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HOME DECOKA.TION.

[Page 420.

NOTE TO THE READER
The paper in this volume is brittle or the
inner margins are extremely narrow.
We have bound or rebound the volume
utilizing the best means possible.
PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN

OF ALL TIMES AND NATIONS

WITH TABLES OF FACTORY AND ARTISTS' MARKS
FOR THE USE OF COLLECTORS

Bv WILLIAM C. PRIME LL.D.

NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS
FRANKLIN SQUARE
1878

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

Ten years ago there were probably not ten collectors of Pottery and Porcelain
in tbe United States. To-day there are perhaps ten thousand. The exhibition in
public museums of the fine works of ceramic art loaned by the few collectors who
possessed them, revealed for the first time to the American public the wealth of
beauty which is in " old china ;" and now in nearly every city, town, and village in
the land more or less persons are " collecting."
The need of a book of the kind which I have endeavored to make has been
manifest for some time. What to collect and why, how to collect and classify,
are questions asked by many, and answered only by European works, in French and
English, which indeed answer the questions better than this does, but are unfortu
nately inaccessible to the American collector outside of our larger cities.
The preparation of the needed volume has not been a voluntary undertaking
with me. It was with extreme reluctance that I yielded to the urgent request of
the publishers to make a book on Ceramic Art for American readers, students, and
collectors. The very idea of a book for these three classes of people might well ap
pall an author, looking at the vast extent of the subject. Those who are familiar
with the art will appreciate the impossibility of bringing into one volume even a
condensed sketch of its history for the general reader, much more a critical examina
tion of its products for the student, and a descriptive account of characteristics and
marks for the use of the collector. For this art is the oldest, the longest, the most
widely diffused of all human arts. It has been used by every tribe of man, savage
and civilized. Probably the first fire which Adam kindled on a clay soil taught
him to make earthenware, and his descendants have ever since used the art he dis
covered. Its known history begins with the brickmakers on the plain of Shinar,
and every year of this nineteenth century after Christ adds material for new pages.
The utmost that can be done with such a subject in one book is to relate briefly
those portions of the history which seem most important to the American public
who have not access to, or the time to read and study, the many learned and valua
ble works of Europe on the various, departrnents of the art, and to add to this a

44*#

PREFACE.

short statement of the date of foundation and the characteristics of fabrics of the
factories whose products may fall into the hands of American collectors. This I
have endeavored to accomplish. Much has, of course, been omitted which some
will think ought to be found here, and space has been devoted to departments
which others will think unimportant. Probably no author could avoid this. I
have exercised my best judgment, seeking always to keep visible the connecting
links in the long history.
No one will imagine' that this book can be intended to supersede the learned
and invaluable works of Messrs. Birch, Jacquemart, Marryat, Chaffers, Fort-
num, and others, to whose investigations we are largely indebted for the sum of our
present knowledge of ceramic art, and whose books have necessarily furnished a
large amount of the material in the present volume. The student who begins the
subject with what I furnish him will, of course, go to them as more thorough teach
ers. An attempt to give credit to each authority from which I have taken a state
ment so embarrassed the pages with foot-notes that I must express here my general
indebtedness, to the authors above named especially, and also to others whose works
are mentioned below ; and this the rather that in many instances, finding the same
important fact in the same words in various books, it was impossible to determine
the proper credit.
The tables of marks and monograms at the end of the volume are based on
Mrs. Bury Palisser's Hand-book, in European departments, and on the Manual of
Messrs. Hooper & Phillips, in Chinese and Japanese art. The compilation of these
extensive dictionaries is the result of the labor of very many students whose works
are mentioned in the list below. The catalogue of authorities consulted is given
not alone for the purposes of this acknowledgment, but also for the information
of those who may desire to pursue the study of the subject. The attention now
given to ceramic art is such that every public library should contain these books.
I have written on the theory that the reader knows nothing even of the rudi
ments of the art, and have tried to give a simple and intelligible account of the sev
eral departments, so that the book may be of interest and value to the inexperienced
possessor of a few inherited specimens of old china or crockery, as well as to the
laborious collector. In selecting specimens for illustration from my own and other
collections, and from European works, it seemed to give greater practical value to
the book to illustrate, generally, characteristic work of various countries and facto
ries, such as collectors may hope to meet with, rather than curious, rare, and su
perb products of the art.
In expressing opinions, I have exercised that independence which I have sought
also to inculcate in the American reader. The student has here excellent oppor-

PREFACE.

tunity for forming independent tastes, since he is not apt to be guided by the es
tablished opinions which prevail where the subject has been long pursued, and col
lections have been formed according to prevailing ideas of beauty. Doubtless many
will wholly disagree with the opinions expressed ; and I have failed in my purpose
if I have not impressed on the reader the importance, in art study, of forming opin
ions unbiassed by any dictatorial expressions of this or any other book. The study
of art will do little good to those who profess to admire this or that specimen, class,
or style, only because other people say it is admirable.
Prominent defects of this work are due to the lamentable fact that America
possesses so few public collections of pottery and porcelain to which an author
might from time to time refer. In Phenician and archaic Greek work the Metro
politan Museum of Art in New York has become the richest institution in the
world by the acquisition of the Cypriote Collection of General L. P. Di Cesnola.
The limits of this volume have forbidden an extended notice of those fabrics, and
I have only attempted a general classification by styles of pottery and decoration,
as an aid to their study, indicating briefly the new and important light which they
throw on the early history of Greek art.
In Chinese and Japanese art, that museum has been happy in having for some
time in the loan department the admirable selections from the collection of S. P.
Avery, Esq., forming an illustrative exhibition not surpassed by any public or pri
vate collection elsewhere. The fine collection of Mr. Robert Hoe, Jr., has also been
an important source of information.
In all other departments I have been compelled to rely on memories of Euro
pean cabinets, and on my own imperfect collection, which is occasionally referred to
as the Trumbull-Prime collection, which name it bears in memory of its founder,
who was, so far as I know, the first lady, and perhaps the first person, in America
who made a special study of ceramic art. This collection has enabled me, in de
partments in which it is peculiarly rich, to add some facts to the general sum of
knowledge on the subject. Had I the assistance of her superior information, pure
taste, and unerring judgment, this would have been a much more valuable book; for
to them I owe all that I know of the subject. If my work accomplish any good
or confer any pleasure, it is due alone to that memory whose constant presence
has made it a labor of love.
W. C. P.
Lonesome Lake Cabin, August 8th, 1877.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Birch (Samuel), History of Ancient Pottery. London, 1873. [An exhaustive work, of the greatest
learning and ability ; does not include the late discoveries in Cyprus.]
Brongniart (Alex.), Traite des Arts Ceramiques. Paris, 1854. [In two volumes of text, and
atlas of plates. A thorough treatise, with accounts of processes in various countries and fac
tories, composition of pastes, preparation and application of colors, methods of manufacture,
etc. ; with historical notices.]
Brongniart (Alex.) et Eiocreux (D.), Musk Ceramique de Sevres. [A catalogue of the museum
at Sevres, with colored illustrations of many hundred specimens of ceramic art and glass.
Valuable for reference. Early copies are the better colored.]
Bohn (H. G.), Guide to the Knowledge of Pottery and Porcelain, and Other Objects of Virtu. Lon
don, 1857. [A catalogue of the Bernal-collection sale, with prices, and an appendix by Mr.
Bohn, himself an extensive collector. Valuable as a, reference for prices.]
Binns (R. W.), A Century of Potting in Worcester. London, 1865. [A new and enlarged edition,
with additional plates, 1877. Large paper copies, with impressions from copperplates used for
transfer-printing at Worcester and Caughley. A complete history of Worcester porcelain.]
Oampori (G.), Notizie, etc., delta Maiolica e delta Porcellana de Ferrara, etc. Modena, 1871. [The
Marquis Campori has rendered important service in elucidating the early history of porcelain-
making in Italy in the sixteenth century, the first European porcelain.]
Chaffers (William), Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain, etc. London, 1876. [Mr.
Chaffers's work is indispensable to the collector. It is a marvel of patient and careful labor,
continued from edition to edition, the latest, of course, always the best. He has condensed the
marks in a small hand-book ; but the large octavo is necessary to every student. We are in
debted to it for much material in the present volume.]
Chaffers (William), The Keramic Gallery. London, 1872. [Five hundred illustrations of pottery
and porcelain. Important for reference.]
Demmin (Auguste), Guide de V Amateur de Faiences et Porcelaines, etc. Paris, 1863. [A very good
book of reference for factories, with descriptions of characteristics ; especially thorough on
Germany and Holland. Not to be relied on for ancient or American work.]
Davillier (J. C), Histoire des Faiences Hispano-Moresques. Paris, 1861.
Davillier (J. C), Histoire des Faiences, etc., de Mousliers, Marseilles, etc. Paris, 1863.
Delange (H), Recueil de Toutes les Pieces Connues, etc., de la Faience Francaise de Henri II. et
Diane de Poictiers. Paris, 1861.
Delange, Borneman, et Sauza y, Monographic de VCEuvre de Bernard Palissy, etc. Paris 1862.
[Plates designed by Carle Delange and C. Borneman ; text by Sauzay and Henri Delange.]
Delange, Borneman, et Darcel, Recueil de Faiences Italiennes, etc. Paris, 1869. [Plates bv Carle
Delange and C. Borneman ; text by A. Darcel and Henri Delange. These superb works of
luxury illustrate in colors some hundred specimens, many in full size of the originals 1
Drake (W. B.), Notes on Venetian Ceramics. London, 1868.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. 9
Fillon (B.), Les Faiences d'Oiron. Paris, 1862.
Fortnum (C. D. E.), Descriptive Catalogue of the Majolica, etc., in the South Kensington Museum.
London, 1873. [This South Kensington catalogue is enriched with colored plates and wood
cuts, and still more enriched with Mr. Fortnum's learned and clear notices of the Saracen and
European potteries. It is the best single book for the collector in studying the origin and his
tory of the Italian department of the art.]
Graesse (J. G. T.), Guide, etc., ou Collection Complete des Marques de Fahriques de Porcelaines et de
Poteries, etc. Dresden, 1873. [A convenient hand-book of marks, by Dr. Graesse, the accom
plished director of the Japanese Museum, and other collections, in Dresden.]
Haslem (J.), The Old Derby China Factory, etc. London, 1876. [Devoted chiefly to personal recol
lections of workmen ; contains colored plates of Derby patterns, and describes some products,
omitting vases. Valuable for reference to colored plate of marks.]
Hooper (W. H) and Phillips (W. C), Manual of Marks on Pottei-y and Porcelain. London, 1876.
[An excellent and convenient little hand-book for the use of collectors, to which we are in
debted especially for Chinese and Japanese marks, not before given in other works.]
Julien (Stanislas), Histoire et Fabrication de la Porcelaine Chinoise, etc., augments d'un Memoire
sur la Porcelaine de Japan, parr J. Hoffman. Paris, 1856. [See text, p. 233.]
Jacquemart (A.), Histoire de la Ceramique. Paris, 1875. [The collector will find in this work
more information on the general and specific history of the art than in any other one volume.
It has been translated and republished in England ; but the original edition is the better, on
many accounts. We are indebted to it for much historical matter.]
Jewitt (L.), Life of Josiah Wedgwood. London, 1865.
Mareschal (A. A.), Iconographie de la Faience. Paris, 1875.
Mareschal (A. A.), La Faience Populaire au XVIIIme. Siecle. Beauvais, 1872.
Mareschal (A. A.), Les Faiences Anciennes et Modernes, etc. Paris, 1873.
Mareschal (A. A.), Assiettes d Emblemes Patriotiques. Beauvais, 1869.
[The works of M. Mareschal are useful for reference, containing a large number of colored
plates of ordinary wares of factories such as collectors are most likely to meet with.]
Marrtat (J.), History of Pottery and Porcelain. London, 1869. [The best English work on the
general subject, to which we are indebted for much historical and descriptive matter.]
Mater (J.), On the Art of Pottery, with a History of its Progress in Liverpool. Liverpool, 1873.
[Local history of Liverpool potteries.]
Meteyard (Eliza), Life of Josiah Wedgwood. London, 1865.
Meteyard (Eliza), The Wedgwood Hand-book. London, 1875. [Indispensable to collectors of
Wedgwood wares ; giving accurate descriptions, numerous private marks of workmen, and
quite full catalogues.]
Meteyard (Eliza), Memorials of Wedgwood. London, 1874. [Xext to the possession of the origi
nals, the collector will enjoy the many exquisite illustrations in this elegant volume.]
Owen (H.), Two Centuries of Ceramic Art in Bristol. London, 1873. [Local history of Bristol
porcelain and pottery.]
Passeri (G.), Histoire de Peintures sur Maioliques d Pesaro et les Environs. Paris, 1853.
Piccolpassi. Tre Libri delV Arte del Vasaio. [MS. in British Museum, cited by various writers ;
and the French translation, published in Paris, I860.]
Pother (A.), Histoire de la Faience de Rouen. Rouen, 1869. [Numerous colored plates.]

10 AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Palliser (Mrs. Bury), Tlie China Collector's Pocket Companion. London, 1875. [An excellent and
convenient pocket hand-book, which the collector should have for constant reference. The
marks and monograms here gathered are the basis on which the Table in this volume is
founded, so far as they relate to European fabrics.]
Robinson (J. C), Catalogue of tlie Soidages Collection. London, December, 1856.
Robinson (J. C), Catalogue of tlie Loan Exhibition, etc. London, 1862.
Shaw (S.), Chemistry of Porcelain, etc. London, 1837.
Smith (R. Murdoch), Persian Art. London, 1876.
Tainturier (A.), Recherches sur les Anciennes Manufactures de Porcelaine et de la Faience (Alsace et
Lorraine). Strasbourg, 1868.
Treadwell (J. H), A Manual of Pottery and Porcelain for American Collectors. New York, 1872.
[The first American work on the subject. A compact sketch of the history. We are indebted
to Mr. Treadwell for several illustrations in this volume.]
Wedgwood (Josiah), Account of the Barberini now Portland vase with the various explication of its
bas reliefs that have been given by different authors. No place or date. [Privately printed by
Mr. Wedgwood while preparing the moulds for his reproduction. The preface requests infor
mation to be added, and in my copy, in Mr. Wedgwood's handwriting, this request is explained,
" that the account which he purposes to deliver with his copies of the vase may be as com
plete as possible."]
Wedgwood (Josiah), Catalogue of Cameos, Intaglios, Medals, Bas-reliefs, etc., by Josiah Wedgwood,
sold at his Rooms, in Greek Street, Soho, London, and at his Manufactory in Staffordshire.
Sixth Edition, with Additions. Etruria, 1787. [A reprint of this catalogue has been issued in
London, 1877.]
Wallis (A.) and Bemrose (W.), The Pottery and Porcelain of Derbyshire, etc. London, 1870.
Winckelmann (J. J.), Werke. Dresden, 1808-'20.
Numerous other works which have been consulted are mentioned in the text. As this
volume goes to press, I have received advance sheets of " Cyprus ; its Ancient Cities, Tombs,
and Temples," by General L. P. Di Cesnola (London and New York, 1877), a book giving an
account of his remarkable explorations, and of the highest importance to the student of
Phenician and early Greek ceramic and all other art.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
INTRODUCTION  17
Technology  24
PART I.-ANCIENT POTTERY.
Section I. — Egypt  31
" II. — Assyria and Babylonia  45
" III. — Phenicia  54
IV. — Holy Land.,  68
" V— Greece  68
" VI.— Etrubia  90
" VII.— Rome  92
PART II.-MODERN POTTERY.
Section I. — Saeacen  97
" II.— Italy  140
" III.— Spain  180
" IV— Poetugal  181
V.— Feance  182
VI.— Germany  211
" VII.— Switzerland  220
" VIII.— Belgium  221
"' IX.— Holland  222
" X.— Sweden  225
" XL— Denmark  225
" XII.— Russia  226
" XIII.— German Gres Cerame  226
PART III.-PORCELAIN.
Section I.— China  231
» IL— Corea  255
" III. — Japan  256

12 CONTENTS.

PART IIL-PORCELAIN-Continued.
Section IV— India  260
V— Italy  261
' VI. — Spain and Portugal  271
" VII.— France  272
" VIII. — Geemany, Austria, and Hungary  286
" IX. — Switzerland  300
" X. — Holland  300
" XL— Belgium  301
" XII.— Sweden  301
" XIIL— Denmaek  302
" XIV. — Russia and Poland  302
PART IV.-POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OP ENGLAND  304
PART V.-POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF AMERICA.
Section I. — Ancient American Potteey  388
" II.— Pottery and Porcelain in the United States  399
" HI. — Collectors and Collecting ix America  406

PART VI.-MARKS ON POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
INDEX 

433

517

ILLUSTRATIONS.

9.
10.11.12.13.14.
15.16.1718.19.
20.21.
22.
2324.25.
26.27.
28.29.30.31.32.
33.
34.
35. 36.

PAGE
Home Decoration  Frontispiece
Egyptian Searabseus, the back  32
" " side view  32
" " engraved bottom . . 32
" " with cartouche . . 32
" " " .... 32
Blue-enamelled Cup  34
Anubis. Enamelled Steatite  35
Pottery Flasks  36
Fragment of Enamelled Vase  36
Wine-press with Amphoroe ( Wilkinson). . 38
Small Pottery Bottle  38
Blue-enamelled Vase  39
An Egyptian Pottery  40
Greeco-Egyptian Mortuary Vase  41
Egyptian Plants ( Wilkinson)  44
Babylonian Brick (Layard)  48
Earthen Jars from Babylonia (Layard). . 49
Inscribed Pottery Tablet (Layard)  49
" " " (Layard)  50
One of the Deluge Tablets  51
Terra-eotta Tablet from Babylon (Lay'rd) 52
Glazed Coffins from Warka (Loftus) .... 52
Figures of Assyrian Venus (Layard). ... 53
Inscribed Bowl from Babylon (Layard). . 53
" " " " (Layard).. 54
Phenician Vase — Human Head  55
Phenieian Vases, various  56
Phenician Vase — Bull's-head Spout  57
Venus with Attendants  58
Bottle in Bird Form  59
Egypto-Phenician Wine-jug  60
"  60
Symbols on Phenician Pottery  61
Phenician Bottle  61
Grseco-Phenician Vase  62
Egypto-Phenician Vase  63

PAGE
37. Graeco-Phenician Vase  64
38. Phenician Vases  65
39. Colossal Phenician Head  66
40. Pottery Hand  67
41. Greek Amphora . Theseus and the Min
otaur  69
42. Early Greek Kylix  70
43. Eumenides. (From a Greek vase.) .... 71
44. Early Greek Kylix  72
45. Greek Vase, fine style  73
46. Greek Vase, " Doric " style  74
47. Greek Amphora : Medea  75
48. Dionysus. (From a Greek vase.)  77
49. The Last Night of Troy (Birch)  79
50. Calypso. (From a Greek vase.)  80
51. Panathenaic Amphora (Jacquemart)  81
52. Bellerophon and the Chimrera  82
53. Forms of Greek Vases  83
54. Diogenes in his Tub, or Pithos (Marryat) 84
55. Amphora with Stamped Handle  85
56. The Rhyton  86
57. Bottle in Dove Form  86
58. Bottle— a Sleeping Slave  87
59. Latona. (From a Greek vase.)  88
60. Greek Kylix : red ware  89
61. The Pyrrhic Dance. (From a Greek
vase.)  89
62. Symposium. (From a Greek vase.)  89
63. Charon Hermes and a Soul. (From a
Roman lamp.)  92
64. Hercules and the Nemaean Lion. (From
a Roman lamp.)  92
65. Roman Pottery. A Grotesque ..... 92
66. Roman Pottery. A Dwarf  93
67. Bowl. Samian ware  93
68. Roman Moulds for Pottery  93
69. Bowl : Samian ware  94

14

ILLUSTRATIONS.

70. Triton. (From a Roman lamp.)  94
71. Cybele. (From a Roman lamp.)  95
72. Late Roman Vase. (Castor, England.) 95
73. " " (Upchurch,Eng.). 98
74. Romano-British Vases  96
75. Wall Tiles from Cairo  101
76. Wall Tile from Jerusalem  102
77. Wall Tile, Lattice Pattern, from Cairo. 103
78. Wall Tiles from Damascus and Cairo. 104
79. Wall Tile from Damascus  105
80. Wall Tile, white flowers on dark-blue. . 106
81. Wall Tile— Persian Lion  106
82. Wall Tile for a corner  107
83. Half Tile from Jerusalem  108
84. Persian Porcelain Water-pot (Jacque-
mart)  11*7
85. Mark on Persian Porcelain  119
86. " " "  119

87. " " "  120
88- " " »  120
89- " " "  120
90- " " "  120
91. Decoration on Dishes  124
92. Decoration on Bowls  124
93- " "  .'...'.'.'. 124
94. " "  125
95. Damascus-ware Jug  125
96. Rhodian Dish  126
97. Pottery Egg  127
98. Rhodian Dish  128
99. Mohgrabbin Plate  131
100. Ugogo Pottery  132
101. Ujiji Pottery  132
102. Water-jug from Chanak-kalesi  133
103. Alhambra Vase  134
104. Hispano-Moresque Dish (Marryat). ... 135
105. Hispano-Moresque Vase  136
106. Siculo-Arabian Vase  137
107. Portrait of Luca della Robbia  141
108. Mezza-majolica Dish  143
109. Majolica Vase  150
110. Madonna: Delia Robbia ware  151
111. Majolica Painter at Work  152
112. TJrbino Dish : Charles V  155
113. Pilgrim Bottle. (Urbino.).-  156
114. Urbino Dish: The Judgment of Paris. 161
115. Dish: Flight into Egypt. (Castel-Du-
rante.)  164
116. Dish: Chiar-oscuro. (Castel-Durante.). 166

131.132.
133.134.
135.

