Fig. 199.—Statuette.
Astronomy seated, holding the sun.
In 1722 letters patent were granted for twenty years more to Jean and Jean Baptiste Chicanneau, Marie Moreau, the widow of Pierre Chicanneau (third son) and Henri and Gabriel Trou, children of Barbe Courdray by her second marriage. About this time serious disagreements occurred between the two families, and they separated, Gabriel and Henri Trou remaining at St. Cloud, patronised by the Duke of Orleans; while Marie Moreau opened another establishment in the Rue de la Ville l’Évêque, Faubourg St. Honoré, directed by Dominique François Chicanneau. In 1742 another arrêt granted privileges for twenty years to both these establishments, and Marie Moreau dying in 1743 left Dominique her business.
The manufactory at St. Cloud was destroyed by fire (the act of an incendiary) in 1773, and the manufacture ceased, the proprietors not being able to raise sufficient funds to rebuild it.
Chantilly. This manufactory was founded in 1725 by Ciquaire Cirou, under the patronage of the Prince de Condé, as appears by letters patent dated 1735, who was succeeded by Antheaume and others. The porcelain was highly esteemed, and there was hardly any object which they did not produce, from the lofty vase to the simplest knife handle. The Chantilly pattern was a great favourite for ordinary services; it was called “Barbeau,” and consisted of a small blue flower running over the white paste.
Fig. 200.—Dish.
Mark, hunting horn and P, in gold.
Diameter 12 in.
Fig. 201.—Pair of Figures.
Rouen. Louis Poterat, Sieur de St. Ètienne, of St. Sever, at Rouen, obtained letters patent in 1673, stating that he had discovered processes for fabricating porcelain similar to that of China, and wares resembling those of Delft; but the former was of a very rude character and never arrived at any perfection.
After the establishment at St. Cloud had commenced selling porcelain, the proprietors of the Rouen manufactory appear to have revived their porcelain in the hopes of competing with them, but with no good result.
Mennecy-Villeroy. This important manufactory was established in 1735 by François Barbin, under the patronage of the Duc de Villeroy. The early specimens are similar to the porcelaine tendre of St. Cloud, of a milky translucent appearance.
Fig. 202.—Sugar Basin and Stand.
Barbin was succeeded about 1748 by Messieurs Jacques and Jullien, and the manufactory continued in a flourishing state until 1773, when on the expiration of the lease it was removed to Bourg-la-Reine.
Fig. 203.—Group of Children.
Sceaux Penthièvre, near Paris. Established in 1750 by Jacques Chapelle; it was situated opposite the Petit Châtelet, and was under the patronage of the Duc de Penthièvre. It was carried on by Glot in 1773. The Prince-Protector died in 1794, but the production of pâte tendre ceased before that time.
Fig. 204.—Cup and Saucer.
Fig. 205.—Milk-pot.
Mark, S. X.
Arras. Established in 1782 by the Demoiselles Deleneur, under the patronage of M. de Calonne, Intendant de Flandre et de l’Artois; it only lasted a few years.
Fig. 206.—Seau.
Mark, A. R.
Boulogne-sur-mer. Established by M. Haffringue, in the 19th century, with the kaolin of Limoges.
Fig. 207.—Plaque.
White biscuit.
Fig. 208.—Sucrier.
White biscuit.
Étiolles (Seine-et-Oise), near Corbeil. Established in 1768, by Monnier, for soft paste porcelain. The works lasted only a short time.
Fig. 209.—Cup and Saucer.
Mark, E. Pellevé, 1770.
Diameter 2½ and 5 in.
Lille. Established in 1711 by Barthélemy Dorez and Pierre Pelissier, his nephew, natives of Lille. The porcelain (pâte tendre) of this time was like that of St. Cloud, but in the Delft style, the favourite ornamentation being Chinese designs. At a later period (in 1784) a manufactory of hard porcelain was established by Leperre Durot, under the patronage of the Dauphin; it was styled “Manufacture Royale de Monseigneur le Dauphin.” The porcelain of Leperre Durot is richly adorned with gold and with carefully painted bouquets of flowers.
Fig. 210.—Cup and Saucer.
With mark, crowned Dolphin.
