG JAR

About 1530

Maiolica jars were often used in pharmacies, where they formed parts of sets that held different drugs and medicines.

Faenza, Italy

Tin-glazed earthenware

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.777

 

3

DISH

About 1552

In the 16th century Italian maiolica was often brightly painted with biblical, historical and mythological subjects. Dishes like this were high status objects and were probably made more for display than to be used. This decorative style became widely copied in pottery centres outside Italy.

Urbino, Italy

Tin-glazed earthenware

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.779

 

Dutch Delftware

 

Tin-glazed earthenware, or delftware, was mass-produced in the Netherlands from the 16th century. Although it was inspired by Italian maiolica, during the 17th century bright colours gave way to a simple palette of blue and white as potters imitated expensive porcelain imported from the Far East.

 

4

JUG

About 1701

This jug was made in the Netherlands in imitation of expensive porcelain imported from Japan. The red, gold and blue colours are typical of the Imari style, named after the port in western Japan from where porcelain was exported to Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Delft, The Netherlands

Tin-glazed earthenware

Made at Pieter Kocx’s De Grieksche A (‘Greek A’) factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.806

 

5

VASE OR JAR

About 1700

Delftware is so-called after the city of Delft in South Holland, which was a major centre for the production of tin-glazed earthenware pottery in the 18th century.

Delft, The Netherlands

Tin-glazed earthenware

Made at Louwys Fictoor or Victoor’s De Dubbelde Schenkkan (‘the Double Jug’) factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.803

 

 

English Delftware Pottery

 

English delftware was first made in the mid 17th century. Like other pottery of the time it imitated Chinese porcelain but also combined Dutch and Italian influences. There was a huge demand for functional blue and white tableware in England but potteries also made decorative objects.

 

6

FIGURE OF A CAT

Early 18th century

Early tin-glazed earthenware figures are rare. They were made to imitate porcelain figures imported from China, which often came in pairs and could be placed on a mantelpiece. This cat, which would have been made in a mould, is inscribed with the line ‘Cat I am Mrs Oliver 1713’.

Tin-glazed earthenware

Made in Lambeth, London

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.136

 

7

SALT CELLAR

About 1670

Tin-glazed earthenware

Made in Lambeth, London

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.135

 

8

OINTMENT POT

1647

This pot is decorated with a crown and the initials of King Charles I.

Tin-glazed earthenware

Made in Lambeth, London

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.137

 

9

WINE BOTTLE

1644

Tin-glazed earthenware

Made in Lambeth, London

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.131

 

Forest Glass

 

While Venice dominated the luxury glass trade, a different style of glass was popular in the forests of central and northern Europe. Glassmakers here made vessels for wine and beer using the same shapes from the medieval period through to the 17th century while experimenting with different decorative techniques.

 

10

BEAKER

About 1615

Beakers like this are known as Humpen (tankards with no handles). They were used to hold large quantities of beer for communal drinking at banquets. The enamelled decoration on this example features the Holy Roman Emperor and Princes of the provinces of what is now Germany.

Germany

Glass with enamelled decoration

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.333

 

11

BEAKER

1656

This type of beaker is known as a Krautstrunk (cabbage stalk). The blobs of glass are called prunts. They were applied when the glassmaker was still shaping the vessel. The beaker is inscribed in German ‘drink me up and throw me down, pick me up and fill me again’.

Germany

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.334

 

12

BEAKER

About 1700

Glass made in northern Europe is often very sturdy-looking. It was made using plant ash (or potash), which made it less easy to shape than some other forms of glass and gave it a distinctive colour. The thick glass walls of beakers like this were perfect for engraving designs in relief.

Glass

Possibly engraved by Gottfried Spiller in Potsdam, Germany

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.339

 

13

FLASK

1686

Technical innovations in glassmaking and decorating didn’t always develop in large workshops. In Holland, amateur glass engravers mastered the art of engraving calligraphic designs using a wheel (often made of copper) attached to a lathe.

The Netherlands

Glass and silver

Engraved by Willem van Heemskerk (1613-1693)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.310

 

Stoneware Pottery

 

In the 15th century the area around the Rhine Valley was a major centre for stoneware pottery made from a mixture of clay and stone. Using salt in the glazing process made it very hard wearing. Although it was popular throughout Europe,

Germany lost its main customer after the English scientist

John Dwight discovered the technique.

 

14

TANKARD

1728

The English scientist John Dwight discovered how to make salt-glaze stoneware pottery in 1672. He set up a pottery in Fulham, London making products that were much more durable than other English pottery.

Salt-glazed stoneware with silver mount

Made at John Dwight’s (about 1640-1703) Fulham Pottery

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery C.112

 

15

STOVE TILE

16th century

Tiles for decorating large ceramic heating stoves were a major part of the German pottery industry in the 16th century. They were exported in large numbers to the Low

Countries (modern day Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of France and Germany).

Nuremberg, Germany

Lead-glazed earthenware

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery C.769

 

16

TEA CANNISTER

1690-1698

Red stoneware from China was imported to England alongside porcelain in the 1680s. John Dwight was the first English maker to successfully copy it. Dwight’s assistants the Elers brothers went on to set up their own pottery in Staffordshire making exceptionally fine red stoneware based on Chinese designs.

Red stoneware with gilt-metal mounts

Made by David and John Philip (1699-1782) Eler in Bradwell Wood, Staffordshire

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.9

 

17

JUG

16th century

This jug was made in Raeren, an area of Belgium famous for its stoneware pottery, which was used locally as well as being traded throughout northwest Europe. It is marked with the Wapen von Engelant (Arms of England), suggesting it was made for export to England.

Raeren, Belgium

Stoneware with moulded decoration and silver mounts

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.772

 

English Native Style

 

London and the other big English cities were heavily influenced by fashions from the continent. But in more rural areas, potters and metalworkers continued to make products in local styles using materials that were available to them.

 

18

POSSET POT

1695

Before the 16th century the English pottery industry was largely made up of small centres making products in regional styles with local materials. From the 1500s potters began to copy imports from abroad but in rural areas local styles continued. A good example is this pot made for posset, a spiced ale curdled with milk.

Earthenware with trailed slip decoration

Made in Staffordshire

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.29

 

19

DISH

1701

Pewter was used to make household items. By the 16th century it could be found in most houses across England. Makers engraved their wares with decoration influenced by Dutch and English delftware. This dish features wrigglework, a zigzag pattern made by rocking a chisel from side to side across the surface of the pewter.

Pewter

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.109

 

20

STANDING CUP AND COVER

17th century

Tall presentation cups such as this were popular in Germany in the late 16th and 17th centuries and were used for drinking wine at grand banquets. They were exported widely and copied by goldsmiths throughout Europe. Although they are referred to as ‘pineapple cups’ the shape actually represents grapes.

Nuremberg, Germany

Silver gilt

Made by Michael Müller

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.195

 

21

FALL FRONT CABINET

Late 16th century

During the late 16th century the German city of Augsburg produced fine cabinets. They often featured fantasy townscapes or classical ruins inspired by contemporary engravings. Marquetry decoration, which involves laying different woods onto a solid surface, was widely admired and these cabinets were prized throughout Europe.

Possibly Augsburg, Germany

Marquetry of various woods

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.52

 

ON BACK OF CASE

 

ALMS DISHES

16th century

Nuremberg in Germany was a major centre for brass working. Bowls like this were exported throughout Europe. In England they were mainly used as alms dishes in churches, while elsewhere they were used in wealthy households for washing hands after meals. They are often decorated with biblical subjects.

Nuremberg, Germany

Brass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.197 & M.199

 

English and Irish Glass

 

1

Baluster Glasses

By about 1700 English ‘baluster’ glasses were in common use. They were made from lead glass which was slow to cool when it was made, making it difficult to manipulate into fancy shapes. This meant that no frills or ornaments were added to glasses, which were made in strong and simple shapes in a range of sizes.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

WINE GLASS

1685-1690

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.25

 

GOBLET

1685

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.20

 

WINE GLASS

1705

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.65

 

GOBLET

1685-1690

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.31

 

GOBLET

1710

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.69

 

2

Internal Spirals

After the introduction of a new glass tax in 1746, glassmakers began to look for ways of adding decoration within the body of the glass. One technique involved embedding columns of air into the stem. The earliest ‘air twists’ were simple corkscrews but over time more elaborate combinations of opaque and coloured twists were developed.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

WINE GLASS

About 1760

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.146

 

GOBLET

Mid 18th century

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.100

 

FLUTE GLASS

About 1750

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.145

 

GOBLET

About 1760

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.149

 

WINE GLASS

About 1760

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.147

 

GOBLET

1740

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.81

 

GOBLET

1740

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.82

 

GOBLET

Mid 18th century

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.96

 

WINE GLASS

About 1770

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.177

 

WINE GLASS

Mid 18th century

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.130

 

WINE GLASS

About 1770

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.175

 

WINE GLASS

About 1770

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.178

 

3

Enamelling

Enamel painting on glass was first practised in Britain in the 1760s by the Beilby family of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They used both white and coloured enamels to decorate drinking glasses with pastoral scenes, gothic ruins and coats of arms.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

WINE GLASS

1767

This glass is enamelled with the motto ‘Pro Patria’ (‘for my country’) and the arms of the Ogilvie family.

Lead glass with painted enamel decoration

Probably decorated by the Beilby family

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.173.

 

GOBLET

About 1771

Lead glass with painted enamel decoration

Probably decorated by the Beilby family

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.183

 

GOBLET

About 1770

This glass is enamelled with the arms of the Turner family of Kirkleatham in Yorkshire.

Lead glass with painted enamel decoration

Probably decorated by the Beilby family

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.182

 

GOBLET

1765-1770

Lead glass with painted enamel decoration

Probably decorated by the Beilby family

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.187

 

4

Privateer Glasses

In the mid 18th century Bristol was known for its high quality glass. This was sometimes engraved with scenes recording the victories of Privateers based there during the Seven Years War (1754-1763). Privateers were licensed pirates, authorised by the government to attack enemy ships in times of war.