117. Dish: Music. (Castel-Durante.)  168
118. Gubbio Lustred Dish  170
119. Boccala of Gubbio  171
120. Gubbio Dish: Hercules and Antasus . . 173
121. Faenza Dish (Marryat)  176
122. Vase. Grotesques. (Rome.)  178
123. Pitcher. Grotesques. (Rome.)  179
124. Faience of Oiron — Pitcher (Marryat) . 183
125. " " — Biberon (Marryat). 184
126. " " —Pitcher (Marryat). 185
127. Vase, by Palissy (Marryat)  192
128. Palissy Reptile Dish  193
129. Moustiers Dish  200
130. Nevers Faience Patriotique  201
 202
Rouen Dish  205
Faience a la Corne. (Rouen.)  206
Nuremberg Stove Tile  211
German Stove Tile (Marryat)  212
136. Delft Plate  223
137. German Stone-ware Jug (Marryat)  227
138. Gres Cannette  228
139. Apostle Mug  229
140. Chinese Vase. Lacquer and flowers . . 232
141. Chinese Vase  234
142. Chinese Bottle found in Egpyt  236
143. " " " "  237
144. " " » "  237
145- " " " "  238
146. " " " at Arban  238
147. Blue Vase with white flowers  239
148. Sea-green Crackle Vase  240
149. Vase with blue-dragon decoration  241
150. Gray Crackle Vase  244
151. Cup of Sacrifice  245
152. Chinese Vase. Blue and white  246
153. Six Mark  253
154. Mark in Seal Character  253
155. Symbolic Marks  254
156. Corean Water-pot  255
157. Japanese Plate  256
158. Japanese "Mandarin" Vase  258
159. Japanese Vase. Relief decorations . . 259
160. Indian Bowl  260
161. Bowl : Medicean porcelain  264
162. Judas the Essene  266
163. Fac-simile of Engraving  267
164. Cup and Saucer. (Capo-di-Monte.)  268
Venice Cup and Saucer  270

165.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

15

PAGE
166. Buen Retiro Jardiniere  271
167. Sevres Vase  276
168. Sevres Cup and Saucer  277
169. Sevres Vase  278
170. Catharine II. Initial  278
171. Sevres Plate  279
172. Bottcher-ware Teapot  286
173. Dresden Cup and Saucer: King's pe
riod  287
174. Dresden White Teapot  288
175. Dresden Teapot  289
176. Dresden Chocolate-pot  289
177. Dresden Tray  290
178. Dresden Teapot  290
179. Dresden Chocolate-pot  291
180. Dresden Saucer, with Cupids  292
181. Dresden Milk-pot. Diamond engraving 292
182. Dresden Vase  293
183. Vienna Plate  293
184. Vienna Chocolate-pot  294
185. Berlin Cup and Saucer  296
186. Berlin Teapot  296
187. Berlin Cup: Frederick the Great  297
188. Wallendorf Cup and Saucer, with Rebus 299
189. Celtic Urns  304
190. Celtic Incense-cup  305
191. Romano-British Cup: red ware  305
192. Romano-British Urn. (Castor, Eng.) . 306
193. Romano-British Vase. (Castor, Eng.). 306
194. SaxonJug  307
195. Saxon Urn  307
196. Norman Jar  308
197. Norman Jug  308
198. Norman Yellow-glazed Pitcher  309
199. Norman Green-glazed Pitcher  309
200. Mediaeval English Bottle  310
201. Tile from Cruden's Chapel  311
202. Tile from Chertsey Abbey  312
203. Tile from Malvern Abbey  313
204. Tile from Westminster Chapter-house. 313
205. Staffordshire Tyg  314
206. Staffordshire Posset-pot  314
207. Tablet on a House  316
208. Mortuary Tablet  316
209. " "  317
210. " "  317
211. Early Staffordshire Dish  318
212. White Salt-glazed or Crouch-ware Mug. 318
213. White Salt-glazed or Crouch-ware Dish. 319

PAGE
214. Elers Ware  319
215. Elers-ware Teapot  320
216. Josiah Wedgwood's First Teapot. ... 321
217. Mr. Thomas Bentley. Medallion  322
218. Mrs. Wedgwood. Medallion  324
219. Cream-color Basket-dish  325
220. Cream-color Ware  326
221. " "  326
222. Cream-color Cup and Saucer  326
223. Wedgwood Antique Vase. White on
black  327
224. Cameo  328
225. Ear-ring Drop  328
226. Jasper Vase  328
227. Rev. John Wesley. Medallion  320
228. Ear-ring Drop  330
229. Cameo  331
230. Jasper-ware Vase  332
231. Antique Vase : black basaltes  332
232. Form of the Portland Vase  334
233. Group from the Portland Vase  334
234. Dr. Erasmus Darwin. Medallion  335
235. Dr. Priestley. Medallion  33H
236. Cameo  338
237. Cameo  339
238. Inkstand. (Fulham.)  340
239. Brown Stone- ware Jug. (Fulham.)... 341
240. Puzzle-jug. (Nottingham.)  342
241. Old Staffordshire Dish : Adam and Eve. 343
242. Bust of Shakspeare  343
243. Steamboat " Chief-Justice Marshall " 344
244. Saucer, by Aaron Wood  347
245. Queen's-ware Bread-dish  348
246. Agate-ware Knife-handle  350
247. " "  350
248. Covered Cup, by Whieldon  351
249. Queen's-ware  352
250. Interior of Liverpool Bowl  353
251. Sand-box, by Chaffers  354
252. Head of Washington  357
253. Washington Pitcher  358
254. " "  359
255. " "  361
256. John Hancock Mug  362
257. Willow-pattern Plate  363
258. Worcester Vase (Marryat)  364
259. Worcester Teapot  365
260. King of Prussia Jug  366
261 . Worcester Jug  367

10

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE
262. Worcester Teapot and Stand  368
263. Chelsea-Derby Cup and Saucer  369
264. Crown-Derby Cup and Saucer  370
265. Crown-Derby Vase  371
266. Nantgarrow Plate  372
267. Bow Teapot  372
268. Bow Candlestick (Marryat)  373
269. Bow Cream-jug, with the Bee (Marryat) 374
270. Hawthorn Pattern on Bow  374
271. Chelsea Figurine : Minerva  375
272. Chelsea Figurine : Girl  376
273. Plymouth Coffee-pot (Marryat)  376
274. Plymouth Sauce-boat  377
275. Bristol Vase  378
276. Bristol Cup and Saucer  379
277. Bristol Porcelain  380
278. Lowestoft Saucer  381
279. Indian Vase. (From Ohio.)  388
280. " «  389

PAGE
281. Bottle: Peruvian pottery  389
282. " Animal's Head  389
283. The Caballito  390
284. Bottle— Man's Head  390
285. Jar— Man's Head  391
286. Painting from a Peruvian Vase  391
287. Vase from Santa  392
288. Peruvian Coast Pottery  392
289. Pottery from Cuzco  392
290. Ewer from Central America  393
291. Peruvian Bottle : Coast pottery  394
292. Peruvian Coast Pottery  394
293. Peruvian Vases  395
294. Peruvian Coast Pottery  395
295. Nicaragua Pottery  396
296. Vase from Tehuantepec  396
297. Stamped Inscription  397
298. " "  397
299. Wire Frame-to hang Plates  415

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

INTBODTJCTORY.

Every man and woman should have a hohby. To the working-man,
in whatever walk of life, it will prove a relief from labor, a change for
the thinking faculties, a refreshment of mind, and such oblivion of the
oppressions of daily toil as cannot be found otherwise. It will enable him
to retire at will into a sphere of life and mental occupation wholly sep
arated from business or professional cares, and to shut out from him all
their anxieties. To one who has " nothing to do," a well-selected hobby
affords the best of employment, since it gives life an object. ]STo pleas
ure is more profitable than that found in surrounding one's daily life
with works of the Great Artist or of man, arranged and classified in
such way as to please the eye, afford instruction, or form material for
intelligent study and examination. The refining influences which attend
the formation of such collections are ample reward for time, labor, and
money expended on them, if there were no other compensation. The
sincere student finds in the pursuit occupation resulting in extended
study of the history of nature or of man, and every fact which he learns
is made clear to his intelligence and impressed on his memory by illus
trative specimens.
No department of art history is more attractive or more remunera
tive to those who study it, or to those who gather a few specimens of
human effort in it, than is that which forms the subject of this volume.
Pottery is the oldest, the longest, the most widely diffused of human
arts. Its recorded history begins with the building of Babel ; and great
cities in all ages, notably all great American cities, are vast structures of
pottery. It is its own historian. Ceramic collections are libraries of
history, every specimen a book of the thoughts of men, of which the
earliest known were published not long after the Deluge. Every peo
ple, civilized and barbarian, has practised the art in one or another form.
2

18 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

The first fire that was kindled on clay soil baked the clay, and would
naturally suggest to the builder of the fire that he could thus convert a
soft and easily moulded substance into a hard and permanent article of
use. So it is not strange that savage tribes have made pottery. Acci
dent might color the surface, and from such accident it was an easy step
to the use of various colored clays and pigments, ana thus to systematic
decoration. The yielding clay would assume any form that the taste of
the moulder might suggest, and the decoration would also indicate the
taste of the sculptor or the painter, however rude their ideas and un
skilled their ability in art. "Whenever trade was established, and men
made pottery for sale or barter, the forms and decorations would be such
as were most likely to be acceptable to the people expected to purchase.
Thus prevalent styles would be indications of public taste ; and the work
of the potter being permanent, the baked ware enduring for ages with
out change, the ceramic art takes precedence of others as the index of
human character in various ages and countries.
A very simple illustration of this may be found in the examination
of the potteries used by modern civilized nations. The porcelain and
pottery used in Germany in the last century and early part of this cen
tury are characteristic. Those of France are characteristic. The pottery
of the Saracens is characteristic. The products of Italy are characteris
tic. Each variety is peculiar in some respects ; and, excepting the cases
in which copies of one product are made in another country, each can be
recognized, and each illustrates peculiarities of each people. On the
other hand, if one were to seek from the pottery and porcelain found
in American houses at the present day an illustration of American tastes,
he would be puzzled to know what they are, would find no uniformity
indicated ; no prevailing styles of form or decoration would appear, and
he would conclude correctly that the Americans are cosmopolitan in
tastes, and depend on many other nations for their supplies of ceramic
ware. For, as matter of fact, the people of the United States are Eng
lish, German, French, Italian, or otherwise foreign by birth or descent,
and have hitherto made little or no ceramic wares except articles for
the most ordinary purposes of utility, and have established no American
styles of art.
The ceramic art is thus important in ethnological investigations, and
it is equally important, in the same way, because of its connected his
tory, which serves as an index of the history of the race of man.
"We will not pause to discuss theories of the origin of the race. Art
study is a study of facts ; and where theory is employed, it is, as it always

INTRODUCTORY. 19

should be, merely a tool to be used in investigation and thrown away un
less investigation changes it from theory to fact. A school-boy's theory
is worth as much as a Newtqn's until proved or disproved by investiga
tion. All study in every department of human art begins at a period not
long after the Mosaic deluge. All art history, when traced towards its
beginning, is found to commence at a time less than five thousand years
ago. There is no work of human hands, no result of human thought,
now known, whose date is fixed at more than 3000 b.c. The earlier dates
assigned by some able men, in contradiction of equally able men, to the
Egyptian monuments of the ancient dynasties are theoretic. The con
verging lines in the histories of all human inventions and arts, in tombs,
in architecture, in money, in forms of religion, in language spoken or writ
ten, above all, in ceramic art, traced from their widest divergence towards
their place and time of origin, point to the western portion of Asia as the
place where, and about five thousand years ago as the time when, the his
tory of man as read in his work must begin. The study of these arts,
therefore, leads to the belief that prior to that time there were no men on
the earth, or that a catastrophe of some kind had swept the major part of
the race and their works from existence, and the remaining few began
the history again in the western part of Asia.
The earliest mention of pottery in the Hebrew Scriptures is the ac
count of the building at Babel. But the oldest known pottery is Egyp
tian. Evidence is abundant, and accumulating, that Egypt was colonized
from Mesopotamia. It is probable that the art went thither with the
colonists, but no examples of that early work in the Euphrates valley
are now known. The line of the later history may be traced with consid
erable certainty. Unglazed pottery seems to be the fabric of all nations,
and was made in many parts of the world as an independent discovery.
It is through the line of glazed and enamelled potteries that the gene
alogy is most interesting.
That genealogy, briefly stated, is this : Men made brick and other un
glazed pottery in Mesopotamia, and on the dispersion carried the art with
ihem. The Egyptians discovered the art of enamelling and painting it with
colors. Nineveh and Babylon, cities of a later age, received this art from
Egypt, and applied it on a magnificent scale to the building of great walls
of enamelled brick. The Phenicians at an early date learned to apply to
the surface of pottery a thin varnish-like lustre, and transmitted this art
to the Greeks. The Greeks, although in rare instances using the Egyp
tian art of enamel, do not seem to have liked it, and did not practise it
generally, confining their ceramic art to unglazed wares, or those simply

20 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

painted and covered with a thin lustrous varnish, which is probably a true
glaze. Even this art, handed down to the Komans, was lost in Europe,
and with the decadence of the Empire the potter's art declined until, in a
modern age, the Saracens, by their brilliant productions, roused the Chris
tians to paint and glaze, and then taught them how to enamel pottery.
Persia probably received the art of enamelling pottery from As
syria, and transmitted it to China ; China gave it to Corea and Japan.
Whether Persia always practised it, or, having lost it for a time, received
it again from the East, may be doubtful ; but there is good reason to be
lieve that it remained in Central Asia until found there by the Arabs, in
the Mohammedan conquest.
It is not altogether certain whether the art thus found by the Arabs in
Persia was that of enamel, or only the art of painting and glazing pottery,
and this will hot be determined until fuller knowledge is obtained by the
ceramic history of Central Asia. It is by some supposed that stannifer
ous enamel was a later independent discovery of the Saracen potters, and
it has even been suggested that the presence of tin in Spain led to the dis
covery there. On the other hand, many of those specimens of Saracen
wares made in Asia which are supposed to be among the earliest are en
amelled. Traces of the art appear in the Eastern Mediterranean and at
Constantinople in the sixth century. From this obscure line, or from the
Saracens, it is uncertain which, it extended along the well-trodden roads
of communication in the Middle Ages to Germany, where it is found in
the twelfth century, and was practised till the fourteenth. It seems to
have been lost in Northern Europe not long before Italy received it from
the Saracens in the fifteenth century.
The Arabs diffused the art wherever their conquests extended. It
spread over "Western Asia, along the northern coasts of Africa, from isl
and to island of the Mediterranean, into Spain, everywhere practised by
Saracen potters, until, in the middle of the fifteenth century, an Italian
sculptor learned it, and Italy adopted it. Italian potters carried it into
France. German potters who had either revived their own lost art, or
received it afresh from Italy, diffused it through Northern Europe.
Holland took it from Germany, and sent her potters to England to teach
it there. Meantime, about two thousand years ago, either in Persia or in China,
was discovered the art of making pottery translucent, and producing
what we now call porcelain. For sixteen hundred years this art was
known only in Asia. In Venice, about 1519, an old potter made porcelain,
and died without teaching a successor the art. In 1567 porcelain was

INTRODUCTORY. 21

probably made at Ferrara. In Florence, about 1580, the Medicean labora
tory made porcelain, but again the art was lost. In England, about 1671,
a Fulham potter claimed to have discovered the art; but no specimens
of his work are extant. At St. Cloud, in France, about 1695, the art of
making a translucent pottery, such as we now call soft -paste porcelain,
was found, and France began to make this ware. About 1710, at Dresden,
in Germany, the Asiatic secret of making true, or hard -paste porcelain
was discovered, and thereafter came the glory of Dresden in the one
kind, and of Sevres in both kinds, of porcelain.
Thus the cups on our tables are lineal descendants of the cups used
by the ancestors of the builders of the Pyramids. A child is sometimes
told to hold a shell to his ear and hear in it the sound of the sea. That
same deep sound, which one may hear in any vase of Chelsea or Derby,
Sevres or Dresden, Minton or Copeland, coming down through a long suc
cession of generations of pottery, is the roar of the Deluge.
All along this line of historic art which we have thus rapidly traced,
sculpture and painting contributed to the splendor of the products. Ev
erywhere, and in all ages, the results of the art were enduring monuments
of national character, of the comparative civilizations, the refinement or
barbarism, the ignorance or learning, of the races of men.
The forms and decoration of pottery afford a remarkable field for his
toric investigation, which abundantly repays the workman. In the Ces-
nola collection of Cypriote antiquities we have an unparalleled series of
examples. Here is a local ceramic art, illustrated by thousands of speci
mens, covering a period which extends from more than fifteen hundred
years before Christ to four or five hundred after Christ. The birth and
childhood of Greek art are here exhibited. The lessons and influences
received from Egypt at and after the date of the conquest of Cyprus,
about 1500 b. c, are as visible on Cypriote vases as if written in Greek
or English letters. The rude form of the early Phenician statuettes, re
sembling the mud figures made by modern children, are followed by
more graceful figures, until the culmination is reached in that superb
Greek art which has never been surpassed.
The origin and growth of well known designs in ornament, which
have proved popular in all later times, and which have been found in
use among various peoples, are traced in the ceramic history. The first
Phenician decorations, in scratches, black lines, circles, checks, and dia
monds, show early and simple forms. "We find lines crossing lines, cir
cles overlapping circles, and in these first forms we find the origin of the
patterns called the Meander (which is the immediate result of the lines

22 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

in a check pattern), and of many of the beautiful curvilinear drop and
leaf patterns commonly called Etruscan. It is worthy of note, too, that
these universally popular patterns are found on the old pottery of nations
whose arts show no other resemblance to the arts of Phenicia and Greece,
and this doubtless because these ornamental lines are the natural result
of straight and curved lines crossing each other, are simple patterns in
origin, commending themselves to the eye when it first begins to seek
methods of varying decoration. After these, and retaining these, styles
of decorative art sprang up, suited to and characteristic of the various
families of men. The Egyptians stamped on the forms of pottery im
perishable illustrations of their wonderful mythology. The Greek fabrics
glowed with thousands of illustrations of the gorgeous romance of Hel
lenic story. The Chinese spread over their enamelled wares a wealth
of color surpassing gems in brilliancy, and rich with the chaotic im
agery of Chinese religion and history. The Saracens interwove on pot
tery the luxuriant vines and flowers of the East, and made their mosques
to shine in the sunlight resplendent with color. Assyria, Phenicia,
Italy, Germany, France, England — every country has impressed or painted
characteristic thought in or on the plastic clay, and burned it for a per
manent record, to be studied and interpreted by generations of men.
I have thus far spoken of the importance of ceramic art as an aid
to ethnological research. It is of equal importance as an aid to the his
torian, because it is frequently the bearer of historical facts, inscribed on
it in lasting characters. The Babylonian and Ninevite libraries were
pottery. Their books were plaques of clay, on which the letters were
impressed, and the plaques, being baked, became such enduring pages of
history that in this nineteenth century after Christ we find them as leg
ible as when printed, and learned men are from day to day translating
them into our language. Innumerable Egyptian records are found in
hieroglyphic characters on the various potteries of that people. Greek
story and history are abundantly illustrated on relics of Greek ceramic
art. "Wherever the Boman legions went, they carried with them the art
of making pottery, on which they impressed historical facts, and from
which the modern historian derives information otherwise unattainable.
In short, it may be affirmed that next to the art of writing, and in con
nection with it, the ceramic art is of more importance to the student of
history and of man than any and all the other arts.
The lover of pottery and porcelain needs no further argument to jus
tify him in his hobby. But if it be suggested that all this does not go
to justify the collection of modern works, he has abundant reason for his

INTR OD UCTOR Y. 23

pursuit in this, that no other art so fully gratifies the love of beauty.
Standards of beauty are arbitrary. But the ceramic art conforms to any
and every standard. The highest result of civilization may be said to ap
pear in the best union of beauty with utility. Pottery and porcelain are
thus the measure, as no other art can be, of comparative civilization. If we
had no other evidence, we should rank the civilization of Japan as equal
to that of Europe from the exquisite splendor, beauty, and delicacy of her
ceramic productions ; and that such is the proper rank to be given it can
not now be doubted. Almost all other beauty fades or decays. Flowers
are beautiful, but short-lived, and oil or water paintings of flowers on
paper or on canvas change and fade. I look up as I write to a bou
quet of very common but very beautiful flowers, painted more than a
century ago by a great artist, on a Dresden vase, and they gleam with all
the beauty of a summer day, and will, unless the vase be broken, be as
beautiful a thousand years hence, when possibly the flowers themselves
will be utterly unknown except from just such paintings. A fragment
of white porcelain is a gem ; and if it were not a common ware, a white
porcelain plate or cup would be as precious to a lover of beauty as the
rarest vase of silver, gold, or jade.
Sculpture has found opportunity for its highest achievements in baked
clay, and it is only because we are accustomed to see them in such com
mon use that we are not enthusiastic in admiration of the beauty in form
which domestic pottery and porcelain in table services constantly present
to our view. Color, except in gems, is nowhere so brilliant and effective
as in enamel, and many colors on enamelled pottery and porcelain are
more brilliant and exquisite than in gems. The most cheerful household
decorations are effected by the use of such colors on walls or in cabinets.
Families brought up with such articles around them feel their civilizing
and refining influences. Children grow up among them with knowledge,
appreciation, and love of beauty. The table furnished with tasteful ware
is bright, and ceases to be a mere feeding - place. Its memories become
important possessions to the members of the family who go away. The
dearest associations of old age with childhood are connected with the
home table, whether its furniture was the rarest porcelain of China, or
the simple and always beautiful blue-and-white crockery of Staffordshire.
The lover of ceramic art and the collector of its treasures of beauty can
afford to pity those who are unable to enter into the enjoyment which he
is happy in possessing.