M. Roger succeeded Leperre Durot, and in 1792 he sold his interest in the works to Messieurs Regnault and Graindorge; they were, however, soon ruined, and the establishment was closed.
Bourg-la-Reine. Started in 1773 by Messieurs Jacques and Jullien, who removed thither on the expiration of their lease at Mennecy. It was in active existence, making china purely of an industrial character, in 1788.
Fig. 211.—Custard Cup.
Mark, B. R.
Height 3¼ in.
Clignancourt. Established in 1775 by Pierre Deruelle, under the patronage of Monsieur le Comte de Provence, brother of the king (afterwards Louis XVIII.).
Fig. 212.—Milk-pot and Cover.
Fig. 213.—Cup and Dish. Fig. 214.—Milk Jug.
Lunéville. A factory called “Manufacture Stanislas” was established in 1731. It lasted only a short time, but a later manufactory, founded about 1769, was celebrated for its productions.
Paul Louis Cyfflé, sculptor, obtained, in 1768, letters patent for fifteen years, by virtue of which he established another manufactory for superior vessels of the material called terre de Lorraine, and in the following year a new privilege was granted for making groups and statuettes with his improved paste, under the name of pâte de marbre.
Orleans. Established by M. Gerréault in 1753, under the protection of the Duc de Penthièvre; the porcelain first made here was of the soft paste, but hard paste was subsequently produced. Gerréault was succeeded by Bourdon fils about 1788, Piédor, Dubois, and lastly, Le Brun, from 1808 to 1811.
Niderviller. Established about 1760 by Baron de Beyerlé. After successfully carrying on this branch for several years, he attempted hard porcelain in 1768, and procured potters and artists from Saxony. Three or four years before his death, which happened in 1784, the estate was bought by General de Custine. This new proprietor continued the fabrique, under the direction of M. Lanfray, who paid especial attention to the production of fine porcelain; the fabrication of statuettes was greatly increased.
ORLEANS
Fig. 215.—Bowl, Cover, and Stand.
Mark, heraldic label in blue.
Fig. 216.—Milk-pot and Cover.
Mark, double C under coronet, in blue.
Height 6½ in.
After the decapitation of the unfortunate de Custine, his estates, being forfeited to the Republic, were sold on the 25 Germinal, An X (1802), to M. Lanfray, and carried on by him until his death in 1827, when the manufactory was sold to L. G. Dryander, of Saarbrücken. For many years he continued to make porcelain, as well as fayence groups and statuettes, but the distance of his fabrique from the kaolin of St. Yrieix prevented him from competing successfully with those of Limoges, and this branch was abandoned.
Boissette, near Melun. A factory was established in 1777 by Jacques Vermonet père et fils, but it lasted only a short time.
Fig. 217.—Teapot.
Caen, Normandy. Established and supported by some of the principal inhabitants, at the time of the French Revolution (about 1793), when several workmen from Sèvres came to join it. It was carried on for a few years, but no market being found for the ware, the factory was discontinued at the commencement of the last century. It is hard paste, and equal to that of Sèvres, and of the same forms.
Fig. 218.—Cup and Saucer.
With “Caen” stencilled in red.
Valenciennes (Nord). By an Order of Council, dated 24th May 1785, M. Fauquet was permitted to carry on a manufacture of porcelain at Valenciennes. He was originally established at St. Amand in the manufacture of fayence as early as 1775, and probably carried on both works simultaneously.
Fig. 219.—Cup and Saucer.
Mark, F. L. V., in cipher, in
blue.
Diam. 3¾ and 6¼ in.
St. Amand-les-eaux. Founded by M. Maximilien de Bettignies in 1815, for the manufacture of pâte tendre porcelain like the old Sèvres. He was formerly proprietor of the Tournai manufactory, which he ceded to his brother Henri when that city became re-annexed to Belgium.
Strassburg. About the year 1752, Paul Hannong obtained the secret of true porcelain from Ringler, and started a factory here, but in consequence of the monopoly of Sèvres he was compelled to relinquish it, and in 1753 removed to Frankenthal, where he greatly flourished under the protection of the Elector Palatine Carl Theodore.
Fig. 220.—Cup and Saucer.
Mark, J. H.