 

WINE GLASSES

1750s

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.139-143, G.122

 

5

Dutch Engraved Glass

There was a large export market for English lead glass, especially in the Netherlands where drinking glasses engraved with commemorative inscriptions were popular.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

GOBLET

About 1734

This glass is engraved with the arms of Prince Willem IV (1711-1754) who was elected Stadtholder (governor) of Zeeland, Holland, Utrecht and Overijssel in 1747. He married Princess Anne of Hanover, the daughter of the British King George II in 1734.

The Netherlands (engraving)

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.317

 

GOBLET

About 1734

The Netherlands (engraving)

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.77

 

6

Engraving

In the 18th century glasses were frequently decorated with engraved images. Common subjects were flowers and plants, family crests and hunting scenes. Glasses were also engraved to commemorate personal events such as marriages and national events such as military victories and political causes.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

ALE GLASS

About 1740

It was common in the 18th century for glasses to be engraved with subjects representing their use, such as grapes and vines on wine glasses and, as shown here, hops and barley on beer glasses.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.83

 

WINE GLASS

About 1750

This glass is engraved with birds and flowers.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.123

 

CORDIAL GLASS

About 1750

This glass is engraved with a vine in fruit.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.124

 

7

Cut Glass

The technique of glass cutting, known in Britain since Roman times, flourished in the 18th century. Thick lead glass was ideal for cutting and polishing and the technique became a way of decorating mass-produced glassware. By the end of the 18th century English glassmakers had a monopoly on cut glass. Sets of elaborately cut glass tableware were used on dining tables throughout Europe. Irish cut glass was also widely admired. Unlike the English, who looked to silver designs for inspiration, Irish glassmakers developed wholly new styles.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

BUTTER COOLER AND STAND

About 1800

Ireland

Cut glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.223 & G.224

 

SWEETMEAT GLASS

Late 18th century

Sweetmeats were small pieces of confectionary, usually made of sugar and chocolate, served at the end of a grand meal.

Ireland

Cut glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.201

 

SUGAR BASIN

About 1800

Ireland

Cut glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.222

 

PIGGIN

About 1800

The word ‘piggin’ comes from ‘pig’ or ‘pigkin’, terms used in the medieval period for small pitchers for beer, wine and cider. It was later used to describe vessels based on the shape of a small pail and thought to be used for whipped cream, sauces and butter.

Ireland

Cut glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.221

 

Political glass

 

In 1688 King James II, of the Catholic House of Stuart, was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William of Orange. James II’s son James was barred from succession and forced to live in France.

Supporters of James, later known as Jacobites (from the Latin form of James) refused to recognise the new line of succession and fought to have their true King returned. To openly support James was treasonous so Jacobites developed secret codes. This included toasting the ‘King across the Water’ with engraved drinking glasses, decorated with Jacobite symbols.

 

8

Jacobite glass

Many Jacobite glasses are decorated with a rose in bloom and rose buds symbolising the exiled King James II and his heirs. Other motifs include an oak leaf representing Charles II (James’ brother), a sunflower as a symbol of loyalty, and a star representing the birth of Prince Charles (James II’s grandson).

 

LEFT HAND GROUP FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

WINE GLASS

Mid 18th century

This glass is engraved ‘Audentior Ibo’ (‘I shall go with greater daring’) with a portrait of James II’s grandson Charles, known as the ‘Young Pretender’ and ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, who became the focus of the Jacobite movement as Prince Regent.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.105

 

WINE GLASS

Mid 18th century

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.102

 

GOBLET

About 1750

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.103

 

WINE GLASS

Mid 18th century

This glass is engraved with the motto ‘FIAT’, which can be translated as ‘May it come to pass’ or simply ‘Amen’.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.108

 

WINE GLASS

About 1745

This glass is engraved ‘REVIRESCIT’ (‘he is flourishing again’) and the plumes of the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles).

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.87

 

CENTRAL GROUP FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

WINE GLASS

About 1750

This glass is engraved with a portrait of Prince Charles and ‘HIC VIR HIC EST’ (‘this is the man’), taken from Virgil’s poem Aeneid.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.126

 

GOBLET

About 1750

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.125

 

WINE GLASS

1740-1750

The engraved blackbird represents the exiled James Francis Stuart (James II’s son).

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.75

 

9

Anti-Jacobite glass

Supporters of William and Mary and their successors also used engraved glasses to show their allegiance. This included mottos and symbols commemorating military victories over the Jacobites.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

WINE GLASS

1740-1760

This glass is engraved ‘Prosperity to the Duke of Cumberland’. The Duke of Cumberland led the English army at the battle of Culloden in 1746, where the Jacobite army of Prince Charles (James II’s grandson) was defeated.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G,113

 

CORDIAL GLASS

Mid 18th Century

This glass is engraved with the words ‘The Immortal Memory’ and a portrait of William III.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.110

 

WINE GLASS

1740-1760

This glass is engraved ‘The Glorious Memory of King William, Boyne First July 1690’. The Battle of the Boyne was fought in Ireland between the Protestant William of Orange and the Catholic James II, when James’ army was defeated.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.111

 

Neoclassical

 

1

Neo-classical Forms and Decoration

 

The Neo-classical style introduced a range of new forms, shapes and decorative features that were used in the design of domestic objects. Popular motifs included swags and festoons (garlands of fruit, flowers and ribbons), classical figures, real and imaginary animals, and lines of bead shapes inspired by classical architecture.

 

SHELVES ON RIGHT HAND SIDE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

 

TUREEN

Early 19th Century

Porcelain

Made at the Pinxton Porcelain Factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.436&7

 

BOWL

1790-1800

The ‘meander’ or ‘Greek key’ pattern was used widely in Neo-classical design. Found originally on ancient Greek pottery and architectural friezes, it was used by designers on small scale objects such as candlesticks and this finger bowl. Isaac Jacobs was a gilder who worked for his father’s Bristol glassworks.

Glass

Decorated by Isaac Jacobs

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.210

 

SUGAR BASIN

About 1760

Italy

Porcelain

Made at the Doccia porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1045

 

CUP AND SAUCER

About 1800

Denmark

Porcelain

Made at the Copenhagen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1082 & C.1083

 

CUP AND SAUCER

About 1775

 

In the 1770s tea and coffee cups moved away from the bowl shape of Rococo style to a more cylindrical form with angular handles inspired by Neo-classicism.

Porcelain

Made at the Bristol porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.527 & C.528

 

CUP AND SAUCER

About 1770

Switzerland

Porcelain

Made at the Nyon porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1067 & C.1068

 

CUP AND SAUCER

About 1785

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.397 & C.398

 

2

Silver

 

Silver was perfectly suited to the elegant, geometric shapes of Neo-classical style. Architects such as Robert Adam and William Chambers often incorporated silver designs in their interior schemes. The invention of the flatting mill in the mid 18th century, which mechanised the process of rolling silver into thin sheets, allowed large quantities of silver to be shaped into delicate symmetrical shapes. The reduction in labour costs also meant silver objects were cheaper to produce, allowing more people to own them than ever before.

 

TEAPOT

1794

The Swedish-born silversmith Andrew Fogelberg produced some of the finest English Neo-classical silver. By the late 18th century teapots were familiar household items, although those made from silver were the most expensive. This one is decorated with Neo-classical swags and festoons.

Silver and wood

Made by Andrew Fogelberg (1727-1815)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.60

 

TEA CADDY

1782

The Bateman family were successful silversmiths producing simple household plate in a Neo-classical style. The workshop was set up in 1761 by Hester Bateman after the death of her silversmith husband. This caddy is decorated with Neo-classical beading, a feature taken from classical architecture.

Silver

Made by Hester Bateman (about 1708-1794)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.52

 

JUG

1794

The Bateman workshop was one of the most technologically advanced in London and was the first to install a steam driven flatting mill in 1791. Helmet shaped jugs were a typical Neo-classical shape based on ancient Greek ceramics. They featured minimal decoration and were made in both silver and cheaper Sheffield plate.

Silver

Made by Peter (1740-1825) and Ann Bateman (1748-about 1812)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.61

 

CANDLESTICKS ON THE LEFT, FROM BACK TO FRONT

 

CANDLESTICK

1758

Silver

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.42

 

CANDLESTICK

1786

Silver

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.56

 

CANDLESTICK

1758

Candlesticks used a range of classically inspired ornament including urns, fluted columns and swags. They were an essential household item when candles were the main form of artificial light.

Silver

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.40

 

3

Sheffield plate

 

For those wanting Neo-classical silverware but without the expense, the new technique of silver plating was ideal. It produced objects no different in look, weight or finish to those made in solid silver but costing less than a fifth of the price. The technique was discovered in Sheffield in the mid 18th century and involved fusing silver on top of a cheaper metal such as copper. It was originally used to make buttons but the potential to make larger objects such as candlesticks was soon realised. Many firms produced the same designs in silver as well as Sheffield plate to suit different markets.

 

TEA URN

About 1785

By the 1780s larger objects were available in Sheffield plate. Plated tea urns first appeared in 1785. They were heated internally which allowed for a clean and elegant exterior design.

Sheffield plate

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.85

 

WINE COOLER

1780-1790

A wide range of animals decorated Neo-classical objects. The handles of this wine cooler are formed from lion masks.

Sheffield plate

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.86

 

RIGHT HAND GROUP OF CANDLESTICKS FROM BACK TO FRONT

 

CANDLESTICK

Late 18th Century

Sheffield plate

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.93

 

CANDLESTICK

About 1770

The symmetry and architectural decoration that characterised Neo-classical silverware was perfectly suited to Sheffield plate. Candlesticks were made of die-stamped sections assembled in a variety of combinations that differed from each other in only one or two details.