24 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
Technology.
Pottery, in the broadest meaning of the word, includes everything
made by baking in fire or furnace, into the composition of which clay
enters. Porcelain is a variety of pottery. "Whatever restrictions we
place on the meaning of the word pottery, all makers of wares consist
ing in whole or in part of clay, finished by baking, are potters, and all
such wares are works of ceramic art.
The nomenclature of the art is somewhat faulty and lacking in exact
ness. It is unfortunate that we have not a separate name for each com
position into which clay enters, so that the name pottery might be re
served as a generic name. "We should then avoid the confusion arising
from the use of such phrases as " semi-translucent pottery," " semi-porce
lain," and other names applied to exceptional wares. But, in our day,
there is a general distinction between pottery and porcelain, which it is
too late to overcome. We must therefore accept the existing nomen
clature, and endeavor to make it clear to the beginner in the study of
ceramic art.
Objects made wholly or in part of clay and baked, which are opaque,
are called Pottery ; those which are translucent are Porcelain.
Pottery is of two kinds — Soft and Hard.
Soft Pottery is made of any ordinary clay. A common house-brick
is the simplest illustration. It is of various colors, depending on the clay
used and on the amount of firing. The more common colors are brick-
red, and a creamy yellow or buff. It is easily scratched with an iron
point or a file. Its fracture is rough and granular.
Hard Pottery is made by the mixture of stone or sand with clay.
The simplest illustration of this is a fire-brick. It is also of various colors,
is not so easily scratched or filed, resists fire. Its fracture varies, being
sometimes rough and granular, sometimes almost vitreous.
Soft Pottery is usually divided into four classes : Unglazed, Glazed,
Lustrous, Enamelled.
Unglazed Pottery needs no description, but the reader will keep in
mind the successive steps in the art of which it is the commencement, as
illustrated by (1) an unglazed pottery dish, red, buff, or black, according
to the clay and the amount of firing ; (2) the same dish glazed ; (3) the
dish decorated with colors and glazed over the color ; (4) the dish covered
with opaque white enamel ; (5) the dish thus enamelled and painted over
the enamel, with or without a final glaze over all.
Glazed Pottery is pottery covered with a thin coating of glass. Dif-

TECHNOLOGY. 25

ferent mixtures are used to form this glaze, the practical result being the
same, that when the pottery covered with the glazing mixture is baked,
the mixture fuses and forms a thin transparent glass, covering the ware
and any painting which has been placed on it. Salt glazing, used on cer
tain stone -wares, is produced by throwing salt into the furnace while
the pottery is hot, the gases forming a chemical union with the sand in
the clay, and producing a surface glaze. Most of the glazes are made
with the use of lead and silex. Some glazes melt at a temperature equal
to that required for baking the ware, others at a much lower temperature.
Some wares are baked for the first time with the glaze ; others are first
baked unglazed, and afterward receive the glaze, which is vitrified by a
second baking.
Lustrous Pottery is that class which we find in ancient Phenician
and Greek art, where the object is covered with a thin, varnish-like glaze
which is so thin that an iron point easily penetrates it, and it does not al
ways prevent the permeation of water. No analysis has been successful, and
its composition is unknown. It is probable that the oldest known exam
ples are on the red and black wares, with scratched decorations, found in
Cyprus, and described hereafter. There is little reason to doubt that this
lustre is an alkaline glaze. The distinction must be borne in mind be
tween this ancient lustrous pottery and the modern fabrics of Italy and
other countries, which, being decorated with ruby, copper, silver, gold, or
platinum lustre, so called, are known as Lustred Wares.
Enamelled Pottery is covered with an opaque substance, called en
amel. This is composed of stone, sand, and oxides of lead and tin. The
essential to an opaque white enamel is tin, which gives to it the name
stanniferous enamel. Pottery covered with stanniferous enamel may be
painted, and then glazed. Enamel pastes are colored, and applied with
the brush as paint. "When vitrified by baking, they usually produce a
slight relief on the surface, differing in this respect from objects which
are only painted in colors.
Hard Pottery includes a large number of various wares made in
modern times, known generally as stone -wares. The more important
objects in hard pottery, formerly, were the stone jugs, dishes, and drink-
ing-vessels classed as Gres. Common potteries for domestic use in stone
ware were abundant until the time of "Wedgwood. Salt -glazed stone
wares abounded in England. The cream-ware, perfected by "Wedgwood,
was hard pottery. Other English potters added largely to the list by
introducing various substances into the composition, and there are now
many kinds of hard pottery known as stone-wares which are not classified.

26 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
Porcelain is translucent pottery. It is made by the union of two
classes of substances, one class Uon-vitrifiable, the other vitrifiable, by heat.
The result of the baking is a body which consists of the minute opaque
particles of the substance which has not melted, held together by the
translucent melted substance.
Porcelain is of two classes — Soft-paste and Hard-paste.
Soft-paste porcelain is divided by M. Brongniart into two classes, Nat
ural soft paste, and Artificial soft paste. This distinction is not generally
observed, and all soft -paste porcelains are commonly classed together.
Natural soft-paste porcelain is made by the use of clay as the non-vitrifia-
ble substance. The English soft-paste porcelains are mostly of this class ;
and the clay used in England being kaolinic, the porcelains are not uni
formly soft, but vary in hardness according to the quantity and quality of
the clay. Artificial soft paste is made by various compositions, the vitri
fiable substances varying in different manufactories. Thus natural soft-
paste porcelain was made in England by the use of Cornish clay, Cornish
granite, calcined bones, sand, soda, borax, and oxide of tin. The artificial
soft paste of Sevres was formerly made by using nitre, salt, alum, soda,
gypsum, sand, chalk, and marl. Soft -paste porcelain is known by the
French as pate tendre.
Hard-paste porcelain, or true porcelain, is made by the union of two
substances, an infusible clay known by its Chinese name, kaolin, and a
stone, felspar. Kaolin being an essential ingredient, it cannot be made
where this cannot be obtained.
The difference between hard-paste and soft-paste porcelain is not al
ways so perceptible to the eye as to the touch ; nor in varying pastes, like
the English, can it always be determined by either eye or hand. Soft-
paste porcelain is in general soapy or oily to the touch, and can be easily
scratched with an iron point. It has usually a less hard and cold glint
than hard-paste porcelain. The glaze generally covers the entire object,
including bottoms and bottom rims, which in hard-paste articles are usu
ally unglazed. When doubt exists as to the quality of the paste, whether
soft or hard, it may be determined by trying a fine file, which will not
touch the hard paste, but readily cut the soft. This determination is
often essential to the proper classifying of specimens, and the question
of genuineness. Kaolin is a white mineral, found in various localities, always more
or less mingled with other substances, which are as far as possible re
moved from it by washing. It is, according to Brongniart, a product of
the decomposition of felspar. It consists of silica, alumina, and water

TECHNOLOGY. 27

in chemical composition. It does not effervesce with acids, and, when
pure and freed from the undecomposed particles of felspar usually found
in it, it does not fuse at the highest temperatures of porcelain furnaces.
It is found in China, in various parts of Europe, and is said to exist in
abundance in America, in both the Northern and Southern States.
The kaolinic rock, or clay — that is, the mass as found which contains
kaolin — is mined, mixed with water to form a liquid which flows from
vat to vat, depositing foreign substances — sand, stone, and other minerals
— and retaining the comparatively pure kaolin for final sediment. This
is formed into bricks, and sent to the porcelain factories for use. The
most thoroughly washed kaolin, however, is never free from some sand
and other substances. Kaolinic clay has been used in the manufacture
of soft-paste porcelains in various English factories ; and the product of
the firing approximates more or less to hard paste, rendering it sometimes
difficult to determine the class.
Many authors, from the tenth century to the present time, use the
word porcelain to describe all classes of glazed and painted or enamelled
wares ; and it is therefore, in many instances, impossible to know whether
they speak of pottery or true porcelain. The French apply the word
faience to all pottery and porcelain ; while the word, as adopted in Eng
lish, excludes porcelain, and is by some writers confined to potteries dec
orated with colors. The word majolica is in general use to signify Ital
ian enamelled potteries of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eigh
teenth centuries. Mr. Fortnum, an authority entitled to high respect,
proposes to confine it to what he believes its original meaning in Italy —
wares like those of Maestro Giorgio, decorated with metallic lustre.
The practical methods of making pottery and porcelain form no part
of the plan of this book. The briefest account of some of the simpler
portions of the work will be all that its limits allow.
The potter's wheel is a revolving disk, or table, turned by the foot of
the potter, by an assistant, or by machinery. In making pottery, the clay
is softened with water to make it plastic. Water is only a tool in the
process. The clay is thoroughly worked to uniform consistency. A
lump, larger or smaller, according to the size of the vessel to be made,
is thrown violently down on the centre of the wheel, which is set in mo
tion ; and the thrower, with thumb and fingers, curved sticks, knives, and
other simple tools, shapes the vessel. Other forms are made in moulds.
Relief ornaments for the surface are either engraved in the mould, or
are moulded separately and placed on the object, and fastened with thin
slip of the paste by way of glue. Handles, spouts, etc., are made sepa-

28 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

rately and thus fastened. Large bottles with small necks are turned in
two parts, the lower portion first, the neck, widening out at bottom, next,
and this is fitted to the bottom, and the whole turned and gently pressed
together with slip, all trace of the line of union disappearing. Objects
moulded in sections are similarly united. The objects being formed, are
allowed to dry, and then baked. The forms of furnaces and the degree
of heat required vary with different wares. Terra-cotta objects, so called,
are very slightly baked, while hard-paste porcelain requires the highest
heat. Good wares are baked in seggars, which are hard -pottery cases,
capable of resisting heat and protecting the objects from smoke and
cinder. Pottery thus first baked may be painted with colors, then glazed, and
rebaked, or may be glazed or enamelled, baked again, and then painted on
the enamel, and finally baked.
The color decorations of pottery are either engooes (colored earths
mixed with vitrifiable substances) or vitrifiable colors, which must be
earthy or metallic. Vegetable colors disappear in the furnace. Blues
are obtained from cobalt ; greens from copper ; reds from iron and gold ;
rose-pink from gold with silver and tin ; browns from iron, antimony,
lead, and manganese ; yellows from antimony, lead, and tin ; black from
antimony, nickel, iron, and platinum ; white from tin and arsenic. Vari
ous shades are obtained as in ordinary painting. The colors are usually
prepared by grinding with enamel, so as to form a vitrifiable substance,
which, however thinly laid on, actually melts into a colored glass. If this
be laid on thick, it forms a true enamel ; if thin, it is still enamel, but is
commonly said to be only color. In addition to these colors, pottery and
porcelain are decorated with metals, laid on in the metallic state, and with
lustres, called metallic lustres. The glaze is prepared in a liquid form,
of the consistency and appearance of cream. When the object is dipped
into this, an opaque white coating rests on the surface which conceals all
color decoration, but which in the furnace melts into transparent glass.
Porcelain objects, like pottery, are formed on the wheel, or in moulds.
Thin objects are formed sometimes by pouring into the mould a liquid
paste, thin as cream, which deposits its substance on the inner surface of
the mould, the thickness depending on the length of time allowed for de
posit. The remaining liquid is poured out, and the deposit left to dry
in form. In drying, the paste shrinks and easily leaves the mould. At
Sevres thin vases are made by subjecting the paste thus deposited in the
mould to atmospheric pressure by the use of the air-pump. Thin vases
made without such pressure are apt to fall to pieces when the mould is

TECHNOLOGY. 29

removed, and many moulds are sometimes required before a perfect vase
is obtained. Porcelain is often glazed at the first firing, which bakes the paste and
melts the glaze at the same time. Generally European porcelain is baked
before glazing, and receives the glaze or enamel at a second firing.
Painting on porcelain is executed as on pottery, with metallic colors,
either under or over the glaze. Elaborate paintings are generally exe
cuted on the glazed or enamelled surface, and a third baking melts and
unites the pamt with the glaze or enamel. Paintings are frequently re
touched and corrected by artists, and the object is baked again and again.
Few ordinarily good paintings are executed without two bakings, and
four, five, and more are often required for careful works.
The colors used on porcelain are of two kinds — those which will bear
the highest temperature (grand feu), and those which will bear only the
lower temperature of what is called the mouffle furnace. Of the first
are cobalt-blue, chrome-green, and certain reds, browns, yellows, violets,
and blacks. These colors may be baked with the porcelain at the tem
perature of grand feu, which is equivalent to 4717° Fahrenheit. More
delicate colors are baked at the heat of the mouffle or enamel furnace
(demi-grand feu), which is about 1300° Fahrenheit.
Gilding and metallic decorations are generally effected by placing the
metal on the surface in an amalgam, and, after baking, burnishing.
Metallic-lustre decorations are effected by a variety of processes. The
most celebrated are those of the Saracens and of Gubbio, in Italy, which
will be described hereafter. Platinum has been extensively used for
covering pottery with a surface resembling silver or burnished lead, and
this is ordinarily called silver lustre. Silver is rarely used for decora
tion, as it becomes black with exposure, and requires constant polishing.
Printing, or, as it is sometimes called, transfer printing, on pottery
and porcelain was first practiced about 1756 at Liverpool, where it was
probably invented a few years previously. A copperplate engraving is
printed on paper, the paper then laid on the surface of the ai-ticle to be
decorated, and gently pressed, so as to transfer the ink from the paper to
the object. A variation of this process was shortly afterward invented,
known as bat-printing. In this oil was used instead of ink, and prepared
sheets of gelatine, instead of paper. The oil being transferred to the sur
face of the object, the color was dusted on in powder, adhering to the
lines of the print. In modern times decoration by printing has been
brought to a perfection equalling that of chromo-lithography. Many of
the old printed wares were touched up with colors by the brush. Modern

30 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
improvements have been made in some of the old processes of ceramic
manufacture ; but as this is not a technical work, they cannot be described.
Wedgwood introduced the lathe, for turning and polishing work — an in
strument previously in use only in China and Japan. Machinery has been
successfully worked by steam and other power in modern potteries, even
to the extent of moulding the more common classes of ware. But it still
remains true, after thousands of years, that beautiful products of the pot
ter's art are, like paintings on canvas and marble statues, the work of
artists ; and the highest achievements in the art demand the greatest
artistic powers, in moulding forms and managing colors. The decoration
of ceramic wares is quite extensively practiced, for artistic amusement, by
ladies and others, in Europe and in this country. The paints prepared
for the purpose can be purchased in the shops, and a little experience
will enable any person who can paint on paper or canvas to decorate pot
tery or porcelain. There are furnaces in New York at which the wares
painted by amateurs are baked, and many of the dealers in porcelain fur
nish white enamelled plaques, and unglazed pottery vases and dishes, for
those who desire to decorate them.

PAJRT I.
ANCIENT POTTERY.

I.-EG-YPT.
About 2700 B.C., after the dispersion of the family of men in the
Euphrates valley, a small number found their way along the shores of
the sea, or pushed an adventurous expedition through Arabia across the
deserts, and discovered a land of abundant fruitfulness, watered by a
mighty river, and dark with the green foliage of fruit -bearing palms.
The beasts of the field and the birds of the air had preceded them.
Food was abundant. Nature was lavish in her gifts. The sunshine was
perpetual, scarcely a cloud obscuring it — only those vast silvery clouds
of millions of water-fowl of every species, then, as until within our own
memory, floated and circled in innumerable quantity and variety through
the day, making Egypt, from sea to cataract, a "land shadowing with
wings." The small colony increased with great rapidity. Either the pecu
liarity of their life, or hereditary ability, rapidly advanced them in the
arts above the rest of the human family, from whom they were isolated
by sea and desert. The natural surroundings, the birds above, the lux
uriant flowers and foliage of the vast morasses in the lower country,
the solemn, barren mountains on each side of the narrow valley, en
tered into their conceptions of beauty and guided their imaginations.
They retained the monotheistic religion of their ancestors for several
centuries. In a very short time, without immigration, their numbers in
creased, by ordinary generation, to millions. The patriarchal form of
government became a monarchy. The monarchy had its vicissitudes,
was divided and reunited again and again, but the national civilization
remained pre-eminent for twenty centuries. Their wise men were
learned. The whole population were well educated. Whatever was
important in history was recorded for all the people to read. Books,

32

ANCIENT POTTERY.

poetry, philosophy, history, abounded. When at length they came into
contact with other races, their superiority imposed on these the charac
teristics of Egyptian art. But the end of this long and unparalleled his
tory came. From the land of their common origin, the Persians descend
ed on the Nile valley, and overthrew the monuments of the Egyptians.

Egyptian Scarabaei : 1. The back ; 2. Side view ; 3. Engraved bottom ; 4. Scarabaeus, with cartouche
of Amunoph ; 5. Scarabaeus, with cartouche of Thothmes III.
The Greek civilization, which Egypt had nurtured in its childhood, over
came her by force of arms, without compensating her with the gifts of
Greek art, and the national existence perished under the exhausting sway
of avaricious Pome.
Centuries afterward, on the sands of the desert along the Nile valley,
the exquisite creations of a new art, coming again from the Asiatic home
of the race, sprang up in the sunshine to mark the burial-places of Sara
cen rulers of Egypt ; but, too beautiful to endure, are now melancholy
ruins, splendid even as they crumble to the desert sand.
The student of ceramic art has reason to be interested in the history
of Egyptian art. No other in ancient times was so powerful or had such
influence in the department of our present study. Each new discovery
which is made leads towards the conviction that the art of enamelling
pottery, which has been, wherever known, the highest means of uniting
beauty with utility, first invented by the Egyptians nearly or quite four
thousand years ago, has never been practised by any nation which did not,
directly or indirectly, learn it from them. This example of an art never
wholly lost out of the world for four thousand years — an art which con
tributes so much to the civilization and refinement of the race — has deep
interest to the student.
Without entering on the discussion of disputed questions of Egyptian
chronology, the settlement of Egypt may be placed at about 2700 B.C.,
and the building of the Pyramid of Shoofou or Cheops at about 2350 B.C.,
dates sustained by the combined results of the study of Egyptian art.