Diam. 2⅝ and 5⅝ in.
Marseilles. An important manufactory of porcelain was established here by Jacques Gaspard Robert about 1766. Porcelain was made also by Honoré Savy and Veuve Perrin, but was only of secondary importance. The works were closed about the period of the French Revolution in 1793.
Paris. Rue Thiroux. Established in 1778 by André Marie Lebeuf, and the ware was called “Porcelaine de la Reine.”
Fig. 221.—Sucrier.
Mark, crowned A.
Paris. Rue de Bondy. Opened in 1780 by Dihl and Guerhard, under the patronage of the Duc d’Angoulême, and the ware was called “Porcelaine d’Angoulême.”
Fig. 222.—Ewer and Basin.
Paris. Rue Fontaine au Roi. This factory, called “De la Courtille,” was established in 1773 by Jean Baptiste Locré, who was afterwards joined by Russinger in 1784. The latter during the Revolution became sole director.
Fig. 223.—Part of a Tea Service.
Paris. Faubourg St. Honoré. A factory was established here by Veuve Chicanneau, née Marie Moreau. The teapot, Fig. 224, was probably made at these works.
Fig. 224.—Teapot.
Mark, Ve M. & C.
Paris. Pont-aux-Choux. In 1784, Louis Honoré de la Marre de Villars opened an establishment for the manufacture of porcelain in the Rue des Boulets, Faubourg St. Antoine. It was afterwards disposed of to Jean Baptiste Outrequin de Montarcy and Edmé Toulouse, who in 1786 obtained a brêvet from the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe Joseph, and authority to sign the productions with the letters L. P., and to take the title of Manufacture de M. le Duc d’Orléans. They were afterwards established in Rue Amelot, au Pont-aux-Choux, by which name the porcelain is generally known.
Fig. 225.—Teapot.
The former name ceased in 1793, with the condemnation of the Duke of Orleans, and the objects subsequently produced were inscribed merely “Fabrique du Pont-aux-Choux.”
Paris. Rue de Crussol. Established in 1789 by Charles Potter, an Englishman, and the ware was called the “Prince of Wales’s China.”
Fig. 226.—Cup.
Paris. Belleville. Originally established in 1790 by Jacob Petit; but later removed to Fontainebleau. The products of the first period were much esteemed, being well painted and well modelled, bearing Petit’s mark; but the proprietor unwisely altered his original plan and imitated Dresden, counterfeiting also the mark of the crossed swords. Jacob Petit also made biscuit figures, birds’ nests, flowers, &c.
Fig. 227.—Watch-stand.
Plain white of rococo form.
Mark, J. P. in blue. Height 5 in.
Paris. Rue du Faubourg St. Denis. Fabrique de Charles Philippe Comte d’Artois, afterwards Charles X. This manufacture was the most ancient of all those established in Paris. Hannong of Strassburg, who brought into France the secret of hard porcelain, formed the first establishment in 1769. Having obtained the protection of Charles Philippe, Comte d’Artois, it was called by his name. The factory belonged actually to Bourdon des Planches, who continued the manufacture of hard porcelain, &c., but the works were closed in 1810.
Vincennes. There was a porcelain manufactory here in 1786, quite apart from the royal factory. It was directed by M. Le Maire, probably the same who founded that in Rue Popincourt, which was ceded to M. Nast in 1783. There were four establishments at Vincennes; the first by the brothers Dubois, subsequently transferred to Sèvres; the second by Maurin des Aubiez, in 1767; the third by Pierre Antoine Hannong; and the fourth that described above.
Fig. 228.—Cup and Saucer.
Mark, H. L. L., in gold .
Diam. 2½ and 5 in.
The history of the celebrated manufactory at Sèvres must be traced back to that of St. Cloud, which was founded as early as 1695. Here Louis XIV. accorded his patronage and favour by granting exclusive privileges. In 1735 the secret of the manufacture was carried, by some of the workmen, to Chantilly, and for a time continued there by the brothers Dubois. They left in a few years, taking with them their secret, and settled at Vincennes, where a laboratory was granted them, but after three years they were dismissed.