Sheffield plate

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.82

 

CANDLESTICK

Late 18th Century

This candlestick is inspired by French Neo-classicism, which was a heavier and more naturalistic style than the English version. It is decorated with ram heads and a key pattern, a common decorative element in ancient Greek art.

Sheffield plate

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.95

 

4

Josiah Wedgwood

 

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), the famous Staffordshire potter, was the leading producer of Neo-classical ceramics. Wedgwood set up on his own in 1759 after learning his trade in the family business. He studied classical sources and experimented with new ceramic bodies and glazes, making a wide range of wares in the ‘antique manner’. He made links with the leading Neo-classical architects of the day, persuading the likes of Robert Adam and William Chambers to incorporate his ceramics into their interior design schemes.

 

Wedgwood’s enormous success was in large part due to his business sense. He targeted the wealthy, knowing that the middle classes would follow their lead, by opening exclusive showrooms in London. Before long Wedgwood ceramics were found in grand and ordinary houses throughout Europe.

 

VASE

About 1780

Vases had become a key symbol of the Neo-classical style by the 1770s. Wedgwood capitalised on their popularity by making vases based on ancient originals using new techniques that imitated natural stone. Here the glaze imitates the rock porphyry, which was greatly prized in classical Roman architecture and sculpture.

Terracotta with a porphyry glaze on a black basalt plinth

Made by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No C. 117

 

BUST OF VIRGIL

About 1779

Portrait busts made of black basalt were made by Wedgwood for the libraries of Neo-classical houses. Black basalt, a fine black stoneware, was advertised by Wedgwood as having the appearance of ‘antique bronze’. The subjects were mainly classical, such as this bust of the Roman poet Virgil.

Black basalt ware

Made by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.116

 

FIGURES OF VENUS AND MERCURY

Late 18th Century

In Wedgwood’s catalogue of 1779, basalt is described as a ‘fine black porcelaine having nearly the same properties as the natural basalt’. Wedgwood made a large number of ornamental pieces from basalt ware including vases, busts, portrait medallions and tea sets.

Black basalt ware

Made by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.125 & C.126

 

5

Cut Glass

Cut glass was an ideal medium for the strong shapes of Neo-classicism and all forms of glassware from chandeliers to decanters were designed in the style. Some of the finest cut glass was made in Ireland, where the industry thrived after a ban on exports was lifted in 1780.

 

FRUIT BOWL

Late 18th Century

This fruit bowl is decorated with cut motifs including fans and diamonds. It has a ‘Van Dyck rim’ named after the collars worn by many of the subjects in the artist Anthony Van Dyck’s (1599-1641) portraits.

Ireland

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.205

 

DECANTER

Late 18th century

This decanter, made by the Cork Glass Company, has Neo-classical motifs in the form of swags and stars.

Ireland

Glass

Made by the Cork Glass Company

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.227

 

RUMMER

Early 19th Century

Neo-classical designs, such as the Greek ‘key’ motif and swag used here, were applied to all manner of domestic equipment. Rummers were used for drinking wine, beer or cider. This example is engraved with the Roman Goddess Diana.

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.232

 

MIRROR CHANDELIER

About 1790

Oval mirrors set with a cut glass chandelier were a unique Irish design. John Aykboum, a London glass manufacturer who saw the potential of the Irish glass industry, set up a workshop in Dublin. This chandelier is one of only a few signed by Aykboum.

Ireland

Glass

Made by John Dederick Aykboum (fl.1783-1820)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.432

 

6

Neo-Classical Pottery Figures

Potters also tried to keep up with the trend for classical subjects. These figures are by Enoch Wood, a Staffordshire potter. One represents the ancient Greek statesman

Demosthenes (384-322 BC) and the other represents Fortitude, one of the cardinal virtues. They are both based on 18th century sculptures.

 

FIGURE OF A WOMAN EMBLEMATIC OF FORTITUDE

About 1790

The figure of Fortitude, depicted here holding a column to show her strength, was popular in the Neo-classical period. Fortitude, one of the cardinal virtues along with Prudence, Justice and Temperance, had strong Christian and classical associations. The design is after a sculpture by John Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770).

Earthenware

Probably made by Enoch Wood (1759-1840)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery C.31

 

FIGURE OF DEMOSTHENES (‘ELOQUENCE’)

About 1790

This figure by Enoch Wood of the ancient Greek statesman Demosthenes (384-322 BC) is based on a piece by the sculptor John Cheere (1709-1787), or a plaster cast supplied by the sculptor Charles Harris (fl. 1795).

Earthenware

Probably made by Enoch Wood (1759-1840)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.32

 

7

VASE

Late 18th century

Vases were the ultimate symbol of the ancient world and became very fashionable in the late 18th century. The craze was so great that the Staffordshire potter Josiah

Wedgwood referred to ‘vase madness’. Designed for the drawing rooms of Neo-classical interiors, they were copied from classical originals or 17th and 18th century prints.

Derbyshire Blue John (fluorspar), silver and marble

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.49

 

8

CLOCK

About 1770

Musical automata clocks were particularly admired in the late 18th century. They were mainly made for the Chinese market, where the Neo-classical elements mixed with brightly coloured decoration were seen as the epitome of ‘western style’. The Catherine wheels revolve when the clock is working.

Gilt metal, enamel, brilliants and ebonised wood

Made by John Barbot

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.120

 

9

PEMBROKE TABLE

About 1790

Pembroke tables are light drop-leaf tables designed for occasional use. Furniture like this was popularised amongst the middle classes by books such as The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide (1788) by George Hepplewhite (about 1727-1786). Smaller firms in the provinces copied the designs that appeared in these books.

Satinwood and brass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.33

 

Rococo, Chinoiserie & Naturalism

 

1

Rococo porcelain

For centuries, porcelain imported from China and Japan was highly sought after by wealthy families throughout Europe. In the 18th century Germany was the first European country to discover the secrets of porcelain making. This led to porcelain factories being founded throughout Europe by aristocrats and monarchs, while in England they were founded as commercial ventures aimed at the middle classes.

 

Porcelain was an ideal material for expressing the Rococo style. It could be moulded into the elaborate ‘S’ and ‘C’ shaped scrolls associated with the style and its bright white surface could be painted with enamels in the Rococo colour palette of pinks, lilacs, yellows and greens.

 

SHELVES TO THE RIGHT OF THE CASE INTRODUCTION PANEL – FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

 

FIGURES OF A MERCHANT AND A MERCHANT’S WIFE

About 1764

The Frankenthal factory was one of many that sprung up in Germany after the secret of Meissen’s porcelain recipe became more widely known. Initially they imitated Meissen’s designs such as here, where the merchant’s wife is similar to an earlier work by Kändler, itself based on a painting by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779).

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Frankenthal porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.972 & C.973

 

FIGURES OF A SHEPHERD AND SHEPHERDESS

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.377 & C.378

 

GROUP OF TWO BOYS FEEDING A GOAT

About 1755

Porcelain

Made at the Longton Hall porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.453

 

FIGURE OF A CARPENTER

1748-1750

Meissen was the first porcelain factory in Europe, founded in 1710. The bases of their early figures were often covered in applied flowers to hide firing cracks. This changed as the factory improved its production techniques. Their bases became more Rococo in style, often featuring gilt scrollwork.

Germany

Porcelain

Modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775),

made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.904

 

VASES WITH LIDS

About 1765

This shape of these vases is typical of the asymmetrical Rococo style.

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Ansbach porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.988 & C.989

 

FIGURE

About 1770

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.387

 

GROUP OF A LADY AND HER TAILOR

About 1760

Many of the German porcelain factories made figure groups set against Rococo-inspired trellis and arbour backgrounds.

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Höchst porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.948

 

FIGURE GROUP (‘THE SLEEPER AWAKENED’)

About 1755

The Nymphenburg factory, set up in 1747, became one of the most important porcelain factories in Germany. Franz Anton Bustelli, the factory’s chief modeller from 1754, created works that epitomized the spirit of Rococo. Here the figures play an almost secondary role to the swirls of their Rococo surroundings.

Germany

Porcelain

Modelled by Franz Anton Bustelli (1723-1763),

made at the Nymphenburg porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.961

 

GROUP OF A LADY AND GALLANT

About 1770

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Höchst porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.953

 

CLOCK CASE

About 1759

This clock case was made to commemorate the death of the composer George Frederick Handel (1685-1759). The clock and watch cases made by the Bow porcelain factory were inspired by models made by Meissen.

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.209

 

FIGURE OF A LONDON DANDY (’THE SQUIRE OF ALSATIA’)

About 1755

This figure is from a series known as the ‘Cries of London’, based on an engraving by Marcellus Laroon (1653-1702). Even though the figure is dressed as an aristocrat it is based on a renowned gambler called ‘Bully’ Dawson, who lived in London in an area between the Thames and Fleet Street known in the 17th century as ‘Alsatia’.

Germany

Porcelain

Modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775),

made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.916

 

GROUP OF DIANA AND NYMPHS

About 1770

As the 18th century progressed, the influence of Neoclassical style, inspired by classical Roman and Greek design, began to spread. To start with in ceramics, classically inspired figures were simply placed in Rococo settings.

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Ludwigsburg porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.978

 

2

Chinoiserie

 

Chinoiserie was a style inspired by the art and design of China and Japan. In the 18th century porcelain and other products imported from the Far East were extremely fashionable. This led many European designers to imitate Chinese and Japanese design and to create their own imagined versions of the East. The Rococo and Chinoiserie styles were often used together in interiors or even combined in a single object. European porcelain, which was particularly inspired by Chinese and Japanese design, featured Chinese figures, fantastical landscapes and flowers and plants painted in an oriental manner.

 

SHELVES ON RIGHT HAND SIDE OF CASE – FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

 

TABLE CLOCK

About 1727

Made by Anthony Herbert, London

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.18

 

TEAPOT

About 1735

Japanese Kakiemon porcelain was highly prized in 18th century society and was imitated by all the main European porcelain factories. This teapot is decorated with a Kakiemon-inspired quail pattern.