EGYPT. 33

the records of the monuments, and the agreement of the ablest English-
speaking archaeologists. It may be noted, in passing, that the school
which has heretofore held to dates of extreme antiquity has rapidly
shortened the long term of Egyptian duration formerly claimed ; and
Mariette Bey, of that school, the most experienced of modern Egyptian
explorers, if not the most trustworthy reasoner, places the settlement of
Egypt at 5004 b.c, and the dynasty of builders of the Great Pyramids
at from 4235 to 3951 b.c.
While Egypt furnishes abundant relics of art of her ancient periods,
growing fewer in number, and proving the simplicity of both arts and
religion in the earlier times, there are no monuments with dates which
make it possible to locate them exactly in contemporaneous history, or
with reference to modern methods of computatiou, prior to the eigh
teenth century before Christ. An astronomical occurrence recorded in the
reign of Thothmes III. has enabled astronomers to locate that event at
1445 b.c, but this result is rendered somewhat doubtful by contradictions
in dates derived from later astronomical events recorded.
In commencing the history of pottery in Egypt, it is necessary to ex
amine a statement, widely credited, which places the existence of pottery
at a remote period. The learned Bunsen, in the preface to the third vol
ume of the English edition of his great work, " Egypt's Place in History,"
falls into an error the more remarkable on account of the learning and
accuracy which characterize his observations in general. This error has
been fraught with evil consequences in the wide influence it has exerted
towards unsettling faith in the Mosaic records. It is worthy of distinct
note that other errors of similar nature have been made by many persons
who have argued in favor of the extreme antiquity of the human race,
and it is of the utmost importance to the student that he should examine
with extremest caution, and accept only on the most complete evidence,
statements of the occasional discovery of works of human art, or bones
of human frames, in localities indicating an antiquity far beyond that of
the ordinarily known and numerous relics. The study of art is a study
of facts, and its conclusions are not to be rejected on the faith of theories
— especially of geologic theories — so many of which are vague and unsup
ported by sufficient evidence.
The Chevalier Bunsen's argument is briefly this : At Mitrahenny, a
village among the palm-trees which now cover the site of ancient Mem
phis in Egypt, lies, half buried in the soil, a colossal statue of Eemeses IL,
who reigned in Egypt about 1300 b.c. The statue was doubtless erected
by him, and was one of the wonders of Memphis in the days of her mag-
3

34

ANCIENT POTTERY.

6. Egyptian Blue-enamelled Pot
tery Cup.

nificence. When the Persians conquered Egypt, they overthrew this
colossal monolith, and it has lain in fallen grandeur from that day to
this. This spot where the statue lies was selected for borings in the soil.
Mr. Homer, the English officer who conducted the examinations, selected
the spot because the presence of the statue as
sured an undisturbed earth for at least three
thousand years. The accumulation of earth by
annual deposit of the Nile since its erection
had been nine feet four inches in the period
(which Bunsen places at three thousand two
hundred and fourteen years), which gave an
accretion of three and a half inches per cen
tury. This regular accretion and consequent
rise of the level of Egypt is a well-settled fact.
At the depth of thirty-two feet was found the
sand, underlying the Nile deposits, and from this depth was brought up
pottery, the work of human hands. The argument on its face seemed
clear to a child that thirteen thousand five hundred years had elapsed
since this pottery was left there by living men ; and Bunsen says, " This
result is historical, not geological. The soil is exclusively historical soil,
coeval with mankind, and underlies a monument the date of which can
be fixed with all desirable certainty."
But, unfortunately for the learned German's conclusion, he forgot that
if the soil is "exclusively historical, coeval with mankind," its history
should be examined ; and, overlooking this, he assumes that it is geologic
cal, the deposit of nature working through the Nile overflow. The soil is
historical, and its history is quite plain to all who have examined the
monolithic colossi of Egypt.
There are remains of several of these colossi not far apart at Mitra-
henny. They were each from thirty to fifty feet in height, gigantic mon
oliths, such as no nation but the Egyptians have erected. They were cut
and finished in quarries, nearer or more distant, as the quality of stone de
termines. They were transported on mighty floats along the Nile, and
great canals were cut from the Nile banks, to lead the floats to the place
of final deposit. Here the Egyptians, architects who built for eternity, be
lieving in all probability that they would return some day in the flesh to
worship again in their temples and find their monuments unharmed by
time, made great excavations through the alluvial and into the underlying
sand, and laid firm foundations for the vast weights of stone. If different

EGYPT. 35

colossi at Memphis were erected at the same time, as is probable, the ca
nals extended in various directions. Around each site of the foundations
the excavations were practically small lakes, and coffer-dams were essen
tial, for the Nile water percolates the alluvial. The work done, the statue
erected, the earth was filled in, and Memphis grew over it. Such is the
historical soil through which the borings were made; and the pottery
found was the broken pottery of the workmen who built the foundations
three thousand two hundred and fourteen years before the fragments
of their water -jars were recovered to puzzle modern men with the no
tion that they had lain more than a century of centuries under the Nile
deposits. In fact, so thorough has the canal system of Egypt been, for the pur
poses of irrigation, from the earliest dynasties — the canals always descend
ing to the lowest Nile level, and, when abandoned, filling up
with soil in a few years — that excavations in Egyptian al
luvial must furnish exceedingly doubtful results, wherever
made. The fact which may be placed on record in this con
nection is, that pottery, the first and the most enduring
handiwork of mankind, has never been found yet which can
be with reason assigned to an origin as early as 3000 b.c.
Egypt made pottery before the building of the Pyra
mids. This is evident from the presence in older hiero
glyphic writing of characters which are pictures of earthen 7. The God Anu-
vessels. Pictures of pottery vessels and small pieces of pot- *"*¦ E^mel-
. -i -n» i* -i 16(1 StG3itlt6i
tery have been found in tombs of the Fourth, Fifth, and
Sixth Dynasties, contemporary with and after the building of the Great
Pyramid (about 2350 b.c).
The art of covering pottery with enamel was invented by the Egyp
tians at a very early date. They applied it to stone as well as to pottery.
Although it is not customary (except with the Chinese) to class in the
ceramic art enamels on any other than earthen bodies, the enamelled stone
of Egypt is so closely related to the enamelled pottery of Egypt that it
must be considered with it.
Steatite (or soapstone, as some varieties are called) is easily worked,
and bears great heat without cracking. From this material the Egyp
tians carved small pieces — vases, amulets, images of deities, of animals
and other objects — and covered them with green, blue, and occasionally
red, yellow, and white enamel, which when baked became brilliant and
enduring. Objects in enamelled steatite are known of very early periods.

30

ANCIENT POTTERY.

8. Pottery Flasks found at Thebes.

One in the Trumbull-Prime collection, obtained at Thebes— a small cylin
der — bears the cartouche of a king, Amunmhe III., of the Twelfth Dy
nasty, the Moeris of history, whose date is placed at about 2000 b.c. The
enamel is pale-green, almost white, except in the engraved lines, where,
being thicker, it shows more color.
In the Louvre collection, a cylinder of this material bears the name
of Shafra, a king of the Fourth Dynasty, builder of the second pyramid;
and the British Museum has three
which have the names of kings and of
a queen of the Twelfth Dynasty. The
manufacture of this material was car
ried on till the time of the Ptolemies.
The knowledge and practice of this
art at the time of the building of the
Pyramids necessarily imply that the
Egyptians could enamel pottery also at
that early date. It is, in fact, impossi
ble to say that there are any known
specimens of unglazed pottery older
than specimens of glazed and enam
elled pottery. The histories of the two classes therefore begin together.
The Egyptians made two kinds of pottery — the one, ordinary soft pot
tery ; the other, a coarse, gritty compound, loose in its character and lack
ing cohesion, sandy, easily crumbled, very white, but always covered with
a strong glaze or enamel. This material was chiefly used for small ob
jects, seldom for vases. We found at
Thebes, in 1856, a fragment of a vase
of this ware (111. 9) which must have
been nearly a foot in height, which is
covered with a thick white stannifer
ous enamel, and decorated with figures
and hieroglyphs in purple. There are
smaller vases in our collection, ampho
ra-shaped, of the same material, meas
uring from four to six inches in height.
Cups and bowls were formed of it, on
which figures were painted in color
generally in black, and also lotus-flowers and other Egyptian emblematic
designs. These pictures are usually in outline, rude in execution, much
inferior to the work of many Egyptian artists who painted on stone or

9. Fragment of Egyptian Vase. White en
amel; figures, etc., purple. (T.-P. Coll.)

EGYPT. 37
on papyrus. The beauty of the enamel on these objects has been the
envy of potters in modern times. The blue has never been surpassed,
if, indeed, it has ever been equalled. Objects three thousand years old
retain the splendor of their original color ; and this leads to the inference
that the variety of the shades of blue found on them is not the result
of time, but the original intent of the makers. These shades vary from
the most intense bleu-de-roi and pure turquoise to pale-blue tints ap
proaching white. The color is usually remarkably uniform on the ob
ject. Several of the rare colors of old Chinese porcelain are thus found
in ancient Egyptian enamels. The same enamel was occasionally applied
to soft pottery.
Of unglazed pottery Egypt produced several varieties. The most
common was the ordinary red, cream - colored, and yellow, sometimes in
the later periods, under the Greeks and Romans, polished so as to appear
like lustrous pottery. Another variety of pottery found in Egypt has a
creamy-white surface resembling pipe-clay, the paste very hard and com
pact, the surface polished, and presenting almost the appearance of stan
niferous enamel not perfectly white. It may be questioned, however,
whether this ware was made in Egypt. It is abundant in Cyprus, and
it is possible that objects found in Egypt were imported from Cyprus.
After the Egyptian conquest of Cyprus, about 1440 b.c, and even at an
earlier time, the two countries may have interchanged products.
It is not certain that Egypt ever burned brick. The absence of rain
in that country made it unnecessary. Sun-dried brick were used for the
construction of houses and walls, and the fact that to the present day
thousands of these bricks retain their form and position, and even the
stamps of the kings in whose reigns they were made, shows how useless
burning would have been. It is supposed by some authorities that the
burned brick which are occasionally found are the results of accidental
fire. Others suppose that bricks were baked when intended for use in
wet places. For ordinary purposes, the Egyptian brick were mere masses
of sun-dried Nile mud, moulded usually of a large size, sometimes 20
inches long, more commonly smaller; seldom, however, less than 13 \
inches by 6£ by 4f ; sometimes strengthened by the admixture of cut
straw, used as modern plasterers use hair in mortar.
The forms of Egyptian pottery were numerous. Vases were made
chiefly for use, and not for ornament. The amphora, in Egypt as in all
ancient countries the most common and most useful vase, was made in all
sizes, from the three -inch oil or perfume holder to the immense jar of
three or four feet in height, for holding water, wine, oil, or grain. The

38

ANCIENT POTTERY.

pithos (so called by the Greeks), an immense tub, cask, or vase of pottery,
was made in Egypt as in all the Oriental countries. It was the household
cellar, in which meats and provisions were stored. This was sometimes
six feet in diameter, always made of coarse unglazed pottery.

10. Egyptian Wine-press, showing Amphora. (From sculptures at Thebes.)
The highest art was displayed in the smallest articles, whether of soft
pottery, or of the sandy paste before described. Images of deities were
moulded in fair style or beautifully carved from steatite, and enamelled
with the brilliant blue or green. The scarabseus — the amulet which sig
nified, as some suppose, creation ; as others think, resurrection — was made
in pottery as well as steatite, with different symbolic variations, but hav
ing the same general form. Among
our specimens is one with the head
of an asp; another with the head
of Isis; another with the head of
a ram, each a work of admirable
art. One is of soft pottery, bear
ing the cartouche of Amasis, 570

11. Small Pottery Bottle.

b.c., and is a specimen of unusually fine workmanship. The wings are
open-work, formed of asps engraved; the back is the head of Isis; the
head a ram's head. A scarabseus in the possession of Mr. Charles Dud-.
ley Warner, at Hartford, is skilfully engraved with a life-like head of
a hippopotamus. In our collection are crocodiles, snakes, hawks, apes,
lions, fish, frogs, cats, a great variety of animal forms, which were made
chiefly for ornaments or amulets. Beads and bugles in various colors
and shapes were common. It was customary to wrap the dead in shawls
composed of net-work, made of bugles and beads with amulets attached.

EGYPT. 39
Bugles are often ornamented with spiral lines differing from the general
color — black on green, purple on blue, etc. Beads were made globular,
angular, oblong, flat with serrated edges, and of other shapes — blue,
green, red, and yellow in color.
Enamelled pottery was also used for inlaying purposes in ornamental
work. Small tiles, two inches by one, were used in the Pyramid of Sak-
kara, as in modern chimney decoration. In the Abbott collection (New
York Historical Society) and in the Trumbull-Prime collection are nu
merous specimens of pottery which have been thus used. In the latter
collection is an unusually large plaque, 4f by 4 inches, the eye of Osiris
(as this design is ordinarily called) being indicated on it in raised lines,
the whole covered with a rich dark-green enamel.
At Tel-el- Yahoudeh are the remains of a temple, built of crude brick,
whose walls were once covered with tiles of a remarkable character, bear
ing on them the hieroglyphic history, with illustrations, of the deeds of
Eemeses III., about 1200 b.c The legends on these are sometimes im
pressed in blue tiles and inlaid with colored glass. Others have yellow
grounds, with impressed legends inlaid in color. Yet others have relief
figures of prisoners captured by the king, their dresses and hair inlaid in
color. The ancient Egyptians used pottery for burial purposes, to contain
those interior parts of the body which were removed before embalming.
Four vases, which were sometimes deposited with the mummied body,
contained the stomach, the heart and lungs, the liver, and the smaller
intestines. These were generally made of stone, but
sometimes of pottery. Examples are in the Abbott
collection in New York. Besides these, large numbers jg^
of .smaller objects in enamelled pottery were deposited dJBMkhJr
with the dead. The most common were those now » : | | , ,||| ||flH|M||mhL
called Osirian figures, usually representing mummies. HL; 
These are of various sizes. Many so closely resemble \ JllSif
each other in work, and in the hieroglyphic legends _ ^gO|,''''
painted or impressed on them, that it seems probable 12. Egyptian Biue-enam-
they were objects kept in stock by the potters for eiiedVase.
sale to purchasers for funeral purposes. They are found both unglazed
and enamelled, in red pottery and in the hard, gritty pottery before de
scribed. Those which represent the person with a long robe, as in life,
are more rare, and are believed to be the more ancient It was also com
mon to build into the walls on the interior of tombs cones of pottery, six
to ten inches in length, the bases standing out, on which were engraved or

40

ANCIENT POTTERY.

impressed, before baking, legends relating to the dead occupants of the
tomb. These cones have been found in great numbers, and much im
portant information has been derived from the inscriptions on them,
Which usually contain the name of the deceased, his titles, the offices
which he held, and expressions appropriate to funereal purposes. These
were formerly supposed to be stamps for seals.

m^^ #gn-=^«

13. Ancient Egyptian Pottery. (From a tomb at Beni-Hassan.)

The Egyptians possessed the potter's wheel from an early period, as
appears from a painting on the wall of one of the tombs at Beni-Hassan
which are of very ancient date, not far from that of the Pyramid of Shoo-
fou. The art of forming circular objects on the wheel has scarcely ad
vanced a step for four thousand years ; and the Beni-Hassan picture, from
which we reproduce an extract (111. 13), is practically useful to instruct
modern students in the industry in every pottery where the common
wares — pots, pans, jars, and mugs — are made. Sometimes now the wheel
is turned by the foot, sometimes by a boy, rarely by machinery. The
lump of clay was then, as now, thrown down on the wheel, to be shaped
by the hands and fingers ; and the modern custom of doing the same has
given to the English potter who actually shapes pottery with his own
hands the name "thrower," and to the art the expression of "throw
ing" a piece.
The influx of Greek art and Greek tastes under the Ptolemies rap
idly brought to an end the continuous succession of pure Egyptian art,

EGYPT.

41

which had been very much the same for two thousand years. The pot
tery of the later periods was not materially different from the common
pottery of Greece. None of the higher classes of Greek artistic pottery
were made in Egypt. The decadence of the art in Greece after the
third century before Christ was marked ; and Egyptian potteries indi
cate the same decay. With the Roman power came Roman art, which
in pottery was, in the main, of a low class.
The practice of burning the dead which the Greeks introduced led to
the use of pottery for the ashes of the dead. In the year 1855 we ex
amined a great number of tombs in a
very extensive cemetery then lying to
the eastward of Alexandria, now covered
by the modern growth of that city, and
found many vases and lamps of Egyp
tian pottery of the Greek and Roman
periods. One tomb alone contained over
a hundred vases in a decayed condition,
all of common red pottery, unglazed,
without decoration, except now and then
a few lines of black on the red clay. A

vase, taken from one of these tombs

14. Grseco-Egyptian Mortuary Vase.
tomb at Alexandria.)

(From

(111. 14), will serve as an illustration of
the later Greek style in Egypt. This
vase we found sunk in a square cavity,
only large enough to hold it, in the rock
floor of a tomb. It was closed by a disk,
cemented in the orifice, and contained
bones and ashes.
The New York Historical Society possesses, in the Abbott collection,
a very extensive illustration of Egyptian pottery and enamels of all pe
riods. Besides a great number of figures, amulets, scarabsei, and small
objects in steatite and pottery, this collection exhibits various forms and
decorations of vases, bottles, etc. There are several bottles in the blue
enamel, which are of the form now called " pilgrim bottles," a flattened-
egg shape, having a small neck, and two small strong handles for a string
to pass through. Two are in their original wicker cases, indicating the
care which was taken of them. A curious vase is shaped in general like
the kanopos, the funeral vase for holding the intestines, etc., before de
scribed, but, instead of having a movable cover, is in one piece, the top a
hawk's head. This is soft pottery, nine inches high, enamelled with tur-

42 ANCIENT POTTERY.

quoise-blue. On the front are two cartouches in black, one containing
the prsenomen of Osorkon I., of the Twenty-second Dynasty, about 968
b.c. This king was son of Shishak, the spoiler of Jerusalem in the days
of Rehoboam. For some years past, this vase has presented a remarkable
appearance in the glass case in which it stands. It is completely covered
by a growth of fine hair-like spinels, of a transparent crystallization over
a fourth of an inch in length. This is not an uncommon occurrence with
Egyptian pottery, proceeding from the impregnation of the ware with
nitre, or other salts, abounding in Egypt.
A small vase, of cream-colored pottery, is decorated with a rude indi
cation of a human face made of small lumps of clay for eyes and nose,
two arms at the sides, two horns above. Mr. Birch supposes this deco
ration to represent the god Bes, and the vases thus ornamented to be of
Roman time. The Greeks and Romans called these vases Besa, from the
image on them. Those who are fond of coincidences in art find remarka
ble resemblance between these vases and some of Central American fabric
in our collection.
A fish-shaped bottle in red pottery is curious. Pilgrim bottles, as in
enamel, are here in red pottery. Characteristic Egyptian decorations will
be found on large, coarse vases in dashing lines of red and black. The
red of the Egyptians can hardly be mistaken, although closely imitated in
Cyprus. A still more characteristic decoration is that on small vases,
where the pottery is marbled with red in rough daubed lines over the
surface, rectangular spaces being filled with hieroglyphs in black. A re
markable vase — a jug of buff -colored pottery — with large, globular bulb
nearly a foot in diameter, a short neck, from which a straight spout pro
jects horizontally, with handle opposite, is decorated in black with one de
sign often repeated, which might well be taken for a cuttle-fish with its
arms extended in divers folds. The leaf ornaments around the neck indi
cate a Greek period.
The cover of the upper half of a mummy-case, in unglazed red pot
tery, in the usual form, representing the face and shoulders of a person,
is a noteworthy specimen. The face is colored yellow, apparently before
baking; the head and all the exterior are colored yellow, with red and
black faintly intermingled, the inside remaining red. Holes through the
edges are for fastening down this cover on the sarcophagus, which was
perhaps also of pottery. The interior shows the numerous finger-marks
of the workman in the soft clay while pressing the face into the mould.
That the Egyptians possessed tin at an early period the abundance of
bronze objects fully attests. Their knowledge of oxides of metals is

EGYPT. 43
shown in various ways, notably in the colors employed in decorating pot
tery. At the period of the Exodus we are told that the Israelites were
directed to purify the gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead taken from
the Midianites. Tin might have been obtained from India, as there is
abundant evidence of Egyptian commerce with those countries at least
fourteen hundred years before Christ.
The glaze sometimes used was evidently not stanniferous, neither does
it show the presence of lead. It was siliceous, and the color was inter
mingled with the glaze. Small objects are found in which the color
seems to have been mixed with the clay, and unbaked beads of soft clay,
colored deep-green, have been found in Egypt, and also in Cyprus, whither
they were probably exported from Egypt. The green and blue colors
were probably obtained from copper ; the red, which is more rare, from
iron ; the yellow from silver ; the purple from manganese or gold ; the
white from tin.
Lamps are found, probably of Roman time, covered with a hard green
glaze, much crackled, and presenting a singular resemblance to Chinese
enamelled potteries. Lamps of red and buff-colored pottery of the Ro
man period, down to the fourth century of the Christian era and later,
abound. Christian inscriptions, designs, and symbols on these lamps are
frequent. A toad was a common form of the top of a lamp. We have
several of this form in bright-red pottery. Names of saints, crosses, the
labarum, religious sentences, are frequent ornaments. On one, a red-ware
lamp in our collection, obtained in Egypt in 1856, is an inscription, re
markable as a rare instance of apparent quotation from the New Testa
ment. It is : ITI2TI2 EAIIIS ArAIIH AIKAIOSYNH
(Faith, Hope, Charity, Righteousness).
Broken pottery was extensively used in Egypt for ordinary writing
purposes. At Thebes, Sakkara, and other places such fragments are
abundant, on which are notes, memoranda, and other writings in black.
So common are these that they clearly indicate a universal custom of
substituting pieces of pottery for papyrus in ordinary use. The same
custom prevailed in Greece.
The Egyptian enamelled pottery has been called porcelain by many
archaeologists; but although the meaning of this word was unsettled
two centuries ago, it is now applied exclusively to translucent pottery,
and its use in reference to Egyptian enamelled pottery is not correct.
We have seen that the Egyptians understood the use of enamel on vari-

44

ANCIENT POTTERY.

ous substances. They also made glass, of great beauty and in various
colors. They made small objects of white and colored enamel paste,
translucent, for inlaying in wood and other substances. These objects
were sometimes of great beauty, and some of them present very much
the appearance of that soft-paste porcelain which in many modern fac
tories approaches closely to opaque glass. Although this product is not
strictly porcelain, unless it should be found that white clay enters into
its composition, it is so close an approximation to it that it demands
special classification among the early arts of the human race which passed
from Egypt to other countries. A small profile figure of Isis in our col
lection is made of this pure white translucent paste, and was probably
once inlaid in wood.