In 1745, a sculptor, named Charles Adam, formed a company, and the scheme was approved of by the king, privileges being accorded them for thirty years, and a place granted for their works in the Château de Vincennes. In 1753 the privileges of Charles Adam were purchased by Eloy Brichard, and Louis XV. took a third share; hence the factory became a royal establishment. Madame de Pompadour considerably encouraged the ceramic art, and it arrived at the height of perfection. The buildings were found too small to meet the increasing demands for the beautiful productions, and in 1756 the works were removed to a large edifice at SÈVRES built expressly for the company.
A favourite decoration of Vincennes porcelain was flowers and birds, on a beautiful bleu de roi ground, and cupids painted in camaïeu of a single colour.
Fig. 229.—Vase.
Bleu de roi ground, with panels with birds in gold.
Mark, double L enclosing a dot, in gold.
Height 9¼ in.
In 1760 the king became sole proprietor, and M. Boileau was appointed director.
In 1769, after Macquer had brought the making of hard paste to perfection, the manufacture was successfully established at Sèvres, and both descriptions of china continued to be made until 1804, when, Brongniart being director, soft paste was altogether discontinued, and declared to be “useless in art, of expensive manipulation, dangerous to the workmen, subject to great risk in the furnace, &c.”
Fig. 230.—Cup and Saucer.
Bleu de roi ground, with white medallions enclosing birds in gold.
Mark, double L, in blue.
Diam. 2⅝ and 5⅜ in.
The principal colours used in decorating the ground of the Sèvres vases were:—
1. The bleu céleste, or turquoise, invented in 1752 by Hellot.
2. The rich cobalt blue, called bleu de roi, of which there were two varieties, the darker being designated gros bleu.
3. The violet pensée, a beautiful violet from a mixture of manganese, one of the rarest decorations of the pâte tendre.
Fig. 231.—Vase.
4. The rose Pompadour (called in England rose Du-Barry), a charming pink or rose colour invented in 1757 by Xhrouet of Sèvres.
5. The clear yellow or jonquille, a sort of canary colour.
6. The vert pré, or bright grass green.
Fig. 232.—Écuelle.
Dated 1771.
7. The vert pomme, or apple green.
8. The rouge de fer, a brilliant red.
9. The œil de perdrix was at a later period a favourite ornament for the grounds of vases.
Fig. 233.—Biscuit Group. Cupid and Psyche.
The forms are exceedingly varied, but names are assigned to each, either from the designers of the models or their special shapes or ornamentation; these may be found at length in Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain, 10th edition.
The beautiful pâte tendre ware of Sèvres was always much esteemed, and never could have been produced at a reasonable price even at the time it was made, the expense of decoration as well as the risk in firing being so great. It was manufactured for royal presents or occasionally sold by express permission at exorbitant prices, which bore a more approximate value to the present exorbitant prices than is generally supposed.
The earthenware vessels made in England previous to the 16th century were of a very coarse description, rudely fashioned and usually devoid of ornament, sometimes cast in a mould in grotesque forms, and occasionally covered with a yellow or green glaze. Numerous specimens of early English cups are found in excavations in London and other parts of England, and may be identified by comparison with the vessels in Norman and mediæval manuscripts.
Although inexpensive, they were badly burned, and not very durable; and the German stoneware with a salt glaze was eagerly sought after throughout the 16th century, and imported in large quantities. These stone pots were usually impressed with the arms of German towns; a rose or other device in front, and a ferocious bearded visage under the spout. They were derisively called bellarmines, after the celebrated Cardinal Bellarmin, who in the 16th century made himself so conspicuous by his zealous opposition to the Reformed religion.
These bellarmines were in general use throughout England in the 16th and beginning of the 17th century at inns and public-houses for serving ale to the customers. The importation of these stone pots was always monopolised by the potters of Cologne, near which city they were made. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth we find one William Simpson presenting a memorial that he may be allowed to bring “the drinking stone pottes made at Culloin” into this country, and requesting permission to make similar stone pots in England; but he was not successful in his suit.
In 1626, however, two other potters, named Rous and Cullyn, merchants of the city of London, obtained the exclusive privilege of making stone pots and jugs in this country, and a patent was granted them for fourteen years; the preamble states that “heretofore, and at this present, our kingdom of England has been served with stone pottes, stone jugges, and stone bottells, out of foreign parts, from beyond the seas.”