France

Porcelain

Made at the Chantilly porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1028

 

FIGURE

About 1715

Figures of this type, sometime known as ‘Pagoda figures’, were based on Chinese porcelain originals. The European versions, however, tended to be parodies with large bellies and matching grins.

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.826

 

CUP AND SAUCER

1749-1752

The octagonal shape and the decoration of this cup and saucer are inspired by Japanese Kakiemon porcelain.

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.260 & C.261

 

CUP AND SAUCER

About 1735

Porcelain

Made at the Chantilly porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1030 & C.1031

 

TALL PLINTH UNDERNEATH – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

GOBLET

Mid 18th Century

Glass

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No.G.101

 

CHOCOLATE POT

1745-1750

Chocolate was a fashionable drink in wealthy society in the 18th century. The holes on the cover of this pot allowed a tablet of chocolate to be stirred into hot water or milk. It is decorated in the Japanese Kakiemon style, which describes the use of bright enamel colours on a fine white body.

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.891

 

PERFUME VASE

About 1725

The Viennese porcelain factory founded by Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier (d.1751) was the second European factory after Meissen to produce hard paste porcelain. Their early wares were influenced by oriental porcelain. Perfume vases such as this were filled with pot-pourri to fragrance rooms.

Austria

Porcelain

Made at the Du Paquier porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1074

 

FIGURE GROUP REPRESENTING TOUCH

1756

These figures are from a set representing the five senses. Sets of figure groups based on themes such as the senses, the seasons and the elements were popular with porcelain consumers. It was common for factories to add Chinese details such as dress and hair to figures whose style was otherwise wholly European.

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.361

 

NEXT PLINTH DOWN – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

PLATES

1730-1735

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.849 & C.850

 

DISH

About 1755

Chinese porcelain (and its European imitations) was categorised by colour palettes. This dish is painted in the famile rose style, characterised by the prominent use of a pink enamel.

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.282

 

SUGAR BOX AND COVER

About 1725

This sugar box would have formed part of a similarly decorated tea or coffee service. It was decorated by Johann Gregorius Höroldt, the chief decorator at Meissen from 1720, and is typical of his distinctive and extremely popular Chinoiserie style.

Germany

Porcelain

Decorated by Johann Gregorius Höroldt (1696-1775), made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.845

 

CENTRAL CASE PLINTH (RIGHT HAND SIDE)

 

TEA SET AND TRAVELLING CASE

1720-1725

Germany

Porcelain, silver gilt, leather and velvet

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory, spoon made by Philipp Jakob Jäger

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.831-837 & M.196

 

3

Naturalism

 

The use of natural motifs and naturalistic forms was a key part of the Rococo style. Porcelain was often painted with realistic and fanciful flowers, plants, insects and birds. Figures and tableware were made in the form of animals and vegetables, or applied with naturalistic mouldings.

 

CENTRAL PLINTH (LEFT HAND SIDE) – FROM BACK TO FRONT

 

DISH

1752-1756

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.287

 

TEAPOT IN THE SHAPE OF A CABBAGE

About 1755

Other English porcelain factories followed Chelsea’s lead by making teapots and tureens in naturalistic forms. This teapot was made at the Longton Hall porcelain factory in Staffordshire.

Porcelain

Made at the Longton Hall porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.455

 

DISH

1752 -1756

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.288

 

SAUCE BOAT

About 1755

Porcelain

Made at the Longton Hall porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.456

 

NEXT PLINTH ON THE LEFT – FROM BACK TO FRONT

 

PLATE

About 1760

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.212

 

CABBAGE LEAF MUG

1755-1760

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.178

 

DISH

About 1758

Porcelain

Made at the Longton Hall porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.464

 

SALT CELLAR

1750-1755

The Chelsea porcelain factory made crayfish salt cellars that were probably based on a print by the French Rococo silversmith Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750). Prints depicting plants and animals in ornamental arrangements were a major influence on the design of British Rococo porcelain and silver.

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.225

 

FIGURES OF PARROTS

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.205 & C.206

 

TALL PLINTH ON THE LEFT – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

FIGURE OF A COCKEREL

About 1755

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.919

 

TUREEN IN THE SHAPE OF A HEN AND CHICKS

1752-56

Meissen was the first factory in Europe to produce porcelain vessels in the shape of animals or vegetables. The Chelsea porcelain factory in England soon followed, making elaborate tureens in naturalistic animal forms. The hen and chicks forming this tureen were probably based on a print by

Francis Barlow (1626-1702).

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.306

 

European Ceramics

 

1

MEISSEN AND EUROPEAN PORCELAIN

 

The alchemist J.F. Böttger became the first European to discover the secrets of making porcelain, while working at the Dresden court of Augustus the Strong. From 1713 the Meissen porcelain factory made hard-paste porcelain, which was hard, strong (it was able to withstand boiling water, making it ideal for teapots) and very white.

 

Meissen did everything they could to protect their secrets but they spread to Vienna and Venice and soon porcelain was being made across Europe.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

GROUP OF HARLEQUIN AND LADY

About 1747

Germany

Porcelain

Modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775), made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.899

 

FIGURE OF AUGUSTUS III

About 1740

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.861

 

FIGURE OF AUGUSTUS II AS A MINER

About 1748

Germany

Porcelain

Modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775), made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.900

 

GROUP OF THE LOVERS

About 1745

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.871

 

COFFEE POT

About 1725

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.840

 

BOTTLES

About 1715

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.827&8

 

2

CHELSEA AND ENGLISH PORCELAIN

 

The first porcelain factories in England were commercial ventures run by entrepreneurs, who aimed their products at the middle classes. The Chelsea and Derby factories were the exception, catering for a more fashionable, upmarket clientele with decorative wares that were not meant for daily use.

Chelsea, the first real porcelain manufacturer in England, made soft-paste porcelain. It had a glassy composition (which couldn’t withstand the thermal shock of contact with boiling water) and a softer quality than the crisp moulding of hard-paste porcelain.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

LIBATION CUP

About 1750

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.224

 

COFFEE POT

About 1745

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.218

 

FIGURE OF A YOUTH

About 1750

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.358

 

JUG

About 1745

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.217

 

JUG

17451750

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.220

 

FIGURE OF A NURSE WITH A CHILD

About 1750

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.222

 

3

PORCELAIN FIGURES

 

The European porcelain figure was invented by the Meissen factory in Germany in the 1730s. To start with they were designed to be used as table ornaments during the dessert courses of grand dinners and only later began to be used to decorate rooms on mantelpieces and in cabinets. Most of the subjects used in early English porcelain figures were copied from Meissen originals.

 

BACK ROW – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

FIGURE OF A SHEPHERDESS

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.203

 

FIGURE OF A MUSICIAN

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.346

 

FIGURE OF A MAN

About 1770

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1116

 

MIDDLE ROW – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

FIGURE OF A SHEPHERD

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.202

 

FIGURE OF A SHEPHERD

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.381

 

FIGURE OF A SHEPHERDESS

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.382

 

FIGURE OF A WOMAN

About 1770

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1117

 

FRONT ROW – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

FIGURE OF A GIRL

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.379

 

FIGURE OF A YOUTH

About 1760

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.376

 

FIGURE OF A MUSICIAN

1760-1765

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.193

 

FIGURE OF A MUSICIAN

1760-1765

Porcelain

Made at the Bow porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.194

 

FIGURE OF A MASQUERADER

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.339

 

FIGURE OF A YOUTH

About 1770

Germany

Porcelain

Probably modelled by Friedrich Elias Meyer, made at the Berlin porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.940

 

4

GRAND DINING

 

The changing fashions of grand aristocratic dinners led to great demand for porcelain. Some pieces were purely decorative, while others performed useful functions. Figures carrying shells or baskets, porcelain tureens and tiered centrepieces acted both as serving dishes and focal points for table decoration.

 

BACK ROW – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

PLATE

1752-1756

Porcelain

Made at Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.270

 

PLATE

1760

Porcelain

Made at Worcester porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.582

 

PLATE

1765

Porcelain

Made at Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.354

 

FRONT ROW – FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

FIGURE OF A GALLANT

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain Factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.340

 

PAIR OF MUSTARD POTS AND A PEPPER POT

About 1765

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Ansbach porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.984, 985 & 986

 

TUREEN IN THE FORM OF A DUCK

1745-1750

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.897

 

TUREEN IN THE FORM OF A CRESTED DUCK

1752-1756

 

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.295

 

TUREEN IN THE FORM OF A NESTING PIGEON

About 1755

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.362

 

FIGURE OF A LADY

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain Factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.341

 

5

BEDROOMS AND DRESSING ROOMS

The fashion for ornamental porcelain spread from the dining table throughout the rooms of wealthier houses. Advertisements from the time show that porcelain was intended for mantelpieces and cabinets as well as to be set out on the dressing tables of fashionable Georgian ladies. Other pieces were collected by men to be displayed on library tables and desks.

 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

 

EWER

1745-50

Germany

Porcelain with silver foot

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.895

 

CANDLESTICK

About 1770

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1118

 

CANDLESTICK

About 1765

Porcelain

Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.348

 

CANDLESTICK

About 1770

Porcelain

Made at the Derby porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1119

 

EWER

About 1765

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Hochst porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.949

 

SNUFF BOX

1740-1750

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory, decorated by Christian Friedrich Herold (1700-1779)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.864

 

BEAKER AND LID

About 1730

Germany

Porcelain

Made at the Meissen porcelain factory

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.848

 

Historical Revivals

 

Eclectic Styles

 

For the first half of the 19th century designers used a huge range of different styles in the decorative arts. Many of these were based on revivals of historical styles and designers often mixed together different elements to create something new.

 

1

FIRE SCREEN

About 1845

This fire screen combines features inspired by the Rococo (the scrolling feet) and Elizabethan design (the strap-work decoration around the frame). It is typical of the way designers in the early Victorian period mixed different historical styles together. The frame would have once held a wool-work tapestry picture.