15. Egyptian Representations of Plants from the Monuments.

The Egyptian styles of ornamentation are so marked that their pres
ence is at once detected wherever they are found in Phenician, Greek,
or other decoration. The illustration given of methods of representing
flowers may serve as an example (111. 15). Here are the designs, found
in varying forms on Phenician and Greek vases ; and here, perhaps, is
the origin of the " lily work " wherewith Phenician artists adorned the
pillars of the Temple of Solomon.

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA. 45

II -ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.
It will be an assistance to the student of ceramic art who seeks in
it a guide and aid in the study of ethnology, if he will dismiss from his
mind the vagaries of some philosophers, and start with that simple un
derstanding of the origin of the human race which the accounts of
the Hebrew Moses furnish him. Even if he were to abandon all idea
of the inspired, and therefore authoritative, character of those writings,
it remains true that the study of art up to the present day has in all re
spects confirmed their historic verity. No student of ancient art can
find cause to doubt any statement of the great Hebrew historian of the
early ages. Every discovery made by modern explorers among the ruins
of old art which has any bearing on the books of Moses, or the later
Old Testament histories, agrees with and confirms them. No fact has
been found contradicting any one of their statements.
The ceramic student will in the end accept the Hebrew history as
correct, since he will find it confirmed by all discoveries in this old art.
Starting with the fact that a small family, saved from the destruction of
a race, resided in Western Asia about five thousand years ago, the study
of ancient art shows that the families of men spread eastward and north
ward, southward and westward, from this central point. Asia, Africa, and
Europe were peopled slowly from the descendants of a small family.
Whence they derived some of their arts is not mere conjecture. The
Hebrew historian wrote in an age of books. His authorities were abun
dant in the libraries of Egypt. It is evident, from the monuments and
the papyri, that long before his time historians, poets, philosophers, au
thors in great number, had educated Egypt. The words which imply
writing and the materials for writing are found in the earliest known
forms of language, and are the same in various languages proceeding from
the first Dispersion. That among the early works there were records
brought down through the Deluge is not a violent theory. Moses men
tions two antediluvians as the originators of two important arts, and it
is hardly possible that those arts had been lost, and reinvented after the
Deluge ; for in that case he would probably have named the new in
ventor, instead of the old.
The scattering family of man carried with them in various directions
more or less of the useful arts, and some of the ornamental. It was not
until the emigrants had settled in groups, and acquired peculiar character-

46 ANCIENT POTTERY.

istics as tribes or nations, that styles of art became marked by the natu
ral objects which surrounded them, and by the religious emblems which
they adopted.
These points are important to be kept in mind; for at a late period,
compared with the date of the Dispersion, colonization sometimes went
eastward from Europe into Asia. Thus the coasts of Asia Minor were
overcome and settled by Hellenic colonies, and Cyprus, already peopled
from the East, received Argive colonists. But the Hellenic tribes were
descendants of the same family with the Phenicians among whom they
settled, or whose cities they took. In art, as in language, there are some
times roots which are recognizable, though the word or the object be
greatly changed from its origin ; and the student will often find the ex
planation of the presence of these art roots in ancient Greek, Phenician,
and even in Chinese and Indian art, in the common origin of all the races.
The wonderful preservation of ancient Egypt, her monuments, and
her dead with their household goods around them, has made the modern
world well acquainted with Egyptian art from the earliest periods. Pos
sibly, were we as well acquainted with the early art of Mesopotamia, we
should find it very much in advance of that of all other contemporary
tribes. But, so far as is now known, the arts made no advance here for
many centuries. The Babylon and Nineveh known to modern explorers
are not cities of the earliest ages. Their history extends only to the fif
teenth century before Christ, and even at that period their existence is
known only by finding their names on Egyptian monuments. What civ
ilization and arts preceded them in the heart of Asia is unknown, except
from mounds of brick, stamped with the names of kings of whose king
doms no information remains, but which were probably not much greater
than those of the kings associated with Abraham after he came out of
Chaldea. What were the peculiar symbols of the religions of the people in
Mesopotamia and Assyria in the earlier times no means of knowing exist.
If it were safe to form a final opinion from present imperfect knowledge,
it would appear that none of the families of men except the Egyptian
had a sufficiently long residence in peace and prosperity to acquire char
acteristic arts until more than a thousand years after the Dispersion.
Egyptian art first acquired age, and with age power ; for, explain it how
we may, art has always gained force and influence by age. And thus,
when the various tribes who had remained in the Euphrates valley or
located themselves in Phenicia and in the eastern parts of Europe, who
had led wandering lives, or had simply existed in barbaric contentment

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA. 47
and simplicity, began to build cities, form governments, and become fitted
for the introduction of ornamental in addition to useful arts, the Egyp
tian influences were everywhere omnipotent. The Phenician were far
in advance of the Hellenic tribes, for the latter had, down to 700 b.c,
little or no knowledge of ornamental art. Whether the Babylonians and
Assyrians were in advance of, or learners from the Phenicians is doubt
ful. Less is known at present of their early arts than of the Phenician;
and in the ceramic art, what little is known of the Mesopotamian families
shows that, while originally possessed of the art for purposes of utility,
the knowledge of using it for beauty was derived from Egypt. It is
among the possible results of recent discoveries and of explorations yet
to be made, that the order of progression and transmission of the fine arts
will appear to have been from Egypt to the Phenicians, and from the
Phenicians to Assyria and Babylonia as well as to Greece.
The earliest record of pottery is found in the first book of Moses
(Gen. xi., 2, 3), where it is said of the wandering families of men, " as they
journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar ;
and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make
brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and
slime had they for mortar." Men who knew how to make brick, of
course made pottery in other forms. The art of brick-making was pur
sued in Babylonia and Assyria to an extent elsewhere unparalleled. Re
mains of vast brick walls of cities and edifices abound. The brick were
sometimes only sun-dried, sometimes baked. Both kinds are found enter
ing into the structure of the same building, and vast mounds, hills of
ruins in brick, mark the site of ancient towns, palaces, and fortresses on
the plain of Shinar and in all parts of Mesopotamia. These bricks, as in
Egypt, frequently bear the name of the king in whose reign they were
made. The oldest bricks hitherto discovered are those found by Mr.
Loftus at Warka (by some supposed to be Ur of the Chaldees). These
have the name of a King Urukh, with a dedication to the moon, and are
supposed to date about 2200 b.c Bricks of some of the immediate suc
cessors of Urukh were also found. These are exceptional in antiquity.
We have no series of dated works in pottery from this time forward, al
though the vast ruins waiting to be explored will perhaps yield to future
search an historical succession of ceramic objects. Mr. Loftus found
bricks with the name of a king who reigned about 1500 b.c, and after
this there is a gap in the succession of more than five hundred years.
After 880 b.c numerous edifices of brick furnish examples with the
names of kings, as of Assurnazirpal, 880 b.c ; Shalmaneser IL, 850 b.c ;

48

ANCIENT POTTERY.

Sargon, 709 B.C. Bricks are found of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, and
other monarchs named in the sacred books. Perhaps in nothing is the
enduring character of pottery better illustrated than in the fact that on
the bricks of 2200 b.c are visible the marks of the feet of birds and

16. Babylonian Baked Brick, with Name of Nebuchadnezzar; 12 inches square.
weasels, which ran over them when they were lying in the sunshine, to
dry before baking.
In later times the Assyrians and Babylonians learned from Egypt the
art of enamelling pottery, and used stanniferous enamel. Then they cov
ered the edges of brick with brilliant color, and made walls which shone
with great splendor. They did not equal the Egyptians in the finish of
their work, but employed it on a much grander scale. Patterns ran along
the walls from brick to brick, in white, blue, black, red, yellow. Fig
ures of men were executed, the complete figure requiring several bricks.
Flowers, chain patterns, and animals were painted in the* enamels, as
well as inscriptions. The remains of the temple of Belus at the Birs
Nimroud, examined by Sir H. Rawlinson, indicated that it was a terraced
pyramid, each terrace made of enamelled brick of a different color. The
highest terrace, supposed to have been dedicated to the moon, was green
ish gray ; the next blue, dedicated to Mercury, and this is supposed to
have been enamelled and baked in position after it was built. The next
terrace was yellow, dedicated to the sun ; the next pink, to Mars ; the
next red, to Jupiter ; the lowest black, to Saturn. Under this the founda
tion was unbaked brick. All the bricks found in this ruin are of the
time of Nebuchadnezzar. Imagination can hardly exaggerate the splen
dor of the enamelled walls and palaces of Babylon and Nineveh. They
have their successors in the exquisite works of the Saracens, who alone

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.

49

17. Earthen Jars found in Baby
Ionian Ruins.

of modern nations have covered the exteriors of buildings with enamelled
faience. Few vases are known of Babylonian or Assyrian work. Such as have
been found resemble the Egyptian, but have no special characteristics as
works of art. A few specimens, discovered by
Mr. Layard and Mr. Loftus, give us no idea of
the style of decorating pottery.
Both the Babylonians and the Assyrians used
pottery for the purposes to which we apply paper.
They impressed on sheets or plaques of prepared
clay (Ills. 18, 19) writings which they desired to
make permanent, and baked them for preserva
tion. No equally sure method of preserving rec
ords is known. The discovery by Mr. Layard
of the library of one of the palaces of Nineveh
has furnished to modern scholars a great quantity of the literature of
ancient Assyria. The cuneiform legends are im
pressed either with a special instrument or with
the corner of a metal rule. The ordinary busi
ness of Nineveh was carried on by the aid of this
art. Contracts for the sale of property, transfers
of lands, slaves, and other possessions, remain to
this day in sharp characters on the small pottery
tablets, stamped with the seals of the contracting
parties. Engraved cylinders and signets in stone
were used for impressions on clay. Books were
thus written and preserved. It is estimated that
twenty thousand pieces of ancient Assyrian tab
lets and books have been found. The lamented
George Smith has given from such pottery pages
(111. 20) the Chaldaic accounts of the Genesis and
„ ,, t-. n ij-i • x- -ji.-j 18. Inscribed Tablet of Pottery.
of the Deluge, and future examination is destined
to bring out from the same sources much of the history of Assyria and
Babylonia. Sometimes these tablets are double, one containing within
itself a duplicate record. They are found in Babylonia as well as As
syria. A series found at Warka extends through the reigns of Nabopal-
lasar (600 b.c), Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus, Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius,
Artaxerxes, and the Seleucidan monarchs, down to the second century
before the Christian era.
Cvlinders and hexagonal prisms in pottery were covered with inscrip-
4

50

ANCIENT POTTERY.

tions minutely executed. These were sometimes deposited under the cor
ners of the platforms of public buildings.
Some small pottery tablets with relief figures have been found, which
Mr. Birch suggests may have been sketches by
|^ artists preparatory to important works.
Among the most remarkable objects in pot
tery are coffins, found by Mr. Layard at Niffer,
and in vast numbers at Warka by Mr. Loftus,
who says that this spot appears to have been a
sacred burial-place for a period of probably twen
ty-five hundred years. He found the burial-
mounds to be literally masses of the dead to the
depth of thirty feet ; and he estimated the depth
at thirty feet more. He does not state that he
found here the large urn - shaped vase ; but this
was a common Babylonian form of coffin, lined
with bitumen and covered, sometimes with brick,
sometimes with a pottery lid. Sir Henry Rawlin-
son found in such jars skeletons, and skulls which
could not possibly have gone in through the small
orifice. He therefore infers a custom of making:
first the lower portion, which received the body,
and placing or moulding over it the upper portion, then baking the jar
with the enclosed remains. Mr. Loftus found numerous specimens in a
form resembling "an oval dish -cover, the sides sloping outward towards
the base." These were from four to seven feet long, two feet wide, one
to three feet deep. These are supposed to be Babylonian. But the most
interesting coffins were slipper-shaped ; the oval opening closed with a lid.
These were ornamented with embossed figures of warriors, in panels, the
whole visible surface covered with a rich green enamel on the exterior,
and blue within the aperture. The green, Mr. Loftus thinks, was changed
by time from the original blue. The material is yellow clay mixed with
straw. The interior surface shows marks of the reed matting on which it
was formed. These coffins probably date from the Sassanian period, and
are among the latest specimens of glazed pottery of ancient art continued
down towards modern Saracenic work.
With the remains of the dead at Warka were found various pottery
objects— cups, small vases, and images, but none which appear to be defi
nitely assignable to an early date. Many images in pottery have been
found in Babylonia and Assyria, which are of the same general character

19. Inscribed Tablet of Pottery.

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.

51

with many found in Cyprus (III. 23), and closely resemble examples in
the Cesnola collection.
A remarkable class, found in considerable quantity by Mr. Layard in
the ruins of ancient Babylonia, consists of unglazed pottery bowls, on
which are inscriptions written in black. The illustrations (24, 25) will
show the form of these, with a fac-simile of one of the inscriptions. Mr.

20. One of the Tablets of the Deluge.
Thomas Ellis (of the British Museum) examined, deciphered, and trans
lated several of the inscriptions, which proved to be in the ancient Chal
dean language, written in characters wholly unknown, and never before
seen in Europe. The subjects of the inscriptions are amulets, or charms
against evil spirits, diseases, and misfortune. The characters answer to
the description given of the most ancient Hebrew letters in the Baby-

52

ANCIENT POTTERY.

Terra-cotta Tablet from Babylon.

Ionian Talmud, which contains an account of the nature and origin of
the letters used by the Jews. The words Hallelujah and Selah occur in
nearly all. Pure Hebrew sentences are mixed with Chaldaic. Mr. Ellis
regards it as quite certain that the inscriptions were written by Jews ; and

22. Glazed Coffins from Warka.

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.

53

there is no reason to doubt that they were the work of descendants of
the " people of the captivity." The Hebrew population of Babylonia was
large in the early centuries of our era. Ben
jamin of Tudela, who travelled in the twelfth
century for the purpose of reporting the con
dition of the Hebrews in various parts of the
East, found large numbers of them, and in
Baghdad ten Hebrew colleges. He gives a
list of presidents of these colleges, who were
called Batlanim, " the Idle," because their sole
occupation consisted in the discharge of public
business — a name which would perhaps better
apply to some modern holders of office. In
Baghdad at that time was Rabbi Daniel Ben
Chisdai, descended from King David, and
bearing the title among the Jews of "Lord Prince of the Captivity."
The Mohammedans recognized him by the title " Saidna Ben Daoud" —

23. Figures of Assyrian Venus.

24. Inscribed Bowl from Babylon. Diameter 6 inches, depth 3 inches.

54

ANCIENT POTTERY.

" Honorable Son of David." This and other evidence indicate an inter
esting and unwritten chapter of Hebrew history, which is important here
only because these ceramic relics are among the few links in the art which
possibly connect the Babylonian and the modern Persian work. Mr. Lay
ard is of opinion that the specimen illustrated with its inscription (111. 24)
is the most ancient found, and " might be referred to the second or third

25. Inscribed Bowls from Babylon.
century before Christ, but may be of a later period," while others are of a
more recent date, possibly as late as the fifth century of our era. Others
are of opinion that these bowls may be much more modern ; and it has
been said that similar wares are made in some parts of the East at the
present time. The authority for this statement is not given.
No distinction has been attempted, in this sketch, between the pottery
of Babylonia and that of Assyria, since they are in all respects similar.

III.-PHENICTA.
Among that portion of the human race who after the Dispersion wan
dered to the shores of the Mediterranean, and gradually spread themselves
over its islands and along its coasts, a unity of language, religion, and art
bound together a family whom we are accustomed to call Phenician, but
of whom we have hitherto known little. Their art period extends from
the fifth century before Christ back into unknown centuries. That they
had artists and art was evident from the application made to them" by
Solomon, and the valuable aid rendered by them to that monarch. Their
cities on the Philistine and Syrian coasts are historical ; but ruin and time
have sadly erased the records of their work. Suddenly in our own day
their art has come to light, in pottery, bronze, precious metals, gems, and
sculpture, in surprising brilliancy. Cyprus was Phenician from an early
date, and the explorations of General L. P. Di Cesnola in Cyprus have not
only revealed an immense amount of material for Phenician studies, but
have also cast a flood of light on the origin of Greek art. The Cesnola

PHENICIA.

55

collection, which now forms part of the treasures of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York, includes several thousand vases, a large col-

26. Phenician Vase. Buff pottery decorated in black. (Cesnola Coll.)
lection of statuary, bronzes, and exquisite gold and silver, the work of suc
cessive centuries, and of very many generations of men in one locality.
The latest specimens are of Roman times, in the fifth and sixth centuries
after Christ. The earliest specimens are of unknown date, but doubtless
many are of a time preceding the Egyptian conquest of Cyprus, about
1440 b.c There is here a history of local art extending through a
period of two thousand years, illustrated by a vast number of objects.
These were found chiefly in tombs.
A very interesting portion of the collection, of the highest archaeo
logical importance, consists of articles of the most artistic fabric and
taste in gold, engraved gems, silver, bronze, alabaster, and pottery, found
in the treasure-vaults of a temple at Kurium, where they had lain intact

56

ANCIENT POTTERY.

since the destruction of that city and its temples. The character of these
articles sufficiently indicates that they were an accumulation of long time,
probably some centuries, during which they had, from age to age, been
added to the temple treasury as gifts of devotees. These, therefore, alone
afford a subject of study of great interest, since they illustrate an art his
tory which conies to an abrupt conclusion at the date of the destruction
of Kurium. That date fixed would furnish a trustworthy starting-point
in the study of both Greek and Phenician art; for among the illustra
tions are some which belong to the early Greek school, others which
show the union of Greek and Phenician influence, many which indicate
Egyptian influence, and many purely Phenician. Unfortunately, this is
not fixed with accuracy. It was probably about the middle of the sixth
century before Christ. It cannot have been far from that time.

27. Phenician Vases. (Cesnola Coll.)
Historians furnish very little knowledge of Greek art history in this
century which is trustworthy, and occasional discoveries made hitherto
have afforded little more than material for theories. But there is here
very good evidence that the late history of Phenician art is the early
history of Greek art in Cyprus; that the former is the mother of the
latter. The very regular succession, indicated not only in the Kurium
treasure, but in the thousands of specimens in the entire Cesnola col
lection, assists in the explanation and correct classification of many ex
ceptional specimens of early Greek art, and art preceding the pure Greek

PHENICIA. 57

which have been discovered elsewhere, and heretofore arranged with
much doubt.
The limits of this volume forbid any attempt at a thorough account of
the Phenician potteries. Nothing more can be accomplished than a brief
description of the varieties, which will be useful as an aid to their exami
nation and study.
The potteries of Cyprus show a succession of art history which may
be divided into styles, which are not always, however, of distinct periods,
for the earlier styles prevailed more or less in later periods. These styles
are: 1. Phenician ; 2. Egtpto - Phenician- ; 3. Gr^eco - Phenician ; 4.
Greek; 5. Roman.
The difficulty of assigning specimens to the earlier periods of time
arises from the danger of mistaking rude work of poor potters in late
times for archaic attempts at art. This difficulty attends the examina
tion of all ancient pottery. There is a very close resemblance, especially
in attempts at the human figure, between the first work of barbarians
and the mud images made by modern children. But there is no hesita
tion in classing some decorations as purely Phenician, especially with
the aiding facts that these were found in Phenician
tombs, and, in one instance at least, accompanied with
a Phenician legend. Checks, diamonds, squares of al
ternating color, incised decorations in patterns, circles
rudely drawn, circles sharply drawn, singly or in con
centric groups, and accompanied by lines or bands
around the objects — these more or less elaborately
arranged on the vases — are all characteristic Pheni
cian decorations. Checks, zigzags, and diamonds are
the first ornaments of barbarians. But the Pheni- 28. Phenician Vase.
cians seem to have been the originators of system- (Cesnola Coll.)
atic decoration. No earlier instances are known of what may be called
styles. Mere checks or diamonds, common to savage tribes, are here ar
ranged in columns, bands, compartments, in parallel groups, dividing the
surface of the pottery into equal portions ; and these patterns occur on
many objects, thus forming styles. They are on objects of various date,
and probably more or less of these antedate the Egyptian conquest.
That conquest produced a marked effect, which characterizes Egypto-
Phenician art. Egyptian styles, symbols, colors, and decorations abound,
executed by Phenicians in Phenician manner, unlike that of Egyptian
workmen, and intermingled with Phenician symbols and characteristics.