When Dr. Plot wrote his natural history of this county in 1686 there were very few manufactories of pottery; he only speaks of one at Amblecott and another at Wednesbury; but he says: “The greatest pottery they have in this country is carried on at Burslem, near Newcastle-under-Lyme.” The earthenware made here towards the end of the 17th century was of a very coarse character, and the decoration extremely rude, consisting merely of patterns trailed over the surface in coloured clay, technically termed slip, diluted to the consistence of syrup, so that it could run out through a quill. The usual colours of these slips were orange, white, and red, the orange forming the ground and the white and red the paint. After the dishes had been thus ornamented they were glazed with lead ore beaten into dust, finely sifted, and strewed over the surface, which gave it the gloss but not the colour. The vessels remained twenty-four hours in the kiln, and were then drawn for sale, principally to poor cratemen, who hawked them at their backs all over the country.
Fig. 234.—Tyg. With four handles.
Dated 1621.
Fig. 235.—Mug. With two handles.
Dated 1682.
Fig. 236.—Plateau. With Charles II. and his Queen, in relief.
By Ralph Toft. 1677.
The forms of these vessels were tygs or mugs, with two or more handles for passing round a table, candlesticks, dishes, &c. The earliest names found upon them are Thomas and Ralph Toft, William Talor, Joseph Glass; all names still known in Staffordshire.
Burslem. The family of Wedgwood was of long standing at Burslem, and many members of it were employed in making pottery long before the birth of the great potter, Josiah Wedgwood. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, as well as many of his other relations, were all engaged in the trade. Josiah Wedgwood was born in 1730, at Burslem; he was the youngest of thirteen children; his father, Thomas Wedgwood, died when Josiah was only nine years old. His eldest brother, Thomas, succeeded his father as a potter, and Josiah was bound apprentice to him in 1744, after the expiration of which he left his brother’s house to make knife handles, imitation agate, and tortoiseshell small wares, at Stoke. Here, in 1752, he entered into partnership with John Harrison, which only lasted two years.
Fig. 237.—Vase.
Pale blue jasper, with subjects in relief.
Next Josiah Wedgwood went into partnership with Thomas Whieldon of Fenton Low, one of the most eminent potters of his day, and they remained together five years; while here Wedgwood also produced that fine green glaze which covered his dessert services, in imitation of leaves.
At the expiration of the partnership in 1759 Wedgwood returned to Burslem, and commenced business on his own account at the “Churchyard” works. He soon became so successful that he was compelled to enlarge his establishment, and to take over the “Ivy House” works. He engaged the services of his cousin, Thomas Wedgwood, who had gained his experience at the Worcester works, and in 1765 he took him into partnership, and three years later Thomas Bentley joined the firm. The first ware which gained him reputation was his fine cream-coloured ware, which remained a staple article from 1762 down to the time of his decease, and after royalty had approved of it the name was changed to Queen’s ware.
Wedgwood also produced, about this date, a sort of red ware, formed of the same ochreous clay as was used by the Elers nearly a century before; it required no glaze except what it derived from friction on the wheel and lathe, and was covered with engine-turned ornament; and in 1766 he began to make a black ware, which he called basaltes or black Egyptian. The business increased so much that he was obliged to open a new manufactory at Etruria in 1769.
In 1773 he made “a fine white terra-cotta of great beauty and delicacy, suitable for cameos, portraits, and bas-reliefs”; this was the forerunner of the jasper ware, which became by constant attention and successive improvements the most beautiful of all his wares. In 1776 the solid jasper ware was invented, which, however, attained its greatest perfection ten years later. In the manufacture of this elegant ware Wedgwood largely employed sulphate of barytes, and for many years derived great profits, none of the workmen having any idea of the nature of the material upon which they were operating, until a letter containing a bill of parcels referring to a quantity of the article fell into the hands of a dishonest servant, who told the secret, and deprived the inventor of that particular source of emolument: for when the same article was made by those who employed inferior workmen, to whom they only paid one-fourth of the salary given by Wedgwood, the price of jasper ware became so reduced that he was unable to employ those exquisite modellers whom he had formerly engaged to superintend that branch of the manufacture.