Wood with moulded plaster decoration

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.65

 

Rococo Revival or the ‘French Style’

 

Rococo was a flamboyant style popular in Britain and France in the 18th century. It is characterised by bright, sugary colours, ‘S’ and ‘C’ shaped scrolls, and natural motifs. The style became popular again in the 1820s. King George IV was an admirer of the

‘French Style’, as it was known, and collected 18th century French decorative arts.

 

2

DISH WITH LID

About 1830

Porcelain painted with enamels and gilded

Made by Coalport

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.740

 

3

VASE WITH LID

About 1830

These objects, which are amongst the latest ceramics collected by Cecil Higgins, are typical of the ‘French Style’ of the 1820s and ‘30s. Companies such as Coalport catered for the revival of interest in 18th century porcelain with extravagantly-decorated wares which were sold through fashionable china retailers in London.

Porcelain painted with enamels and gilded

Made by Coalport

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.738

 

4

BASKET

About 1830

Porcelain painted with enamels and gilded

Made by Rockingham

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.748

 

5

VASES

1825-1830

Porcelain painted with enamels and gilded

Made by Rockingham

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.744-746

 

6

TEAPOT

About 1830

Porcelain painted with enamels and gilded

Made by Coalport

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.739

Renaissance revival

In the mid 19th century a number of designers looked to the Italian Renaissance for inspiration. From the 1850s to the 1870s this became the standard style for middle-class houses. Renaissance-inspired designs weren’t limited to architecture. Interiors and household objects were also designed in the style.

 

7 DISH

1871

Earthenware, mould-made, with coloured glazes

Made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with assistance from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1174

 

8 DISH

1870-1879

Francis Wollaston Moody was an Instructor in Decorative Art at the South Kensington School of Design. The School, along with the South Kensington Museum opened in 1857 (now the Victoria & Albert Museum) helped promote the use of Renaissance style in the decorative arts.

Earthenware with coloured glazes

Designed and decorated by Francis Wollaston Moody (1824-1886), made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with assistance from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1141

 

Majolica

 

The ceramic manufacturers Minton were inspired by Renaissance designs, including 16th century Italian maiolica, a type of tinglazed pottery. They developed their own version with the same vibrant colours and glossy finish. Majolica wares, as they became known, were shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and remained popular throughout the 19th century.

 

9

DISH WITH FIGURES

1871

Earthenware, mould-made, with coloured glazes

Made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with assistance from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1140

 

10

SAUCE BOAT

1869

Earthenware, mould-made, with coloured glazes

Made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with assistance from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1139

 

Classical revival

 

Classical styles inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art moved in and out of fashion throughout the 19th century. To some people classical subjects represented the highest possible taste as they suggested familiarity with Greek and Latin and an expensive education. Archaeological discoveries such as those at Pompeii in Italy also kept interest in classical styles alive.

 

11

CLARET JUG

About 1865

The shape of this jug is inspired by high-shouldered amphorae from classical antiquity. The jug is decorated (in this case engraved) with a classical scene depicting the return of Odysseus as described in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.

Glass

Made by Stevens & Williams Ltd. of Stourbridge

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.363

 

12

PAIR OF GLASSES

About 1865

The story of Homer’s Odyssey continues on these two glasses, which depict Odysseus’ wife Penelope having a dream that she describes to her husband on his return.

Glass

Made by Stevens & Williams Ltd. of Stourbridge

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.364 & G.365

 

Parianware

 

Parian was developed in the 1840s as a way of making busts and statuettes by pouring a type of liquid porcelain into a mould. Parian became popular with the middle classes because owning figures like these suggested a link to the marble statues of classical antiquity, which were associated with aristocratic taste.

 

13

FIGURE OF HEBE AND THE EAGLE

About 1855

In Greek and Roman mythology Hebe, the daughter of Jupiter and Juno, was the goddess of youth whose role it was to serve drinks to the gods. Carrier de Belleuse chose this subject on several occasions, most notably in a bronze version that is now in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Parian porcelain

Modelled by Albert-Ernst Carrier de Belleuse (1824-1887), made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1191

 

14

FIGURE OF CUPID RIDING A SEAHORSE

1868

Albert-Ernst Carrier de Belleuse worked for Minton between 1850 and 1855. He produced a number of sculptural figures on classical and Renaissance themes. Because parian figures were made from a mould, Minton were able to continue the production of his designs after he stopped working for them.

Parian porcelain

Modelled by Albert-Ernst Carrier de Belleuse (1824-1887), made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1190

 

Pâte-sur-pâte

 

The pâte-sur-pâte (‘paste on paste’) technique involved building up areas of low sculptural relief on the surface of a pot using layers of slip. It was discovered by the Sevres factory in Paris in the 1850s and brought to Minton by Marc-Louis Solon. The technique was used to create expensive ceramic imitations of ancient Roman engraved glass.

 

15

PAIR OF VASES

1874

The form of these vases is based on ancient Roman amphorae. The decoration is similar in style to Solon’s copy of the Portland Vase, an ancient Roman glass vase

in the British Museum, which he also made in 1874. Minton’s called these multi-coloured versions of their pâte-sur-pâte wares Pompeiian or Etruscan.

Porcelain with coloured glazes, pâte-sur-pâte decoration and gold paint

Designed and decorated by Marc Louis Solon (1835-1913), made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with assistance from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1176 & C.1177

 

16

PAIR OF VASES

1896-1898

Although the decoration on these vases is inspired by Roman cameo glass, their shape is very different from classical examples. They are decorated with classical figures representing the virtues of faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice and temperance.

Porcelain with dark-brown glaze, pâte-sur-pâte decoration and gold paint.

Designed and decorated by Marc Louis Solon (1835-1913), made by Minton & Co., Stoke-on-Trent

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1178 & C.1179

 

Arts & Crafts Metalwork

 

W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

 

W.A.S. Benson produced some of the most inventive metalwork of the Arts and Crafts movement. His distinctive lighting designs combined brass and copper and relied on simple floral forms rather than surface decoration. They also used the reflective qualities of metal to enhance the light source.

Benson was a leading figure of the movement, having helped to found the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1888. However, unlike fellow designers such as William Morris he embraced the potential of machine production. He experimented with new technologies and was one of the first lighting designers to develop electric fittings.

 

1

ELECTRIC TABLE LAMP

About 1890

Brass

Designed and manufactured by W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.362

 

2

OIL TABLE LAMP

About 1895

Benson designed this type of light-reflecting lamp shade to ‘throw a brilliant light upon the dining table without distressing the eye by any glare’. The use of brass and copper also had the effect of warming the colour of the light cast by oil and gas lamps.

Copper, brass and glass

Designed and manufactured by W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.361

 

3

TABLE KETTLE AND SPIRIT BURNER

About 1900

Although Benson is best known for his lighting designs, domestic metalwares were also a large part of his business. In his catalogue for 1899-1900 he lists twelve kettles and stands in several formats, including freestanding floor kettles.

Electroplated copper and brass

Designed and manufactured by W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M. 246 & M.247

 

9

ELECTRIC LAMP

About 1890

Benson embraced the new technology of electric lighting as it developed in the late 19th century, helping his business to expand rapidly. As well as developing electric lights he continued to make oil and gas lamps, using similar designs for both types of product.

Copper and brass

Designed and manufactured by W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.367

 

10

TABLE LAMP

1890s

Copper and brass

Designed and manufactured by W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.359

 

John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

 

John Paul Cooper trained as an architect before taking up metalworking in 1887. In 1904 he became Head of Metalwork at the Central School of Art and Crafts in Birmingham, where he helped train craftsmen to make products to their own designs.

 

4

CHALICE

1908

The embossed roundels on the foot of this chalice represent religious symbols including the Virgin and Child, The Annunciation and the Lily and the Vine.

Silver with parcel gilt set with semiprecious stones

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.248

 

5

NECKLACE

1912

Cooper also designed jewellery. Unusually, he often designed a piece around a selection of polished stones, rather than creating the design first and then finding suitable gems. He preferred to make jewellery by hand using medieval

techniques rather than modern machines.

Gold set with semiprecious stones

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.352

 

6

TEAPOT

About 1906

This tea set is typical of the domestic wares that Cooper made while he was working in Birmingham. For these he used strong, simple shapes with equally simple decoration.

Silver

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.377

 

MILK JUG

About 1905

Silver

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.378

 

SUGAR BOWL

About 1903

Silver

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.379

 

SPOON

About 1905

Silver

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.380

 

7

POT POURRI JAR

1908

Copper and silver

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.354

 

8

COCONUT CUP

1915

Cooper specialised in combining different materials to make unusual products. He often used natural materials such as shagreen (shark skin) along with silver. Here, he has used one half of a polished coconut to form a bowl, a design he first experimented with in 1911.

Silver and polished coconut

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.353

 

11

COFFEE POT

Early 20th century

The Keswick School of Industrial Art in Cumbria was founded in the 1880s to offer winter work to local people employed in the town’s seasonal tourism industry. The School had a strong Arts and Crafts ethos and all of the pieces produced there were made by hand.

Gilt metal with a cane handle

Made at the Keswick School of Industrial Art

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.375

 

12

DISH

1895

John Pearson was a founder member of the Guild of Handicraft in London and supplied work to Morris & Co. He made this dish while he was the principal tutor at the Newlyn Industrial Class in Cornwall. The Class produced work influenced by the local fishing industry as well as pieces featuring Pearson’s designs of fantastical sea creatures and mythical beasts.

Beaten copper

Designed and made by John Pearson (1859-1930)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.251

 

Arts & Crafts Style

 

1

CLOCK 1905–1906

The architect and designer C.F.A. Voysey was influenced by William Morris but developed his own light, elegant style. This clock, armchair and fireplace companion set formed part of Voysey’s interior design work for the offices of the Essex and Suffolk Equitable Insurance Company in New Broad Street, London.