58

ANCIENT POTTERY.

Birds, fish, and lotus -flowers are painted in deep red and black, at first
singly or scattered on the sides of vases, then arranged in groups, zones,
or bands. Perhaps this last arrangement does not occur until the begin
ning of the next period. The human figure is very rare. The Egypto-
Phenician style was used only by the Phenicians; it was not known in
Egypt. When the other branch of the human race, who had crossed the
sea from the Ionian coast to Greece, and who were practically barbarians
until educated by contact with the Phenicians, began to colonize Cyprus,
the new element introduced a new spirit into Phenician art ; and here
commences Gr^eco - Phenician art. The pure Phenician had remained
synchronous with the Egypto-Phenician through the previous period, and
still survived. The Greek mind at first contributed nothing original to
these arts, but seized them, adapted them to Greek tastes as those tastes
developed and improved, introduced the union of pictorial illustration of
story and history with the beauty of form which was Phenician, and so,
gradually, brought into existence the splendor of Greek ceramic art.
The Phenicians and Greeks worked contemporaneously, and it was not
till during or after the sixth century before Christ that Phenician art
was wholly merged in the Greek. But the Phenicians had submitted to
the superior power of the Grecian intellect, accepted new ideas, modified
their styles in painting and sculpture, and thus the latest work of the
Phenicians was probably in the style called Grseco-Phenician, although
the Egypto-Phenician still survived, and the
Greeks founded on it the style hereafter de
scribed, sometimes called Doric.
The vast collection of General Cesnola must
be studied with care before it will be possible to
distribute the specimens in their respective pe
riods of time. We must be content at first to
classify them by the styles of pottery or of dec
oration, remembering that in some styles the
specimens are of various periods of time, and
that different styles are of contemporary date.
Nor are the styles of decoration always peculiar
to the class of pottery, although certain styles of
decoration prevail on certain classes.
1. Cream - colored unglazed pottery, coarse
paste, rough surface, without decoration in color. This class includes ob
jects made at different periods, very ancient, and contemporary with the
Cups, bowls, vases, paterse, lamps, and other useful articles

29. Venus with Attendants.
(Cesnola Coll.)

Greek.

PHENICIA. 59

abound. Images of deities, of men, bulls, birds, horses, fish, mostly very
rude, are also abundant. Many vases are in the shapes of animals, espe
cially of deer, bulls, fish, and birds resembling ducks. Some of these forms
may imply Egyptian ideas. Images of the Venus of the Phenicians are
found in a variety of forms, from mere slabs of clay, with slight indica
tions of features and form in relief, to good work showing a great degree
of taste and skill.
2. The same unglazed cream-white pottery decorated in black only.
The objects in this class are generally archaic in appearance, and some
of them are among the first specimens of
decoration. There is no pretence to artistic
style. The black lines are rudely drawn, in
checks, diamond patterns, parallel masses,
and cross hatchings, sometimes in bands,
perpendicular or around the piece. Figures
of animals, and vases in animal shapes, are
rudely daubed with dashes of black. These
primitive decorations fall into regularity of
arrangement, making characteristic styles,
such as appear on vases in 111. 27. 30. Bottle in Bird Form. (Class 2,
3. Brick -red unglazed pottery without Cesnola Coll.)
color decoration. Objects in this primitive style of pottery are of various
forms, including many images of Yenus which are exceedingly early, and
a few specimens which are important in size and appearance. A large
vase, bottle-shaped, with small neck, two feet high, has raised ornamenta
tion about the neck descending on the bulb, in ribbons or twists of clay.
Immense caldron-shaped vessels (pithoi?) have each two spouts side by
side. In general, the red pottery was covered with white clay before
baking, and this is included in the class following.
4. Unglazed pottery, cream-white, decorated in colors. In this class
is included pottery of buff paste, and also of brick-red paste covered with
a surface of cream - colored clay. The colors used are chiefly red and
black, occasionally brown. Of this class are specimens from the times
before the Egyptian conquest down to the Greek period, in many styles
of decoration. This is apparently the predecessor of the oldest Greek
pottery decorated in the style heretofore known as Doric or Egyptian.
The earliest decorations are like those on Class 2, and are probably
contemporary with some of them, the only difference being in the in
troduction of red lines with the black. This peculiar red color is char
acteristic of Egyptian work, and may have been derived from Egypt

GO

ANCIENT POTTERY.

81. Egypto-Phenician Wine-jug. (Cesnola
Coll.)

32. Egypto-Phenician Wine-jug. (Cesnola
Coll.)

before the Conquest. The progress of art was exceedingly slow in
Cyprus, if, indeed, there was any progress for a thousand years. The
Egyptian influence introduced the lotus -flower and certain large water-
birds, which are the most striking characteristics of the decoration after
the Conquest. On one ancient vase a rude figure has a remote re
semblance to a man; on another, a buff -colored vase with a few black
lines on its neck, is a full-length figure of a negro boy, probably a slave,
rudely daubed in black. Deer and other animals are rare, but appear
on a few vases ; and on one the full - length human figure, clothed in
colored Phenician garments, for the first time in history makes its ap
pearance on pottery. The illustrations (31, 32) show the two sides of a
wine-jug nine inches high, on which two figures appear, among Egyptian
symbols, their heads turned awkwardly away so as to give the profiles.
The artist was unable to paint a front face, and forced the position. The
faces are drawn in black, the dresses red ; the sashes, which fall in front,
are black, the simple pattern being left open, showing the cream -clay
color of the vase. This vase is important as being one of the earliest
known specimens of ceramic art on which the human form is represented

PHENICIA. 61

in colors. Its date may approximate to 1000 b.c, but this is mere con
jecture. A vase somewhat thinner than others of this class, and perhaps be
longing to a place midway between this and Class 5, is important be
cause having Phenician letters on the surface baked with the vase. Its
form is graceful, urn-shaped, the two handles on each side springing like
slender horns, and curving over and downward in opposite di
rections. The horns spring from one oblong root, and on this
in black are eyes and mouth, indicating a head, perhaps of a
deer or a bull. The decoration is in checker and diamond pat
terns of black and brown, the checks outlined in black and filled
in with brown. Red bands run around the vase and its foot.
Another somewhat similar vase has the body fluted perpendicu
larly, a frequent style of ornament, which may have been origi
nally derived from, and adopted in imitation of, shells which
abound on the Mediterranean. This class includes articles of onypheni-
late period showing Greek characteristics. cian Pot-
Among the most frequent decorations on this class of vases tery'
are broad concentric circles, of alternate red and black, sometimes around
a central figure in the shape of a Greek cross. On these, as on other
classes, the peculiar Asiatic sign, known as the Swastika, is frequent.
This (the first of the three symbols in 111. 33) has also been called
" the Sign of Life." Its signification is wholly unknown, but, like the
Meander pattern, it is a direct derivative from a decoration in checks.
On one vase this sign is placed in the open mouth of a fish, an arrow
pointing towards it, while a stork pierces the
fish with his bill. Another common sign or
symbol used on these vases is a cross with
dots between the arms, perhaps another form
of the sign of life. Another very common
decoration is a row, longer or shorter, of
lines like arrow-heads, one within another.
5. Cream-colored unglazed pottery, near
ly white, very compact paste, thin ware, dark-
colored body, covered with a fine white clay,
which is polished down to a hard surface
34. Phenician Bottle. (Cesnola Coll.) ofteQ approximating to the appearance of
enamel. The decoration is chiefly in archaic styles, bands of checker and
diamond patterns rudely drawn, in a brownish black, sometimes a deep
black. Bowls large and small, water and wine jugs, cups and paterse,

62

ANCIENT POTTERY.

are numerous ; other forms rare. The bowls, usually shaped like sections
of the gourd, are apparently imitations of the primitive gourd utensils, and
almost or quite as thin, with one or with two projecting handles.
Some large vases of this ware are highly interesting. One, a krater
of fine form, is decorated with horses and chariots, following one another
around the vase, separated by broad waving bands which may represent
streams of water. The details of this decoration, though unartistic, are
minute and full of instruction as to Phenician vehicles, harness, etc., and
the vase occupies an early position among Grseco-Phenician painted sub
jects. Many of the objects, especially thin bowls, are fire -cracked and
warped out of shape in baking. This ware was possibly among the
Phenicians an object of luxury, occupying a position not unlike that
which porcelain formerly held in Europe and America in contrast with
pottery. 6. Lustrous wares, black or red, decorated with incised lines filled in
with white clay. This is a very remarkable class, of which there are
numerous specimens — great bowls over a
foot in diameter, vases seldom large, small
bowls, and cups. The lustre is brighter
than the later Greek, and shines like a true
glaze. It is, however, very thin, yields to a
hard point, has an oily appearance, polishes
under the hand, and seems to have been a
varnish which penetrated the clay, and
caused the surface to bake much harder
than the interior. The objects are all thick,
coarse, and heavy. The paste is of fine clay,
dark slate - colored, with occasional small
lumps of brick-red intermingled. The outer
part to the depth of a sixteenth of an inch can be split off with the lus-
tred surface, as if put on with it, but the paste is uniform throughout.
The red color is good, but uneven. The black is intense and bright. The
decorations are incised through the lustre, after the ware was baked, in
parallel lines, running in parallel zigzags, or in circles or rude patterns.
Concentric circles are sometimes arranged around the object, united by
straight lines. These circles are untrue, rudely chipped in the lustre, by
the eye. The specimens bear remarkable resemblance to the pottery of
many uncivilized makers. The Guatemalans now make, and the Peru
vians and others have made, similar wares. But for the lustrous surface

35. Uraeco-Pheuician Vase.
Coll.)

(Cesnola

they might be regarded as specimens of the earliest art ; and such they

PHENICIA.

63

may be, the lustre being produced by the use of some sort of varnish be
fore baking, with a repetition of it and polish after baking. The modern
Egyptians produce red and black pottery of the same appearance by pol
ishing. The substance which fills the lines is a pure white. The nu
merous specimens of this peculiar ware were found in one locality only,
in tombs at Alambra, near Dali, and they may be distinguished as Alam-
bra pottery, since they have not been found elsewhere in the East.

36. Egyptc-Phenician Vase.
7. Red lustrous ware decorated in black. This class approaches the
Greek style of pottery, and seems to have been the ware afterward chosen
by the Greeks for their best work. The class, however, includes articles
of greatly earlier periods than any Greek work. The decorations are
almost exclusively in circles, and the style must be regarded as Phenician.
Sometimes a few circles appear arranged on the sides of the objects;
sometimes many concentric circles, and many groups of concentric cir
cles, always sharply drawn. The forms are various — chiefly bowls, vases,
bottles, and cups. The surface is of a clear uniform red, artificially pro
duced; the lustre that thin dead varnish -like lustre of the later Greek
work. To this class belong several fine vases, varying from twelve to fifteen

64

ANCIENT POTTERY.

inches in height, one of which is illustrated (111. 37), a peculiarity being
the ornamental spout, a ewer held
by a figure which on all the speci
mens but one is Phenician. On
that one the figure is Greek in feat
ure and drapery. On some of these
the decoration is in bands of black,
while on others leaves, etc., in white
are added. The Greek figure on
one, and the Phenician figures on
all the others, fix the period of these
specimens, which are to be classed
as Graaco - Phenician of the time
when Greek character and taste had
modified Phenician decoration. On
one vase, which from its general
character is placed in this class, is a
figure of the sacred cow of Hathor
painted in a clear yellow.
Imitations of this pottery are
also found. These are of heavier
pottery, and the red color, as well as
the black circles, has been painted
after the baking. In a few cases
a dull vermilion has been used to
heighten the color of an object after
baking. It may be conjectured that
such specimens are late attempts to
imitate old wares ; or that the finer
quality of this ware was an article of luxury in Cyprus, made by the best
potters only, and that the poorer workmen made imitations. There is
much difference in the quality and work on the lustred specimens, some
rising in paste and fabric to full equality with the Greek pottery of the
best times.
8. Brick -red unglazed coarse pottery, with rude decoration in white
lime or clay, which is easily scraped off. The decorations are mere daubs
of white, but on one vase which has a spout two eyes are indicated on
each side of it. This ware is found elsewhere, and has been regarded by
some as the most archaic Greek pottery. We are not prepared to regard
it as of any definite period ; rather considering it a lower class of work

37. Grseco-Phenician Vase, in red lustrous ware.
(Cesnola Coll.)

PHENICIA.

65

of potters in all times from the earliest down to late Roman. There is
nothing in the ware, either in paste, form, or decoration, which aids in
assigning dates.
9. Cream - colored unglazed pottery decorated in red only. These
objects are interesting as specimens of different periods. Some appear
to be covered with a thin lus
tre. Specimens are decorated in
checks and crossing lines ; oth
ers in irregular perpendicular
lines parallel to each other ; oth
ers in arabesque patterns, which
become in later specimens more
regular, and include carefully
executed meander patterns, as
well as deer and other animals.
Bottle - shaped vases of rough
pottery have no color except
around the neck, or on the rim
at the top, which is colored to a
soft vermilion. A few speci
mens are tinted red over the
whole surface, and have rings
of deeper red. The class is spe
cially important as showing
decorations with animals, etc.,
Which are among the illustra- 38. Phenician Vases. (Cesnola Coll.)
tions of the advance from symbolic decoration to the subject painting of
the Greeks. Such specimens are of late Phenician and early Greek work.
Doubtless potters of both nations produced more or less of these wares.
The pottery varies, some being coarse and thick, others well tooled, with
polished surface.
10. Cream- white pottery, polished surface, decorated in a rich brown.
These are vases of beautiful shape, small bottles for oil and other objects.
The brown is rich, shading into yellow. The decoration is usually in
parallel bands and lines around the object.
11. Black wares with fluted sides. These are remarkable for beauty
of shape, mostly in wine and water pitchers. One noble vase is oviform,
nearly two feet in height.
12. Red lustrous wares without decoration. These are probably of
Greek and Roman times. 5

66

ANCIENT POTTERY.

13. Greek painted vases, not Phenician. Among the Kurium treas
ures are several fine specimens of Greek work, figures in black on red.
14. Objects in terra-cotta, or clay slightly baked. The unglazed pot
teries of Cyprus are of such soft material in many cases, and were so
slightly baked that it is difficult
to separate them from the objects
properly called terra-cotta.
We have not classified here the
larger sculptures in pottery, which
are of various periods. A colossal
Phenician head is of the ante-Greek
period. Other life-size heads are
of Greek times. Neither have
hundreds of lamps of the Roman
period been included.
There are many exceptional
specimens, some of the highest im
portance. A colossal vase, four
feet high, has a cover surmounted
by a small vase. The ground is
cream -color. The decoration in
brown is in narrow bands, of horses,
goats, antelopes, and animals possi
bly intended for deer, but certainly
39. Colossal Phenician Head. (Cesnola Coll.) resemblillg the giraffe. The im
mense vase has four handles, and is covered with innumerable pictures
of animals, and with decorations including checks, diamonds, squares, and
other patterns in archaic and later styles of ornamentation, including the
Meander ; in short, nearly every form of decoration known on Phenician
pottery. It is colossal in size and appearance, Phenician in workmanship,
and a noble specimen of archaic ceramic art. It probably belongs to the
Grseco-Phenician period.
The remarkable fact must be noted that the vast collection gives no
evidence that potters worked by patterns or rule. There is no uniformity
of size to indicate an established system of measures. Duplicates in dec
oration are almost unknown. The Phenician potter or artist appears
to have followed his fancy in the size and decoration of each piece that
passed through his hands, and the collection affords an invaluable mass
of material for studying the rise and growth of original forms of dec
oration.

PHENICIA. 67

Many of the forms of Phenician pottery are ingenious. Several small
vases standing on a hollow ring form one vase, the liquid rising to the
same level in each. Puzzle vases of various forms, and vases which fill
from small apertures in the bottom, are frequent. In the tombs of sol
diers, General Cesnola found numerous pottery images of men on horse
back. There are groups of men engaged in various employments, knead
ing bread, bathing, etc. A funeral procession in pottery includes donkeys
carrying baskets, a horseman carrying vases, a chariot carrying musicians,
other chariots with the family, and, closing the procession, a platform on
which is a body in the form of an Egyptian mummy, the face covered
with a mask ofthe sacred cow. This is thoroughly Egypto-Phenician.
Children's toys are of not uncommon occurrence. A horse might be
thought to refer to the story of Troy, if
it were not more probable that it ante
dates that history. A man's hand, the
fingers loaded with rings (111. 40), shows
the old style of wearing them. Among
the objects found by General Di Ces
nola at Kurium were several paterse, or
plates, each having two holes pierced in
the rim for a string by which to hang
it, and bowls with similar perforations.
This is a common characteristic of modern pottery in Italy and in
Holland. It will be borne in mind that although the Egyptians made enamelled
pottery, and specimens of their enamelled ware are found in Cypriote
tombs, the Phenicians do not seem to have made it, and it rarely ap
pears in the ceramic history of ancient Europe. The enamelled walls of
Babylon and Assyria were built long after the Phenicians had been in
structed by their Egyptian conquerors. The art went eastward in Asia,
and we meet it centuries later in China. It remained in the western part
of Asia; or, having been lost, was recovered there from the East and
transmitted to modern Europe.
The Cypriote collection suggests possible conclusions to which care
ful study may lead. These are, substantially, that what has hitherto been
known as archaic Greek art must be designated in Cyprus as late Pheni
cian art ; that Greek art in that island had no existence prior to the eighth
century before Christ, but was born of Phenician parentage at about that
date ; that the Phenicians in Cyprus (and probably in other localities yet
to be explored) were, next to Egypt, the most advanced race in the arts,

40. Pottery Hand. (Cesnola Coll.)

68 ANCIENT POTTERY.

from 1500 to 600 b.c ; and that Phenician art, receiving the direct influ
ence of Egypt, became the parent of the arts, not only in Greece, but in
Italy, and possibly in Assyria and Babylonia.

IV.-HOLY LAND.
That the Hebrews made and used pottery is well attested by their his
torical writers, and by the frequent allusions to the potter and his work
in Sacred Scripture. But no artistic work seems to have been produced,
and no specimens or fragments have been found, which furnish any idea
of styles of decoration or favorite forms. Solomon (Prov. xxvi., 23)
likens " burning lips and a wicked heart " to a " potsherd covered with
silver dross," which may allude to a broken crucible, or possibly to pottery
covered with a silver lustre ; but none such is known. The potters are
spoken of as a class among the descendants of Judah (1 Chron. iv., 23).
" The work of the hands of the potter " was familiar to the Hebrew, but
none survives to be described.
Recently the discovery of considerable quantities of pottery in Moab
has been announced, and the vases, more or less covered with inscriptions
in high-relief, have been submitted to the examination of European schol
ars, who are divided in opinion as to their character. Some accept them
as genuine antiquities, while others pronounce them modern forgeries.