Fig. 238.—Vase.
Of basaltes ware.
Fig. 239.—The Portland Vase.
Of black and white jasper.
In 1785 a “jasper dip” was introduced, in which the white clay vessels were dipped, and received a coating of jasper, instead of being jasper throughout. This was considered a great improvement, and caused an increase of 20 per cent. in the price.
Fig. 240.—Teapot, Caddy, and Plate.
With printed transfer.
Flaxman was engaged by Wedgwood and Bentley as early as 1775, and he furnished them with drawings and models. After Bentley’s death in 1780 Flaxman’s fame as a sculptor obtained him more important work, but still, as time permitted, he worked for Wedgwood up to the time of his departure for Rome in 1787.
Josiah Wedgwood died on the 3rd of January 1795, in his 65th year.
Fig. 241.—Six Jasper Cameos.
Fig. 242.—Vase.
Granite ground, with gilt festoons and handles.
Fig. 243.—Ewer.
Of agate ware.
Fig. 244.—An Obelisk, by Ralph Wood,
and A Tea Set, by Aaron Wood.
In 1773 Ralph Shawe of Burslem took out a patent for chocolate-coloured ware, striped with white and lined with white, glazed with salt. He afterwards transferred his factory to France.
Ralph Wood was established at Burslem about 1730, and was succeeded about 1750 by his son Aaron Wood, who served his apprenticeship to Thos. Wedgwood; he was a very clever cutter of moulds for stoneware plates and dishes, with raised pattern borders, &c., which have been erroneously termed Elizabethan. Cream ware is said to have been invented by him. He was succeeded, about 1770, by his son Enoch Wood, who was also a sculptor, and made many busts of eminent men. His successors were Wood and Caldwell, who continued the manufacture of busts and groups.
Fig. 245.—Statuette.
Chaucer, by Ralph Wood.
Moses Steel was a manufacturer at Burslem in 1715. The name of a descendant is found on a vase, with blue ground and white figures in relief, in the style of Wedgwood, in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Fig. 246.—Vase.
Shelton. Astbury of Shelton, early in the 18th century, made red crouch, and white stoneware. It is said he derived his knowledge of mixing the clays by pretending to be an idiot and obtaining employment at the Elers’ manufactory at Bradwell; after gaining their secret, he set up in business against them.
The first use of calcined flints as an ingredient in the composition of pottery is attributed to the younger Astbury; it led to the manufacture of fine fayence, and paved the way for the great improvements afterwards achieved by Wedgwood.
Samuel Hollins of Shelton established about 1760 a manufactory of fine red ware teapots; he procured the clay from Bradwell. He was succeeded about 1777 by T. and J. Hollins.
Fig. 247.—Green Bowl.
With ornaments in relief.
Signed “S. Hollins.”
Fig. 248.—Basin.
With white ground and blue figures in relief.
Stamped T. and J. Hollins.
The New Hall China Works at Shelton owed their origin to the purchase of Champion’s (Cookworthy’s) patent by a company of potters in 1777, and were the first porcelain manufactory in Staffordshire. The ware made here was not of a fine character; inferior artists were employed in its production, and it was never held in any great esteem. The manufacture consequently soon fell to decay, after many changes. The mark is the name of the works in a double ring.
Fig. 249.—Cup and Saucer.
Painted with flowers.
Bradwell. A potter to whom Staffordshire was indebted for great improvements in the ware was John Philip Elers, who about 1690 came over from Holland and settled at Bradwell. He was descended from a noble family of Saxony.
Elers was a clever chemist, and discovered the art of mixing the clays of Staffordshire to greater perfection than had ever before been attained. He manufactured to a considerable extent an improved kind of red pottery, in imitation of that of Japan, while by the addition of manganese to the clays, he made a fine black ware, which a century afterwards was adopted and improved by Wedgwood.
Fig. 250.—Teapot.
Of red ware, with flowers in relief.
Hanley. Shaw mentions a Mr. Miles of Miles’s Bank, Hanley, who produced the brown stoneware about 1700. There is in the Victoria and Albert Museum a fayence barrel of brown glaze with gilt hoops, dating apparently from the first half of the 18th century, and it is impressed with the name of Miles (see Fig. 251).