Oak and brass

Designed by C.F.A. Voysey (1857–1941)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.96

 

2

STAND AND FIRE IRONS

1905–1906

Voysey included similar fire irons, with and without stands, in many of his interior design commissions. They appear at Garden Corner in Chelsea, the house he designed for the politician Emslie Horniman (1863-1932), as well as his own house, The Orchard in Chorleywood. The design includes two of his most frequently used motifs, hearts and birds.

Iron, copper and brass

Designed by C.F.A. Voysey (1857-1941), probably made by Thomas Elsley & Co. Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.253–256

 

3

ARMCHAIR

1905–1906

Voysey’s furniture designs are deceptively simple. He used decoration sparingly, stating that ‘to be simple is the end, not the beginning, of design’. He relied on the quality of the wood used and made sure that the methods of construction were visible in the finished designs.

Oak with cane seat

Designed by C.F.A. Voysey (1857–1941)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.97

 

4

FIRESCREEN

About 1900

William Morris had admired medieval tapestries since he was a child and completed his first tapestry on a loom in his bedroom at Kelmscott House in 1879. His first tapestry apprentice was John Henry Dearle, who had joined Morris & Co. as a showroom assistant in 1878. Mahogany, wool and cotton

Tapestry designed by John Henry Dearle (1860–1932), woodwork designed by George Jack (1855–1932), made by Morris & Co.

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.105

 

5

TABLE

1896

Unlike William Morris, who favoured traditional craft techniques, the designer W.A.S. Benson embraced industrial manufacturing processes. The ‘lily pad’ tray, so called because of its design of overlapping petals, was one of his main stock lines. It was also sold mounted as a table as in the example shown here. Brass, copper and cast iron

Designed by W.A.S. Benson (1854-1924)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.245

 

6

FORTUNE’S TREASURE CHEST

1898

The Arts & Crafts movement led to the revival of many traditional manufacturing methods. Alexander Fisher played a key role in the revival of enamelling techniques. He had studied in Paris before setting up his own studio in London. He specialised in decorative objects featuring painted enamels with figures influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites.

Made by Alexander Fisher (1864-1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.249

 

7

CLOCK

1901

Baillie Scott was one of the most original architects working around 1900. In 1901 he moved to Bedford where he designed furniture made at John P. White’s Pyghtle Works in Queen’s Park. The pieces were highly prized in Europe and America where Scott was very influential. Few recorded examples of the furniture survive.

Inlaid oak and copper

Designed by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865–1945)

Made by John P. White at The Pyghtle Works, Bedford

Bought with the assistance of Art Fund and Arts Council England/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.164

 

WILLIAM DE MORGAN (1839–1917)

 

William de Morgan was one of the most influential Arts and Crafts designers. He began his career designing stained glass and decorated tiles for Morris & Co. before opening his own pottery making hand painted jars, plates and tiles. These were sold in huge numbers for the decoration of fireplaces and walls. De Morgan’s tiles and ceramics perfectly complimented Morris & Co.’s wallpapers and textiles. His early designs show Morris’ influence but over time he was inspired by a wider range of sources, from medieval ships and mythical beasts to Greek pottery. He was particularly influenced by the brilliant colours of medieval Islamic pottery.

 

8

POT

About 1897

Although De Morgan’s pottery produced its own pots and vases, a large number were bought in ready-made from other manufacturers and then decorated with De Morgan’s designs. Fantastical sea creatures with serpent-like tails and fins exaggerated to look almost like wings appear on many of the company’s tiles and vases.

Earthenware

Designed by William Frend de Morgan (1839-1917)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1244

 

9

PAIR OF JARS

About 1894

One of De Morgan’s largest commissions was to produce tiles for the Tsar of Russia’s Royal Steam Yacht, the Livadia. These jars were a further commission from the Tsar for his new summer palace on the imperial estate on the Black Sea but they were never delivered.

Earthenware

Designed by William Frend de Morgan (1839-1917), made at the Sands End Pottery, Fulham

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1168&C.1169

 

10

DISH

About 1900

De Morgan was inspired by Iznik pottery, Islamic Turkish ceramics from the 15th and 16th centuries. He developed his own range of ‘Persian’ ceramics using the distinctive Iznik palette of deep purples, blues and greens. This dish was painted by Charles Passenger who, along with his brother Fred, was one of De Morgan’s most talented decorators.

Earthenware

Designed by William Frend de Morgan (1839-1917), painted by Charles Passenger

Handley-Read Collection

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1144

 

11

DISH

About 1900

De Morgan rediscovered the ancient technique of lustre ware, pottery with an iridescent metallic glaze. He first saw it on Hispano-Moresque pottery from medieval Islamic Spain. Large southern-Spanish bowls featuring ships were a favourite source of inspiration for De Morgan, who often used galleons as a motif.

Earthenware Designed by William Frend de Morgan (1839-1917), painted by Charles Passenger

Handley-Read Collection

Private Collection

 

Aesthetic Ceramics

 

1

The Justice and The Last Scene of All

1873

The artist Henry Stacy Marks was a one of a number of designers who worked for the Minton Art Pottery Studio. These plaques are from a set of seven featuring scenes from Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Ages of Man’. The designs were reproduced many times by Minton on both rectangular and circular plaques as well as on tiles.

Designed by Henry Stacey Marks (1829-1898), made by Minton & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1154 & C.1155

 

Tiles

 

The Aesthetic movement played an important role in the growth of the Victorian tile industry. The influence of Aesthetic designers made the made the public more aware of ‘Art’ and ‘Beauty’ and decorative tiles became an inexpensive way for the fashionable middle classes to fill their homes with items of good taste.

 

2

TILES

About 1872

Morris & Co. made a small number of hand painted tiles for their interior design work. These tiles, probably designed by E.C. Burne-Jones, come from the music shop Novello & Co., which was decorated by Morris & Co. in the late 1860s.

Earthenware

Probably designed by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898), made by Morris & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1204-1206

 

3

TILES

About 1867

These tiles were painted by the artist Henry Holiday. They depict the Hans Christian Andersen story of the Little Mermaid. Fairytales and folklore subjects were popular with the artists of the Aesthetic movement.

Earthenware

Designed by Henry Holiday (1839-1927), made by Minton Hollins & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1200-1203

 

4

TILE

About 1878

Walter Crane produced designs for the tile manufacturer Maw & Co. in 1874. The firm, the largest of its kind in the world, made a limited number of hand painted art tiles alongside its mass-produced main ranges. This tile is from a series by Crane which depict the four times of day: dawn, noon, evening and night.

Earthenware

Designed by Walter Crane (1845-1915), made by Maw & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1198

 

Minton Art Pottery

 

The ceramic manufacturers Minton & Co set up an Art Pottery studio in Kensington, London in the 1870s in response to a growing demand for painted ceramics to fill artistic homes. Unusually for the time, many pieces were painted by women who learnt the skill at porcelain painting classes held at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum).

 

5

PLATE

1873

Earthenware

Made by Minton & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1153

 

6

PLATE

1869

Earthenware

Designed by William Stephen Coleman (1829 -1904), made by Minton & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1152

 

John Paul Cooper and Enamelling

 

1

THE STYX

About 1905

Fisher often used mythological subjects in his work. In Greek mythology the river Styx separated earth from the underworld of Hades. The souls of the dead were ferried across by the ferryman Charon, whose fee was the coin that it was customary for the dead of Ancient Greece to be buried with.

Enamel on copper

Designed and made by Alexander Fisher (1864-1936)

Handley-Read Collection Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.250

 

2

FALLING STAR

About 1906

Alexander Fisher’s assistant Percy Oswald Reeves became an influential figure of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement. He set up metalwork and enamelling workshops at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. This piece was exhibited alongside his students’ work at the 1907 Irish International Exhibition in Dublin.

Silver plated copper with enamel

Designed and made by Percy Oswald Reeves (1870-1967)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.252

 

JOHN PAUL COOPER AND GESSO WORK

 

John Paul Cooper trained under the Arts and Crafts architect J.D. Sedding (1838-1891). He was inspired by the movement’s philosophy of craftsmanship and began to make gesso boxes, jewellery and metalwork inspired by natural forms, medieval architecture and classical myths. Gesso is a mixture of glue and plaster of Paris that can be applied to wood and other materials as a surface for paint. The technique was revived by the artist Walter Crane (1845-1915), who used it to great effect for wall decorations. Cooper’s own gesso work was made in collaboration with his wife May Morgan Oliver (1876-1954).

 

3

MIRROR

1902

Cooper often used decorative motifs that reflected the purpose or use of an object. On this mirror he has used mother-of-pearl to create a design in the form of a plant commonly known as Venus’ comb. Gesso with mother of pearl decoration

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.94

 

4

SEWING BOX

About 1902

Walnut with gesso decoration

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.119

 

5

JEWELLERY BOX

About 1900

This box was exhibited at the 1903 Arts and Crafts Society exhibition. It is decorated entirely with mother-of-pearl, which Cooper described as having ‘the dreaming shining peaceful atmosphere one associates...with the depths of the sea’. For this box he used naturally curved shell pieces, a very labour intensive technique.

Ebony with mother-of-pearl

Designed and made by John Paul Cooper (1869-1933)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.93

 

6

BOX

After 1898

Cooper was largely responsible for the revival of shagreen, the skin of shark or ray filed flat. It had been popular in the 18th century but the process had been forgotten until Cooper began experimenting with it in 1898. In his early work he kept the shagreens natural brown colour, later he stained it yellow, purple, blue or red. Walnut with shagreen and silver

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.383

 

Art Nouveau and Art Pottery

 

French Glass

 

The late 19th century saw great experimentation in glassmaking in France. The city of Nancy in the Lorraine region was a thriving centre of production. Both the Emile Gallé and the Daum Frères glass factories were located there.