V.-GREECE.
The splendor of that civilization has not been fully recognized which,
in the fourth and fifth centuries before the Christian era, was illustrated
in works of art, the objects of admiration and of rarely successful at
tempts at imitation, in all subsequent ages. The art is known, and its
position among human arts acknowledged. The grade of civilization is
less appreciated. The products of high art are a good measure of civil
ization. It does not follow, because, in one or another department, a na
tion's productions are inferior, that the nation is to be regarded as bar
barous. This or that art may have been unknown or neglected. A thou
sand years hence it may well be that arts now despised will be cultivated,
and arts now cultivated will be unknown or poorly practised. But the
nation whose literature, sculpture, and vases are so highly ranked even by
the standards of modern times, having indeed manners and customs differ-

GREECE,

69

ing from ours, was a nation of the highest place in a civilization equalling,
if not surpassing, any of later days.
The origin and growth of that civilization are little known. Enthusi
asts find in the Homeric poems the evidences of a Greek civilization co
eval with Solomon, or antedating him;
but the heroes of Homer (whatever be
the 'date of their creation in song) have
strange traits of barbarism, and the chiv
alry of the Iliad is of that sort which
in the knightly passage at arms drops the
sword to seize a stone and hurl it into the
face of an antagonist. Whatever view is
taken of the period of Homer, or the ori
gin of the books of the Iliad and oth
er Homeric poems, neither they nor any
other of the fragmentary remains of early
Greek song help to much knowledge of
the origin or progress of Greek civiliza
tion and art. Out of a period of obscuri
ty, vague tradition, myths of imaginative
brains — a period inhabited by heroes of
romance, possessed of such arts as fancy
had given them— the Greek civilization «• ^eek Amphora. Figures in black on
<= hit. -it i red- Theseus and the Minotaur. (Trum-
suddenly blazes with all the brilliancy ot bull-Prime Coll.)
sculpture, painting, and literature. What
was its origin ? Whence did it come ? Was it a growth of long centu
ries, from Pelasgic beginnings, or was it a late result of contact with other
nations possessed of arts and histories ? The pottery of the Grecian isl
ands may help to answer these questions.
The origin of the tribes commonly designated as Greek was, of course,
Asiatic. They had crossed from Asia to Europe at an early period after
the Dispersion, and scattered over the country now known as Greece, set
tling also in many of the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean and the
Archipelago. While some of them were content to lead the humblest
lives on the products of the soil cultivated by constant labor, others,
in course of time, formed themselves into predatory bands, roving from
place to place, and, by their superior force and training as fighting men,
were able to compel a support from the more honest and simple husband
men. A community of language was for many centuries the only mark
of family union among these various tribes. Without written language

70 ANCIENT POTTERY.

the bond of union was feeble, and the entire race was, in effect, barba
rian. The population of Greece and the Greek isl
ands was at first small and scattered. Central points
of importance grew to have names as cities because
they became the strongholds of the predatory tribes.
None of these appear to have preserved the history
42' Sok'coii?11*' or any distinct knowledge of their ancestral home
in Asia; nor for many centuries did they possess
any characteristic arts. Dim traditions existed of an Asiatic power com
ing to teach the Pelasgic tribes the first lessons of civilization. Now and
then it may have been that strangers from Egypt, like the fabled Cecrops
and Danaus, or from Asia like Pelops, came to Greece, but if so they left
no evidences of their influence which can be traced, except the truth that
the Greek alphabet came from the Phenician, and possibly Cadmus did
found the Boeotian Thebes. Certain tribes, growing in physical power,
made occasional excursions into other countries on the islands and on the
Asiatic coasts, conquered and possessed cities which had more or less art
education, and thus learned abroad and brought back to Greece the rudi
ments of that art which was afterward so brilliant.
Emerging from barbarism, and coming into association with races who
were possessed of ancient family histories and arts handed down from re
mote ages, they desired a similar history for themselves. The Egyptians,
the Hebrews, the Assyrians, and possibly the Phenicians, had libraries of
written history of their ancestors. The Greeks had no such literature.
They had only the old recitals in song and rhythmic verses which, like
the Norsemen and other uncivilized races, their men and women and chil
dren had delighted to hear poured out by wandering rhapsodists, who,
like the minstrels of later ages, varied their recitals and added romantic
inventions here and there to suit the tastes and secure the rewards of this
or that tribe. But when it did emerge from barbarism, the Greek mind
came, like Minerva from the head of Jove, suddenly full-grown, with un
exampled intellectual vigor and ability. Their historians created a his
tory out of the mass of tradition. Events which had actually occurred
were mingled with events the fiction of the imaginative Greek mind of
the earlier days, rarely, if ever, equalled in old or modern times for power
of creation and poetic fervor. The explorations of our curious, inquiring,
investigating age have furnished, after the lapse of two thousand years,
abundant evidence of the fictitious character of many statements of
Greek historians.
The rapid advance of Greek literature and art — due, perhaps, as much

GREECE.

71

43. Eumenides. (From a Greek
vase.)

to the possession of a free and flexible language as to the superiority of
Greek intellectual power — naturally resulted in
a pride which is abundantly exemplified among
modern nations. In nothing is this pride more
frequently illustrated than in the claim of in
ventions in the arts. No great invention in
modern times has escaped the conflicting claims
of various nations. So the Greeks, when they
possessed literature and arts, began to claim the
invention of both. When they had established
the personality of their ancient authors, various
autonomous cities disputed among themselves
the honor of having given them birth. When
they began to believe in their own claims to
original inventions, different tribes asserted pri
ority of right to the discoveries. In a later pe
riod, when Greece had formed relations with,
and knowledge of, other nations, intelligent men
of course understood the character of the claims made by their ancestors.
But modern students have not always recognized the origin of these
claims, and hence a frequent assignment to the Greeks of the invention
of arts which they only learned at a late period from others, and conse
quent error in giving to Greek art a greater age than can, with evidence,
be affirmed of it.
Thus the Greeks claimed the invention of letters, although other parts
of the world had libraries and abundant literature centuries before the
Greeks possessed an alphabet. They claimed the invention of finger-
rings, although finger -rings had been the ornaments of Assyrian and
Asiatic fingers perhaps from the days of Tubal- Cain, before the Deluge,
and abounded in Phenicia and in Egypt, in gold and in pottery, from the
earliest times. Samos claimed for Greek artists in bronze, about 650 b.c,
the invention of images in pottery. But Corinth disputed the claim, re
lating the story that the Corinthian potter Dibutades had a daughter who
sketched her lover's profile from its shadow on the wall, and the father
conceived the idea of filling it up with clay and so making the first pot
tery portrait. But long before Dibutades was born or Corinth had be
come the local refuge of a roving band of Greeks, Phenicia had been
making great and small images of pottery; and for a thousand years
Egypt had produced figures of gods, men, and animals, in unglazed pot
tery, or adorned with exquisite enamel.

72 ANCIENT POTTERY.

While the remains of archaic Greek pottery have offered some help
in conjecturing the truth with regard to early Greek history, these have
hitherto been so few, the places of discovery and the classes so discon
nected, and their periods so uncertain, that scarcely more light was af
forded by them to read Greek history than that history shed on the pot
teries. Hence the value of the Cypriote discoveries which have been de
scribed. Settled by Phenicians, for ages the seat of Phenician civilization and
arts, receiving Greek colonies who conquered and possessed cities, and
formed petty Greek powers, each independent, in
close proximity to and constant intercourse with
Phenician cities also independent, Cyprus probably
well illustrates the history of the Greeks on other
44. Early Greek Kylix. islands and on the Ionian coast ; exhibiting the con-
(Cesnola Coll.) tact 0f t^e Q-ree]j min(\ with old art and the mar
vellous rapidity with which it seized upon it, stamped it with Greek
character, and transformed it into the magnificence which all ages have
accepted as the highest object of art attainment.
While Cyprus thus affords material for the history of Greek civiliza
tion, it also affords now, for the first time, a consecutive history of early
Greek ceramic art. The order of the illustrations has been indicated in
the previous pages : 1, the Phenician ; 2, the Egypto-Phenician ; 3, the
Grseco-Phenician ; 4, the pure Greek.
It is unnecessary to repeat here the characteristics of Phenician pot-
i tery. To study intelligently the effect of the Greek mind upon it, and
the development of Greek art out of it, it would be well to consider it
in two classes — the one including form, especially statuary, the other
including decoration by painting.
In the very long series of pottery images in the Cesnola collection
it is easy to divide those with Phenician indications of dress and feature
from those with Greek characteristics. It is also easy to place the entire
series in order of comparative art merit, beginning with the rudest imi
tations of the human form, having Phenician types of countenance, made
by Phenician workmen, or of animals whose families are indicated only
by some one prominent feature, and ending with exquisite statuettes,
the work of the ablest Greek artists of the best period. But it is more
than difficult — it is impossible — to say exactly where the Phenician art
ends and the Greek begins. The two were synchronous in the sixth
and seventh centuries before Christ. Even the discovery of articles in
a Phenician or a Greek tomb is not evidence of the nationality of the

GREECE. 73

maker, when the two peoples were neighbors, and their arts were assimi
lating. Doubtless the works of both ran closely together in character,
each copying the other. But the Greeks were always in the lead, and
their triumph was complete. Phenician art in pottery, having lasted a
thousand years without improvement until modified by the coming-in
of Greek intellect and progressive ideas, ceased utterly, while the Greek
survived for all time.
In the decoration of vases the distinction is more clearly marked, and
the presence of a new intellect is visible from the beginning of Greek
work. The Grseco-Phenician styles are quite distinct from the Egypto-
Phenician and the Phenician, although founded on them at the first. Out
of' the rude checker and diamond ornamentations
the Greeks extracted various combinations of lines
for friezes and decorative borders. Out of the sys
tems of circles overlapping each other and crossed
by straight lines, the Greek eye selected and im
proved a variety of bead, drop, and scroll patterns,
which always remained favorites on Greek vases.
The lines of the rigid lotus-flower were resolved
into separate patterns, recombined in conventional
forms of exceeding gracefulness, without symbolic
meaning, and used solely as ornamental devices
pleasing to the eye. Other leaves and flowers first
copied from nature, afterward conventionalized, ar
ranged as wreaths or border patterns, indicate a 45. Greek Vase. Fine style :
new spirit in the arts of ornamentation. The red on black-
whole system of decoration in symbolism was abolished, and the new
system of decoration to please the eye was introduced. All this preceded
the great, achievement and glory of Greek decoration, the painting of
story on vases.
The style of decorated vases which has been heretofore regarded as
the earliest distinctively Greek has been variously called Doric, Corin
thian, Carthaginian, and Egyptian. This variation of name indicates the
hitherto puzzling character of the decoration, which consisted in rows of
animals — panthers, lions, goats, deer, and birds — usually arranged in friezes
around the vase, while flowers are strewed over the field. (See 111. 46.)
Specimens of this class have been found in various Greek localities.
Many have been discovered at Corinth. In the Trumbull-Prime collec
tion are a number of specimens found in Southern Italy. As bearing on
the question whether the art history in Cyprus is fairly illustrative of

74

ANCIENT POTTERY.

46. Greek Vase, " Doric " Style,

early Greek art history elsewhere, this style of decorated pottery is inter
esting. Brought under view with an immense number of the vases in
the Cesnola collection, it takes its place
at once as an advanced Egypto-Pheni
cian style. But none of this pottery
has been found in Cyprus except a
single small aryballos, which was in the
Kurium temple vaults. Nevertheless,
its relation to the Egypto - Phenician is
not subject to doubt. The ware is dif
ferent from any of the Cypriote works.
It is heavy, thick, cream - color or cold
gray on the surface, with decorations in
black, white, and maroon or red, the
details of birds and animals, such as
limbs, muscles, feathers, etc., incised in the paste through the color. Some
specimens appear to have the thin lustrous glaze ; but this may be the
result of high polish. The animals have always a remarkably stiff, im
movable look, which is thoroughly characteristic. But the Egypto-Phe
nician decorations of Cyprus are here : animals arranged in rows, the
colors, the black and red bands around objects, the lotus -flowers, the
large birds. On three vases in our collection are soldiers, almost hid
den by their shields. The same design is on the single specimen found
at Kurium, and the same also occurs engraved on a gold ring which was
among the treasures of that temple. On one vase in our collection is a
winged shield, on the shield ¦ an asp. On others, the same large bird ap
pears which is so frequent on Cypriote pottery. These vases occupy,
therefore, a position in art between the best decoration of the Pheni
cians and the earliest of the pure Greek. They are of the transition
period. Although not made in Cyprus, they show knowledge and edu
cation proceeding from acquaintance with either the arts of Cyprus or
kindred arts of Phenicians in other localities. There is every proba
bility that explorations in other Phenician countries will bring to light
other local series of the Egypto-Phenician predecessors of this style of
Greek art. It may be regarded as reasonably certain that this class of
vases illustrates the first great improvements made by the Greek mind
on the decorative styles of their predecessors. But the style was far from
satisfactory to the progressive intellect and taste of the Greeks, and was
soon abandoned. It is possible that in the later periods of skilled Greek
art this archaic style of work was reproduced for lovers of the antique.

GREECE.

75

The step which was next taken by the Greeks was a gigantic stride.
They had introduced into the ceramic art the idea of decoration for
beauty, and discarded the old prevailing notion of using it for religious
symbolism. Now came the idea of illustrating story. In our age of pict
ures and illustrated books, it seems a simple idea. So is writing, print
ing ; so is a magnetic telegraph. But the beginnings of invention are
more marvellous than their progressions from step to step. The first
invention of a sign to express to the eye the sound of the voice was a
greater invention than the printing-press. The first rude picture which
told in silence a complete story was a more marvellous work than Kaul-
bach's frescoes in Berlin.
Was this, new use of art a Greek invention ? Egypt had practised it
two thousand years. The Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, in its system of
determinatives (an occasional picture to explain the definite meaning of
the preceding signs), contained the very essence of the art of illustration.
There is no evidence that the Greeks derived this idea from Egypt. It
may have been an original Greek conception. They claimed it as such,
but did not date the discovery in very remote times. Homer says noth
ing of painting at the time of the siege of Troy. The Greeks ascribed
the beginning of the art among them to the island of Sicyon, where out
lines were made ; but the custom of fill
ing up the outlines with color they re
garded as later.
Paintings are mentioned at Phocsea in
544 b.c Cimon of Cleonse is the earliest
Greek painter mentioned. His date is un
certain, but probably between 550 and 500
b.c To Polygnotus, a contemporary of
the sculptor Phidias, about 450 b.c, was
ascribed the first great improvement in
the art from the archaic stiffness, and he
was said to have been the first to paint
the open mouth showing teeth. We shall
see very soon that a century before Polyg
notus a lion was painted by an unknown
artist with open mouth and white teeth.
The Phenicians had not painted subjects ,„...,
, , r 47. Greek Amphora, Medea.
until after they had come into contact
with the Greeks. Phenician vases with chariot scenes, with animals
browsing, and, other representations of action, are to be classed as of the

76 ANCIENT POTTERY.
Graeco-Phenician period. Egyptian subject painting on vases had been
confined to a few rude outlines, chiefly of funereal or mythological scenes
of the character in the illustration (9) on page 36.
Wherever the Greeks found this idea, they now began for all subse
quent ages the custom of telling stories, recording history, perpetuating
mythology in pictures. Henceforth the glory of Greek romance in song
is to be illustrated with abundant paintings. For the purposes of this
art they found that kind of pottery best suited to their ideas which the
Phenicians had long produced in brick-red color, decorated with circles
and bands in black, and covered with their lustrous glaze, which has been
described among Phenician potteries as Class 7. They varied it by giving
the surface sometimes an artificial buff or yellowish-red color.
Among the objects found by General Cesnola in the treasure-vaults
of the Temple of Kurium is a single vase of the new class now under con
sideration, which, for various reasons, may be regarded as one ,of the ear
liest Greek works of the kind. This vase — a hydria — is of the red lus
trous ware. The neck, foot, and one half of the body are painted black.
On the half of the vase remaining red are two decorations : above, two
lions facing each other, painted in black with maroon necks and heads and
touches of white, the mouths open, with white teeth. These are in pre
cisely the same style of drawing and execution with the animals on the
earlier vases in the style known as Doric. Below is a picture of Hercules
contending with a lion, in the same style and colors. An eagle is above
the hero, another above the lion. A simple border, formed of heart-
shaped leaves in black, is on each side of the red ground. The muscles
and details of the figures are indicated by lines scratched in the surface
after baking. The bright-red paint of the Phenicians is here changed to
a dull maroon. Inscriptions in black are numerous, but not clearly legi
ble, though some letters are perfect. These suggest possible allusions
to various events in the life of Hercules, but they are not intelligible.
Over the hero his name is legible, one letter missing.
The inscriptions are separate words, over the lion, and here and there
around the scene. The letters are not always legible, nor are they all
Greek. The following are only remote approximations to some of them,
and the characters are not fac-similes. Thus the character ~\ may be a
Greek Pi, and others may be Phenician. We give them only as gener
ally descriptive, and not as accurate interpretations :
IV*3V SOllAN S3V03V S3VAd3H
«e»IVI NF!d + l XIASSA + I+ VS3N

GREECE.

77

The style of painting animals on this vase bears such close resem
blance to the so-called Doric decorations that no doubt can exist of its
close relation to that class. It is an early specimen of the new style of
Greek art, which soon after this dropped the ancient style of painting
animals. The teeth of the lion are white, and white has been used in the
other decorations, but is not under the lustre, nor apparently fixed by the
baking, as it easily rubs off.
With this vase, in the Kurium vaults, were found several kylikes and
a large bowl, in the more advanced style of painting subjects in black
on red, evidently the work of more skilful artists in a somewhat later
period. If, as is supposed, the date of the destruction of this temple was
about 550 b.c, these vases are highly important as establishing the fact
in Greek art history that the decoration of vases with subjects in black
on red had advanced to a high degree of perfection in the middle of the
sixth century before Christ.
Thus much of the history of Greek art as illustrated by the potteries
of Cyprus. From the date of the first painting of subjects, the advance
of the art was steadfast until its culmination in the productions of the
fourth century before Christ — the Golden Age of Grecian civilization.
The customary classification of Greek painted vases is in five divisions :
1. The earliest style, heretofore de
scribed, known as Doric, etc., of which the
type is the representation of animals and
flowers, usually in friezes or bands on
cream-colored or gray pottery (111. 46).
2. Vases of red lustrous pottery on which
the figures are painted in black (111. 41).
3. Vases of the same pottery on which
the backgrounds are black, the figures being
in the red or yellow of the pottery.
4. Vases of the same general style with
the last, decorated in florid style, with ara
besque and other ornamentations, often in
troducing Eros (Cupid), and sometimes gild
ing. 5. Vases with white surfaces, painted
with figures, sometimes in outline, some-
° ' 48. Dionysus. (From a Greek vase.)
times in several colors.
Besides these styles, others were occasionally used. Vases ornamented
by flutings ; with moulded reliefs ; decorated in black only ; in opaque

78 ANCIENT POTTERY.

white on black ; in pale-yellow and brown with white on black ; vases in
the forms of animals, birds, human heads ; in short, an innumerable variety
were produced. The five principal styles, however, were vastly more com
mon than any other. The red color varies to a yellowish shade. Both
were artificially produced, heightening by an earth or pigment the natural
color of the clay. The .black was applied as a thick paint, sometimes
burning to a greenish shade, and occasionally to a metallic iridescence.
The details in subjects painted in black — features, muscles, lines of dress,
feathers, etc. — were incised through the paint. White was used for female
faces, and on parts of armor and dress, and maroon was sparingly em
ployed in parts of the designs. The vases were usually painted black,
leaving open spaces of the red on which the paintings were placed.
The best period was reached when the figures were executed in red,
with the details pencilled in black. The advance of art is visible in these.
The earlier are stiff and hard ; the later free, artistic, the countenances for
the first time having expression and variety, figures and costume possess
ing grace and delicacy. The ornamentations on the necks and smaller
parts of objects included a great number of patterns, sometimes used
purely as suitable and beautiful, sometimes in reference to the subject
painted. Accessories were occasionally introduced as explanatory — a
bird to signify that the scene was in the air, a fish to indicate a marine
subject, etc. The " fine style," so called, was characterized by the perfec
tion of the drawing, the figures being in red, the ornaments and inscrip
tions in white. "All that is known," says Mr. Birch, "of the style of
painting of Polygnotus, Parrhasius, and Zeuxis may be traced in the de
signs of these vases ; while the later ones, in the isolation of the figures
upon larger plain surfaces and the elongation of forms, approach the
known canon of Lysippus, and blend into the immediately subsequent
style, which just preceded the final decadence of the art of painting
vases." This subsequent style was the florid, in which ornament is in
creased to lavishness, the figures are more full and round, polychrome
decorations are introduced, and a general luxury of art without simplicity
characterizes the vases.
The illustrations will give some idea of the styles of delineation in the
best periods. " The Last Night of Troy " (111. 49, reproduced from Mr.
Birch) is an extract from a painting on a vase in the museum at Naples,
in which many events in that scene are depicted with great power.
The first style has been dated as prior to 500 b.c ; the second from
500 to 400 b.c ; the third, regarded as including the finest style, from
400 to 250 b.c ; the fourth from 300 b.c to the decadence in the second

GREECE.