 

1

VASE

About 1900

Brothers Jean-Louis-Auguste (1853-1909) and Jean-Antonin (1864-1930) Daum produced decorative art glass. They were influenced by Emile Gallé’s fascination with natural forms. This vase is decorated with narcissi and was made using the marqueterie de verre technique inspired by marquetry in wood.

France

Glass

Made by Daum Frères glassworks

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.367

 

13

VASE

1900–1930

glass

Made by Daum Frères Glassworks, France

From the collection of James F. Lynch

 

16

TABLE LAMP

1900–1930

glass

Made by Daum Frères Glassworks, France

From the collection of James F. Lynch

 

2

VASE

About 1901

Emile Gallé was one of the pioneers of Art Nouveau glass. He produced lamps, vases and tableware at the same time as developing original techniques for making and decorating glass. A trained botanist, he was particularly attracted to natural forms, such as the orchid decoration used on this vase.

France

Glass and bronze

Designed by Emile Charles Martin Gallé (1846-1904) and made at Cristallerie de Gallé

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.369

 

3

VASE

About 1900

Like many of his contemporaries, Gallé was influenced by Japanese and Chinese style. He probably first saw examples of Far Eastern design at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He copied Japanese shapes and decorative features, such as the popular motifs of seaweed and shells.

France

Glass

Designed by Emile Charles Martin Gallé (1846-1904) and made at Cristallerie de Gallé

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.368

 

4

VASE DE BOUGIVAL

1899

The French porcelain factory of Sevres produced a wide range of ceramics in the Art Nouveau style. This vase was part of a series named after notable French cites. Bougival, a suburb of Paris, was considered to be the birthplace of the Impressionist movement in painting.

France

Porcelain

Designed by Geneviève Rault and decorated by Louis Trager (active 1888-1909), made at the Sevres porcelain factory

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1183

 

5

VASE

1901

Some of the finest Art Nouveau porcelain was made at the Rozenburg factory based in The Hague. Under the direction of J. Juriaan Kok the factory made delicate china known as ‘eggshell’ porcelain. The factory used organic forms and curving lines as well as Japanese-inspired decoration.

The Netherlands

Porcelain

Designed by J. Juriaan Kok (1861-1919), made at the Rozenburg porcelain factory, The Hague

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1182

 

14

TWIN-HANDLED VASE

after 1903

The success of Rozenburg’s floral patterned ceramics led to other factories in the Netherlands to capitalise on the new style. In 1898 E. Estié & Co, later renamed NV Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland, was founded in Gouda. The factories’ richly decorated ceramics in an art nouveau style were cheaper than Rozenburg’s and forced the rival to find more cost effective ways of production.

earthenware

Made by N.V. Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland

From the collection of James F. Lynch

 

6

COFFEE POT

1912

This coffee pot is a good example of the way Sevres was inspired by natural forms. It formed part of a larger set designed by Léon Kann where each piece was encased with a fennel plant and the lids were decorated with different insect motifs – in this case a cockroach.

France

Porcelain

Designed by Léon Kann (active 1896–1915), made by the Sevres porcelain factory

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1185

 

7

VASE AND COVER

About 1904

The French goldsmith Eugene Feuillâtre (1870-1916) was considered one of the Art Nouveau movement’s finest enamellers. He supplied work to Tiffany’s in New York and regularly exhibited his own work at the Paris Salon. The subtle colours used in this vase are typical of his painted enamel decoration.

France

Silver, parcel gilt and enamel

Designed and made by Eugène Feuillâtre (1870-1916)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. M.257

 

8

BOWL

About 1900

The Hungarian factory of Zsolnay used glazes inspired by Italian Renaissance maiolica to produce highly coloured Art Nouveau ceramics. They called their iridescent glaze Eosin, from the Greek ‘eos’, meaning ‘flush of dawn’.

Hungary

Earthenware

Made by the Zsolnay ceramics factory, Pécs

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1186

 

9

VASE

About 1900

Hungary

Earthenware

Made by the Zsolnay ceramics factory, Pécs

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1187

 

13

TILE

About 1901

The famous Staffordshire firm of Minton & Co. produced ceramics in the Art Nouveau style. As well as mass produced moulded tiles, they made ceramics that were decorated by hand. This tile was designed by Leon Victor Solon, Minton’smost successful Art Nouveau designer. It is decorated with layers of hand painted enamels.

Earthenware

Designed by Léon-Victor Solon (1872-1957), made by Minton & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1180

 

Tiffany & Co.

 

The American flowering of the Art Nouveau style was led by Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose iridescent glass was widely praised and imitated across Europe. Tiffany was inspired by William Morris and the Aesthetic movement, establishing a firm of interior designers who decorated many private and public buildings in New York.

 

Tiffany’s main fame came from his work with glass, particularly his handmade iridescent glass known as ‘Favrile’ from the old English ‘fabrile’, meaning handcrafted. He set up a factory making hand-blown art glass on Long Island.

 

Tiffany experimented with treating glass with metal oxides and acid fumes to try and recreate the iridescent effects seen on ancient Roman glass. The glass he made, with its dazzling colours and natural forms, was the epitome of the American Art Nouveau style.

 

10

CANDLESTICKS

About 1900

USA

Glass and bronze

Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.370-371

 

11

VASE

About 1900

Glass

Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), New York, America

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.373

 

12

VASE

About 1900

USA

Glass

Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), New York, America

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.372

 

Doulton

 

The Lambeth Art Pottery was a collaboration between Doulton and the Lambeth School of Art. It was run as an experimental art pottery run alongside the company’s main production of utilitarian wares. Doulton stuck to the principals of craftsmanship by not duplicating designs and by allowing their artists to both design and decorate their own pieces.

 

Many of the artists employed by Doulton were female. The pottery offered respectable employment at a time when there were few career possibilities for middle-class women. Henry Doulton (1820-1897) encouraged his employees to initial or monogram their individual pots, thereby publicly recognising their contributions.

 

1

VASE

1874

Hannah, Florence and Arthur Barlow worked for Doulton from the 1870s onwards. Arthur Barlow’s style consisted mainly of simple, subtle pots with incised scroll and leaf designs. While his sisters stayed at Doulton until well into the 20th century, Arthur’s career was cut short by his early death in 1878.

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Royal Doulton, decorated by Arthur Barlow

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1171

 

2

VASE

1883

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Royal Doulton, decorated by Edith Rogers and Emma Martin

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1172

 

3

VASE

1870-1880

Stoneware

Made by Royal Doulton, decorated by Eliza Simmance (1873-1928)

Handley-Read Collection

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1267

 

4

JUG

About 1872

George Tinworth was the first student from the Lambeth School of Art to be employed by Doulton as a full-time artist. Over his long career at the firm he made panels, figures and pots with incised decoration.

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Royal Doulton, decorated by George Tinworth (1843-1913)

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1170

 

5&7

VASES

1886

Hannah Barlow was the first woman to be employed by Henry Doulton. She became one of the company’s most popular artists, known for her incised studies of animals.

Her success led Doulton to employ more female artists and ten years after Barlow started at the company there were over 200 women employed as artists and assistants.

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Royal Doulton, decorated by Hannah Barlow (1851-1916)

Hull-Grundy Collection

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1225 & C.1226

 

6

VASE

1884

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Royal Doulton, decorated by William Parker (1870-1916) and Elizabeth J. Adams

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1145

 

Pilkington’s Tile and Pottery Company

 

Pilkington’s Tile and Pottery Co. was set up in 1892 at Clifton Junction in Manchester. It was known for producing pots with a wide range of different glazes and coloured lustres (substances put on the surface of pots to give a polished or glossed finish).

 

8

VASE

1907

William (1863-1941) and Joseph Burton, both trained chemists, were responsible for the development of Pilkington’s wide range of glazes and lustres. This vase is decorated with their ‘sunstone’ glaze, described by the Burtons as containing ‘clouds of golden crystals’.

Earthenware

Made by Pilkington’s Tile and Pottery Company

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1164

 

Elton Ware

 

Sir Edmund Harry Elton started his Sunflower Pottery in the stable yard of Clevedon Court, the estate in Somerset he had inherited from his uncle. He was entirely self-taught, developing his own method by trial and error. After some initial failures he succeeded in making wares from local clay that achieved international success.

 

9

VASE

After 1900

After 1902 Elton began to experiment with metallic effects, developing a method of applying a metallic glaze on top of a heavily crackled surface. Pots decorated in this way became the best known examples of his work.

Earthenware

Made by Sir Edmund Harry Elton (1846-1920) at the Sunflower Pottery

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1160

 

10

VASE

1900-1910

Another version of the crackle technique was to add the metallic glaze on top of a coloured glaze. Here gold has been added over a green colour, which was a popular combination used at the pottery.

Earthenware

Made by Sir Edmund Harry Elton (1846-1920) at the Sunflower Pottery

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1161

 

Martin ware

 

The Martin Brothers pottery in London was probably the most creative of the art potteries. They worked exclusively in salt-glazed stoneware, creating fantastic and grotesque wares influenced by a wide variety of sources from Japanese wood cuts to 16th century German stoneware.

 

Each piece of Martin ware was individually hand-tooled and had a unique colour and texture resulting from the salt-glaze firing process. The pottery’s kiln was fired twice a year but the firings were seldom a complete success with a third of each batch being ruined.

 

Robert Wallace Martin was the head of the firm and responsible for throwing and modeling. Walter Fraser Martin (1857-1912) was responsible for decorating, Edwin Bruce Martin (1860-1915) for glaze development, and Charles Douglas Martin (1846-1901) for sales.

 

11

VASE

1876

Salt-glazed stoneware

Probably modeled by Robert Wallace Martin (1843-1923), made by Martin Brothers

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1149

 

12

VASE

1875

Salt-glazed stoneware

Probably modeled by Robert Wallace Martin (1843-1923), made by Martin Brothers

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1147

 

13

VASE

About 1875

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Martin Brothers

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1148

 

14

JARDINÈRE

1897

Stoneware

Made by Martin Brothers

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1240

 

15

JARDINÈRE

About 1894

Stoneware

Made by Martin Brothers

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1256

 

16

VASE

1896

Salt-glazed stoneware

Made by Martin Brothers

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1175

 

17

VASE

1911

Stoneware

Made by Martin Brothers

Hull Grundy Collection

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1227

 

Bernard Moore

 

Bernard Moore was a chemist-potter. His main income came as a consultant to firms such as Wedgwood and Doulton, whom he advised on body composition and firing temperatures. In 1905 he set up his own workshop in Stoke-on-Trent where he experimented with glazes inspired by Chinese ceramics.

 

18

PLATE

About 1910

Earthenware

Designed by Bernard Moore (1850-1935)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1110

 

19

PLATE

About 1910

Earthenware

Designed by Bernard Moore (1850-1935)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.111

 

William Moorcroft and James Macintyre & Co.

 

William Moorcroft is perhaps the best known of the art potters. After training in London and Paris he became the chief designer for the new art pottery department at James McIntyre & Co. in Burslem, Staffordshire, before later setting up his own pottery. He used highly lustred glazes and oriental shapes and decorations.

 

20

VASE

About 1910

William Moorcroft specialised in raised slip decoration, a medieval technique of trailing slip (liquid clay) by hand over the surface of a pot. This vase is from the ‘Cornflower’ range, one of Moorcroft’s most popular designs.

Earthenware

Designed by William Moorcroft (1872-1945), made by James Macintyre & Co.

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1173

 

The Ruskin Pottery

 

The Ruskin Pottery in Smethwick near Birmingham was named after the writer and critic John Ruskin (1819-1900), who believed in the reforming power of beauty in everyday life. The pottery, which tried to achieve ‘good potting, beauty in form and rich or tender colourings’, specialised in vases of simple form decorated with rich innovative glaze effects.

 

21

BOWL AND COVER

About 1905

Stoneware

Made by William Howson Taylor (1876-1935) at the Ruskin Pottery

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1165

 

22

VASE

About 1905

Stoneware

Made by William Howson Taylor (1876-1935) at the Ruskin Pottery

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1166

 

23

VASE AND COVER

1908

Stoneware

Made by William Howson Taylor (1876-1935) at the Ruskin Pottery

Handley-Read Collection

Bought with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1167

 

20th Century

 

Whitefriars Glass

 

James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars, made hand-blown domestic glass ware and stained glass influenced by the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement. By the turn of the 20th century the firm was acknowledged as amongst the very

best glassmakers.

 

From the 1860s, 16th and 17th century Venetian glass became very collectable, so Whitefriars began to make glass inspired by these historical examples. Another source of inspiration was ancient Roman glass and ceramics, which were imaginatively reinterpreted and adapted to suit the company’s style of simple, elegant forms.

 

The collection shown here features many pieces that were designed by Harry J. Powell, the factory’s chief designer in the late 19th and early 20th century. Powell kept them as a record of his work for the company.

 

1

‘ROMAN’ VASE

About 1910

Powell made a vase of this form for a lecture he gave at the Society of Antiquaries. The lecture was on a Roman vase of a similar design with unusual internal ‘tubes’ and Powell made this copy to illustrate the technique.

Green soda glass

Made by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922)

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.414

 

2

‘KING MINOS’ VASE

1903

Many 19th and early 20th century designers were influenced by excavations of archaeological sites. This vase is inspired by clay storage jars called pithoi that were found during excavations at the palace of Knossos on Crete, the home of the mythical King Minos.

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with engraving and applied decorative handles

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.406

 

3

VASE

About 1896

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with applied decoration

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.400

 

4

GOBLET

1910

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with applied decoration

Designed and made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.433

 

5

‘SERPENT’ OR ‘COMET’ VASE

1910-1920

This design was inspired by a glass Powell saw in a painting by Hubert van Ravesteyn (1638-about 1683) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with applied decoration.

Designed and made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.434

 

6

‘LOTUS’ VASE

1912-1920

The engraved lotus pattern on this vase was based on an Egyptian pottery goblet in the British Museum.

‘Sky blue’ lead glass with engraving

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.397

 

7

VASE

About 1910

The vase is made of a light green glass the company called ‘Sea Green’.

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with applied decoration

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.396

 

8

GOBLET

1909-1922

The trailed pattern on this goblet is inspired by Roman glass.

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with applied decoration and gold foil embedded in knop

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.413

 

9

‘TEAR’ VASE

About 1910

This popular vase was designed in about 1910 and continued to be made until the 1930s. The vase is decorated with ‘tears’ of applied glass in a shade of purple the company called ‘amethyst’.

Clear lead glass with applied decoration

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.402

 

10

GOBLET

1909-1922

The applied chain-like decoration on this goblet was based on a motif on a Roman vessel that Harry Powell studied in a French museum.

Clear lead glass with applied decoration

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.401

 

11

DECANTER

1904

Clear lead glass with applied decoration, silver collar inlaid with blister pearls

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.405

 

12

VASE

1902

The inscription carillon des joie is French for ‘chimes of joy’. The engraved bluebells are symbolic of gratitude.

Clear lead glass with applied decoration

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.415

 

13

DECANTER

1900-1910

Clear lead glass with applied decoration and gold foil

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.411

 

14

VASE

1910

This vase is one of a number of pieces inspired by vessels depicted in 17th century paintings. The Company of Captain Bicker (1639) by Bartholomeus Van der Helst (1613-1670) depicts a number of figures holding glasses as if raising a toast; a seated figure in the background holds a glass very similar to this design.

Soda glass with applied decoration and embedded gold foil

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.412

 

15

VASE

About 1910

This type of dark amber glass with tiny suspended particles of copper is described as ‘aventurine’. The technique was first developed in Venice in the 17th century to imitate quartz.

Gold aventurine glass

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.418

 

16

VASE

About 1910

Turquoise glass with gold foil

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.409

 

17

FINGER BOWL AND STAND

1880-1910

Gold aventurine glass

Designed and made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.419 & G.419a

 

18

GOBLET

1912-1922

‘Sky Blue’ lead glass with diamond moulding and gold foil embedded in knop

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons

(Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.416

 

19

VASE

1903-1910

The technique of embedding gold and platinum foil in molten glass was first developed by Powell in 1879.

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with platinum foil

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.408

 

20

GOBLET

1900-1919

‘Sea Green’ lead glass with gold foil embedded in stem

Designed by Harry J. Powell (1853-1922), made by James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd.

Bought from Dr Audrey Baker, granddaughter of Harry J. Powell, with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Pilgrim Trust

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.417

 

 

‘TALIESIN’ COMBINATION DRESSER AND COFFEE TABLE

About 1955

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the founders of modern architecture in North America. He believed in designing buildings that were in harmony with their surroundings. Wright also designed many of the interior features of his buildings, including furniture and stained glass.

 

When Wright was in his eighties he launched a range of commercial furniture, fabrics, wallpapers and rugs. His ‘Taliesin’ furniture range was designed to have ‘infinite adaptability to American living’. It included small tables that could double up as chairs and bookcases that could be used as room dividers or assembled on top of chests of drawers.

 

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), manufactured by Heritage Henredon Co.

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. F.110-114

 

Studio Pottery

The studio pottery movement was one of the key artistic forces of the 20th century. It emerged in Britain from the Arts and Crafts movement, placing great emphasis on small-scale pieces made by individual designer-makers in small workshops as opposed to large factories.

 

Pioneers of the movement such as Bernard Leach and Lucie Rie sought to establish pottery as an expressive art form. Over time the movement has grown steadily larger and more diverse. It is thriving today, with potters across the world continuing to experiment with form and technique.

 

TOP LEFT

 

‘FISH & TULIPS’ BOWL

1979

Alison Britton was part of a group of ceramicists from the Royal College of Art whose work in the early 1970s laid the foundations for what became known as ‘The New Ceramics’. Her work explores the use of abstract forms and decoration that reflects modern painting.

Earthenware with incised and glazed decoration

Made by Alison Britton (born 1948)

Bought from Alison Britton, January 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1230

 

BOTTOM LEFT

 

BOWL

About 1960

Bernard Leach is regarded as the ‘father of British studio pottery’. Leach advocated simple, utilitarian wares and was hugely influenced by ceramics from Japan, where

he worked and studied from 1909-1920. In 1940 he wrote the influential A Potter’s Book, which defined his craft philosophies and techniques.

Porcelain

Made by Bernard Leach (1887-1979)

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1265

 

TOP AND BOTTOM RIGHT

 

BOWL AND VASE

1981

Colin Pearson’s work is often characterised by a wing design which, along his use of torn edges, moves his vessels away from being purely functional into the realm of fine art objects.

Porcelain (bowl), stoneware with glaze (vase)

Made by Colin Pearson (born 1923)

Purchased from Colin Pearson with the assistance of the Eastern Arts Association

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. C.1237 & C.1238

 

Samuel J Herman

 

Sam Herman is a glass artist, painter, sculptor, and teacher. He has been a leading figure in the studio glass movement since the 1960s.

 

Herman was born in Mexico before moving to the United States as a child. He trained under the pioneering glass artist Harvey Littleton at the University of Wisconsin then at the Royal College of Art in London, before setting up a glass studio and shop in Covent Garden in 1969. Herman’s blown glass work is marked

by his textured, fluid use of colour.

 

There was a major exhibition of Sam Herman’s work at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1971. Following the exhibition, the collector Charles Handley-Read bought the pieces shown here.

 

1

VASE

1968

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.382

 

2

VASE

1971

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.380

 

3

VASE

1966-1967

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.384

 

4

VASE

1971

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.386

 

5

VASE

1971

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.381

 

6

VASE

1971

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.387

 

7

VASE

1969

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.385

 

8

VASE

1971

Free-blown soda glass

Designed and made by Sam Herman (born 1936)

Handley-Read Collection

Donated by Thomas Stainton, 1980

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery No. G.383