79

century. The fifth style was probably of the same periods with the third
and fourth. The first was probably used throughout all the periods.
The union of the two colors in pottery, black and red, fully satisfied
the Greek lover of the beautiful, and these are the colors of much of the
best Greek pottery, in no way relieved as to general effect by the slight
use of dull maroon and white. Rare specimens have figures in white on
black grounds, and some have polychrome decorations.
There is no disputing about tastes. The Greek was no less a man
of taste than the American, though he preferred to drink wine at feasts
from a black earthen kylix decorated in red, or a red cup with paintings

MMtfW^^

49. The Last Night of Troy. Cassandra seized by Ajax at the Palladium. (From a rase at
Naples: Birch.)
in black. He had glass, and plenty of thin and beautiful glass, in cups
and goblets of varied form. He had wine equal to the best of the Cote
d'Or or the Rhine banks. At his feasts poets, soldiers, statesmen gath
ered ; jewels adorned their arms and fingers, rich garments made the
assemblies gorgeous, flowers filled the halls with perfume; statues of
snowy marble, the works of artists whose fame is enduring, paintings by
Zeuxis and Apelles, looked down on the scene. All that the most refined
civilization could invent surrounded him. We are but poor and far-off
imitators of the luxury and splendor of that civilization, and we have
small claim to set up standards of beauty by which to measure it. One of
the most important lessons of art, to be learned from this fact in Greek

80

ANCIENT POTTERY.

ceramic history, is that all standards of beauty in color as in everything
else are arbitrary. The time may and probably will come in the future
when another civilization will look with wonder
at our standards in music, painting, clothing, col
or, at our tastes in many arts, and regard them
as more inexplicable than we now regard the
Greek taste in using black and red for the col
ors of gayety and splendor.
The subjects on Greek vases are of vast vari
ety, almost as great as the number of specimens
now in the museums of the world. This num
ber was estimated by De Witte at fifty thousand,
but Dr. Birch places it at twenty thousand of
vases of all kinds.
50. Calypso. (From a Greek vase.) Thege subjects are chiefly of four classes :
1. Relating to mythology ; 2. Relating to the Heroic Age and traditions
of early Greek history ; 3. Relating to known history ; 4. Relating to con
temporary manners and customs. Among the vast number belonging to
the first and second classes are not only numerous pictures which are rec
ognized from knowledge of the mythology, poetry, and traditions of the
Greeks, but also many which are unexplained by any extant literature.
The songs of many ancient poets are lost, while the illustrations of their
songs remain on pottery vases.
A study of Greek vases can be made intelligently only as accompanied
by a study of Greek history and literature, and an appreciation in some
sort of the Greek mind. The chief bond of the various Greek tribes was
their common language, not identical, but sufficiently alike in different
families to sustain intercourse. The epics of Homer and the Cyclic poets
had been recited among the Grecian families before written language
was generally known among them, and thus arose a community of tradi
tions relating to the Heroic Age, which was another bond. The Olym
piads date from 776 b.c, when Lycurgus and Iphitus established, or re
vived, the Olympian games. The various cities of Greece remained in
dependent, but the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were the common property
of all Greeks, and were as familiar in the seventh century before Christ
to the uneducated tribes of Greece as the Bible is to modern Christians.
It was not till about 530 b.c that the books of Homer were rescued from
confusion, and arranged. Other epics were popular, abounding in roman
tic story. All these were handed down from lip to lip and generation
to generation long before they were committed to writing. Men boasted

GREECE.

81

.of their ability to repeat them from beginning to end. When painting
became an art known to the Greeks, they used it to illustrate the stories
with which every Greek household was familiar. Hence the thousands
of vases now known, and countless thousands more, on which the paint
ings represent the stories of heroes, demi-gods, and gods, from poems
which were the delight of every Greek.
Varying these designs were a few, but very few, representations of
known history, and many of contemporary life, from which we derive a
great amount of information of Greek customs.
Artists' and potters' names occur frequently on Greek pottery, some
times the artist and potter being
the same. On a superb vase in the
Campana collection, with the sub
ject Hercules and Nereus, are the
words TIMATOPAS EIIOIESEN.
One other vase is known by Ti-
magoras. Nikosthenes was a potter
whose name has been found on fifty
vases, which present also peculiari
ties of work, such as tall and slen
der forms of amphorse, with broad
flat handles. Panphaios, or Pantha-
ios, made drinking - cups (ky likes).
Seventeen are known with his sig
nature. Artists also signed their
work, and it is probable that some
were famous and their paintings
much sought. The same artists
worked for various potters, and
their names are found together.
Epiktetos, a famous early painter
of red figures, worked for many
potters whose names are found
with his on vases. Klitias painted
one of the most renowned vases
known — that styled the Francois
vase — in black figures, representing
a considerable portion of the his
tory of Hercules. Exekias was an
early potter and artist, by whom many specimens are known
6

51. Panathenaic Amphora : Inscription, TON
A6ENE6EN AOAON. (Louvre.)

The pride

82

ANCIENT POTTERY.

of the potter and of the artist is often illustrated by the personification of
the vase in the signature, which says, " Exekias made and painted me ;"
"Chares painted me;" " Tlenpolemos made me;" "Ergotimos made me;
Klitias painted me."

52. Bellerophon and the Chimasra. (From the terra-eotta in the British Museum.')
The forms in which the Greeks made pottery were many. It is not
always possible to determine the precise form indicated by the name of
a vase or cup found in Greek literature, but the accompanying illustration
(53) will show the greater portion of known forms, others not illustrated
being usually variations of one or the other of these. The list of names
which follows is founded on the best authorities among modern scholars.
VASES ILLUSTRATED ON OPPOSITE PAGE.
(Only formB, and not comparative size9, are indicated by the cuts.)

1.

Egyptian Amphora.

15.

Stamnos.

29, 32.

Scyphos.

2.

Tyrrhenian Amphora.

16.

Krater.

83.

Olpe.

3,6.

Forms of Panathenaic

17.

Oxybaphon.

34.

Kotyliskos.

Amphora?.

18.

Stamnos of Apulia.

35, 36.

Lekythos.

4.

Bacchic Amphora.

19.

Kelebe.

37.

Oinochoe.

i, 7, 8

Forms of Amphora.

20.

Lepaste.

38, 89, 42

Prochoos.

9, 10.

Krater, with volute, han

21.

Lekane.

40.

Epichysis.

dles.

22.

Kylix.

41,43.

Rhyton.

11.

Thymiaterion.

23.

Karchesion.

44, 45.

Ascos.

12.

Hydria.

24, 30, 31

Kantharos.

46.

Bombylios.

13.

Kalpis.

25, 26.

Kyathos.

47, 48.

Alabastros

14.

Pelike.

27, 28.

Holmos.

49, 50.

Aryballos.

53. Forms of Vases. (From Westropp's "Hand-book of Archaeology.")

84

ANCIENT POTTERY.

Inscriptions on Greek pottery are numerous, both painted and incised.
Oftentimes each figure in a painted subject has the name near or on it.
Abbreviated forms of spelling are common in these ; letters are omitted ;
where double letters occur, one only is used. The names of men are
sometimes accompanied with adjectives, as " The beautiful Hector," and
occasionally inscriptions represent what the person is supposed to be say
ing. Thus Silenus says, " The wine is sweet ;" a man lighting a funeral
pyre says, "Farewell;" a boy playing ball says, "Send me the ball." On
cups " Hail to you, and drink well !" is a not uncommon legend. The
prize vases of the Athenian games were inscribed, "I am a prize from
Athens " (111. 51). Names of persons with the epithet " beautiful " are of
frequent occurrence, often of boys and females. Thus vases have " Do-
rotheos the boy is beautiful, the boy is beautiful ;" " Stroibos is beauti
ful ;" " The beautiful Nikodemos ;" " Oinanthe is beautiful;" and one vase
has " Beautiful is Nikolaos ; Dorotheos is beautiful : it seems to me one
and the other boy is beautiful. Memnon to me is beautiful, dear." The
frequency of this style of inscription has led to much discussion of its
origin and intent, without satisfactory solution. It has been suggested
that they referred to children, and were presents, or that they have al
lusion to victors in games, or to persons specially popular among a people
who loved beauty, and that potters placed them on vases to suit public
taste. Inscriptions inten
tionally illegible are of fre
quent occurrence, and unex
plained. Owners incised their
names on vases and cups,
thus: "I belong to Tro-
mios ;" and occasionally add
ed warnings such as boys
used to write in school-
books : "lam the Lecythos
of Tataies, and may he who
steals me be blind !" " I am
the cup of Kephisophon;
if any one breaks me, let
:.(. On,,,n,s111hi.Toi,,,rm„, ,f,  Woman bmp.) h™ pay a drachma : the gif t
of Xenokrates."
The largest pottery object made by the Greeks was the pithos. It
was common also to the Egyptians and the Romans, and among all nations

GREECE.

85

served the purposes of a cellar for the storage and preservation of all
kinds of provisions. It was moulded with clay around a frame. Its
gigantic size well fitted it to be, as it often was, the refuge of the poor
seeking shelter. This was the tub of Diogenes, who is represented on a
Roman lamp, seated in the mouth of an old broken pithos, receiving the
visit of the Macedonian hero (111. 54).
The most frequent form of vase was the amphora, also an ancient
Egyptian and Phenician form. It was of long cylindrical or ovoid body,
made in all sizes, from the small drug vase two or three inches high to
the large receiver of oil, grain, fruit, wine, or water. Originally the base
was pointed, to be pressed into the sand or soil, and thus hold the vase
upright ; but later, and always in ornamental vases, the pointed base was
surrounded with a small foot. The invariable two handles gave the name
to the vase. This was a favorite vase for decoration, and, thus finished,
was a noble household ornament and adornment on festal occasions.
From the early days of fine pottery, the Greeks admired it, and the
art was cultivated by the patronage of the
wealthy and refined. Superbly painted am
phora were frequently prizes of victors in the
games. Panathenaic amphorse, prizes in the
Athenian contests, are among the noblest relics
of Grecian art (111. 51). The amphora, made
of coarse unglazed pottery, was the common
vehicle for the preservation and transportation
of wines, oils, and fruit. Rhodian amphorse
went to all parts of the Eastern world. These
often had the makers' names stamped on the

So

55. Amphora with stamped Handle.
handles, and sometimes the name ot a magis
trate, around a stamped device. Thus the symbolic rose of Rhodes fre
quently appears on amphorse, as on coins of that island.
The krater was a gigantic punch -bowl, from which at feasts the
mixed wines were dipped out in the oinochoe, or wine-pitcher, and poured
into the various forms of cups held by the guests. The oinochoe, borne
by a page, must never be placed on the krater, for that implied that
the wine was exhausted and the feast was ended. The most common
form of cup was the kylix, varying in shape, but always the same in gen
eral character — a broad, shallow cup six to ten inches in diameter, usually
with handles. The guests in the symposium are represented on painted
vases, twirling the kylikes on their fingers, as in the illustration (62).
The rhyton was another form of drinking-cup, in a variety of shapes, some-

ANCIENT POTTERY.

The Rhyton.

times that of a horn, more frequently with its foot extending into the
head of a deer or other animal. It could not be set down till emptied.
The prochoos was the ordinary jug or
pitcher, used, like modern pitchers, for
all liquids, and, like them, varying in
form. The epichysis was a little per
fume or oil pitcher, most frequently
made in metal, but often in pottery.
The oxybaphon was used to hold vin
egar for table use. The kantharos, a
cup with a high handle, was the ladle. In short, the form in general
suggests the use of the article, and it is a safe rule in antiquarian re
search, when seeking the probable purpose of an object, to ask, " What
would we use it for?" An explorer once, in our presence, showed an
American gentleman a curious object in ancient pottery, and asked him
what he supposed it was. The American instantly replied, " When I was
a boy in the country, we used just that shaped object in tin to hang on
the wall and hold a candle, and I should call it a sconce." The aston
ished explorer exclaimed, "I have shown it to scores of people. One
thought it a chariot box, another a sacrificial vessel — no one knew it ;
but you are right, for I found it hanging on the wall of a tomb, and here
is the pottery lamp which was in it."
The Greeks made pottery for as great a variety of purposes as any
ancient or modern people. Bricks and tiles were used as we use them,
for architectural and other purposes. When the custom prevailed of
burning the dead, vases were used to receive the ashes. Sepulchral vases
were of many forms, and sometimes costly
vases, which had been treasures of art to the
living, were devoted to the final use of holding
their dust. The ashes of the victor at the
games sometimes reposed in the vase which
had been the prize of his triumph. The larger
number of vases and objects in Greek pottery
which have been recovered in modern times
were deposited with the dead as furniture of
the tomb. In frequent cases numbers of vases,
large and small, are found in one tomb, standing on the floor or hanging
on the walls. These sometimes appear to have been articles prized by
the deceased while living, and placed by his body with some sort of feel
ing, not without occasional illustration in our own time, which finds corn-

Greek Bottle found in Cy
prus. (Cesnola Coll.)

GREECE.

87

fort in leaving the dead accompanied by some of the associations of life.
Many of the vases decorated in colors on white grounds seem to have
been made for sepulchral uses, and were placed in the tombs immedi
ately after finishing. The decorations of these are in water - colors, not
fixed, but easily rubbed off by handling. Some of these are among the
most delicate and beautiful works of Greek art. The colors are fre
quently missing, having fallen off or disappeared, leaving only the out
lines, traced with delicious taste and skill. Other vases have fixed white
grounds. There is not space for description of the exceptional forms
and colors in which pottery was
made and decorated by the Greeks.
A small bottle in the Cesnola col
lection is in the form of a dove with
human head (111. 57). Another, only
three inches long, is a perfect repre
sentation, in form, color, and surface
roughness, of an almond.
The ornamental statuettes of the
Greeks in pottery ranked in compar
ison with all other ancient and mod
ern art as highly as Greek sculpt
ure in marble. Exquisite little im
ages are found in great numbers in
various localities — at Athens, Ta-
nagra, in Cyprus, and elsewhere.
These were sometimes brilliantly
colored, occasionally only washed
with white. In the Metropolitan
Museum of Art are many examples
of this delicious work. A small
image of a child waking out of sleep
is an exquisite specimen. The bot
tle which is illustrated (58) in the
form of a sleeping slave of giant
muscle is beyond praise.
The places of manufacture were 58. Bottle in Form of a Sleeping Slave : Greek
scattered throughout the Greek cit- ^^^ Found at Amathus- (Ces"
ies. Prior to the Cypriote discover
ies, the most ancient vases were supposed to be those found in Asia Mi
nor, and numerous potteries existed there, where, as in Cyprus, the Greek

ANCIENT POTTERY.

civilization sprang up in close contact with the Phenician. Throughout
the Greek islands, at Corinth, and elsewhere on the continent, were man
ufactories of pottery for local use and exportation. Athens, however,
had the highest reputation for ceramic work. Two sections of the city
devoted to potters — -one within and one outside the walls — were known
as the kerameikoi. Remarkably beautiful vases have been found at
Athens in which the decorations are on white grounds, in colors. All
varieties of pottery were here made, and many of the most superb speci
mens in museums are probably the work of the Athenian ceramists.
The noble vases and other works in pottery which have been found
in immense quantity in Southern Italy, and which were formerly sup
posed to be Etruscan, are now known to be Greek ; and a very large por
tion of the Greek vases in collections are
from that part of the world. Many of
these were sent from Greece to Italy ;
but Greek potters also went to Italy, and
there pursued their work. Greek pot
tery of all periods, from the earliest, is
found in Magna Grsecia. It is supposed
that many of the finest specimens found
in Italy were made at Athens. The Phe
nicians, who had been surpassed by the
Greeks as manufacturers, were still the
commercial people of the East, and Phe
nician ships carried the Athenian pottery to all parts of the known world.
Samos was an early seat of pottery. The oldest known description
of the art is contained in some lines attributed to Homer. The story is
told in the life of Homer (by Herodotus ?) that the poet was driven by a
storm to take shelter in a pottery in Samos, where he passed the night,
and was found in the morning by the potters, who recognized him, and
demanded a song, promising therefor a vase. Homer thereupon sang
the " Song of the Furnace," in which he invokes Athene, praying that
the vases to be made may not be burned black, but all baked at the right
heat, and come out good merchantable ware ; and in the event that the
potters do not pay him his promised reward, he adds imprecations, invok
ing fracture, warping, too great baking ; especially praying that irrepressi
ble fire may melt the contents of the furnaces in masses that will horrify
the potters, that cracking sounds may come from the furnaces, and the
vases be broken to pieces.
The clay of Samos was celebrated, and the pottery distinguished for

59. Latona. (From a Greek vase.)

GREECE.

89

60. Greek Kylix. Red ware.
nola Coll.)

(Ces-

*»*

its hardness. Here was made the rich red ware known as Samian, which
became a favorite pottery of the Romans,
used by them for domestic purposes, even
for dinner services. It was of a fine bright,
artificial red, highly polished on the surface,
with a thin lustre, produced by the unknown
glaze or by the polishing. These wares were
popular everywhere for common use as cups,
bowls, jugs, and general domestic purposes, and were sometimes orna
mented by patterns engraved on the surface or reliefs applied.
Fragments of broken pottery were commonly used by the Greeks for
writing purposes, as a substitute for
papyrus or parchment. The word
oarpaKov (ostrakon) signified "pot
tery " as well as " a shell ;" and it is
by some insisted that ostracism was
so called because the votes for and
against banishment were written on
fragments of pottery, instead of the
received idea that the Greeks voted
with shells.
Specimens of enamelled pottery
have been found in Rhodes, Cyprus,
Southern Italy, and elsewhere, which
have been supposed to be Greek work. These are generally small ob
jects, often very beautiful. The enamel is like the Egyptian, blue or
green, the ornamentation consisting of zigzags, and lines of white. A
single specimen of this ware, representing a lotus - flower, in pale blue
with inlaid lines of white, was found at Kurium. These pieces are not
common, and if not of Egyptian
manufacture, certainly do not seem
to have been a product of Greek art
in general, nor so popular as to be in
wide demand. The Greeks confined ^
themselves, with rare exceptions, to
the lustrous ware. Objects of un
doubted Egyptian ware, of enamelled
pottery, are found in Cyprus, South
ern Italy, and elsewhere, and were evidently articles prized by the Greeks.
Another class of ware is found occasionally, which is moulded, with

61. The Pyrrhic Dance. (From a Greek vase.)

^^f

62. Symposium. (From a Greek vase.)

90 ANCIENT POTTERY.

vines, fruit, etc., in relief, colored and glazed. This is probably of late
period — possibly Roman. On a, very beautiful cup of this ware found in
Cyprus, the glaze has undergone the same change which occurs in ancient
glass in that island, being decomposed and finely iridescent. Before the
Christian era Greek ceramic art had passed through its finest period and
decadence. The Romans had little taste for such work, and pottery be
came again, as it had at first been, a material devoted to purposes of utility
rather than ornament.

VI.-ETRURIA.
So long as it was supposed that the magnificent vases found in such
enormous quantity in the sepulchres of Italy were the work of Etruscan
potters, the highest interest attached to the ceramic art of that people.
But when it became clear that these were Greek, the scope of the Etrus
can art in pottery was exceedingly narrowed, and it possesses but little
interest. The Etruscans were Phenician in descent and character, and there is
much in their arts which indicates that they were always in close alliance
and communication with their relatives in the more eastern part of the
Mediterranean. Much fine work in metal and engraved stone is still as
signed to them because found, as were the vases, in their country. How
much of this was in reality Etruscan, and how much the work of Pheni
cian artists elsewhere, it does not concern us to discuss here.
Their oldest pottery, dating probably from a period before 700 b.c,
seems to have been a somewhat rude ware in dark grayish-brown color.
Possibly wares in black are equally ancient. Both wares continued to be
made for a long period, and the black was that in which they approached
most nearly to the production of high art.-
They made four kinds of pottery — brown, black, yellow, and red.
They also made unglazed wares, decorated with surf ace - paintings not
baked. Of the latter the most remarkable objects are sarcophagi of red
and of yellow clay, with reliefs, and on the covers recumbent figures.
The whole was washed with white, on which were paintings in brilliant
colors. Some of these were large enough to hold the body, but the ma
jority were small, serving the purpose of urns for the ashes of the dead.
In the brown ware curious small vases were made, in the shape of
huts, decorated sometimes with bars to indicate the beams forming the
roof of a cottage, and with bosses. These were also used as funereal

ETRURIA. 91

urns. The decorations on the brown wares in general were of the primi
tive sort, in incised lines and rude reliefs. Wine and water jugs, cups,
and other objects are known.
The black wares are of various thickness and merit in different local
ities. The ornaments are incised or in relief, occasionally well moulded.
Animals, flowers, etc., are in friezes, sometimes made by impression with
a cylinder rolled over the wet paste. There is much that recalls the Phe
nician work in the character of these decorations, and often a suggestion
of the arts of Nineveh and Babylon. The Etruscans certainly had com
mercial intercourse with Egypt, and much that is Egyptian is visible in
their art. A class of vases closely resemble the kanopos of Egypt, the
vase described as intended to hold the entrails of the dead. These,
moulded to represent the human figure, and holding the ashes of the
Etruscan dead, were placed in tombs in chairs of wood or of pottery.
In red pottery were made pithoi ornamented with reliefs and friezes,
which are of very ancient periods. Mr. Birch supposes some of them to
date about 700 b.c
The yellow or buff ware is very like the wares of the same kind
made in Cyprus, especially vases in animal shapes, and representations of
Venus. The Romans described the Etruscans as excelling in making statues
of pottery and architectural ornaments. But few specimens of their
work remain, and those few are not remarkable works of art.
When the Greeks first came into Italy they brought few arts with
them ; but as the ceramic art advanced in Greece, fine works were sent to
the colonies in Magna Grsecia, now become important cities, and potters
emigrated thither. The Etruscans admired and imitated, afar off, the
Greek work ; but the Etruscan never excelled as a potter, and none of
his works were approximations to the originals he desired to reproduce.
Vases with figures in black on red and in red on black were made, but in
poor style. The red, instead of being left in the surface color of the pot
tery, was laid on in a clay wash over the black with which the vase had
been coated. The subjects painted were chiefly from Greek mythology
and story. No original Etruscan art is found, although occasional rep
resentations are seen of Etruscan divinities and demons. Inscriptions
occur in the Etruscan language. Some of these vases are of later period,
bringing the art down nearly to the Christian era.

92

ANCIENT POTTERY.

VII.-ROME.

The long history of the Roman power is marked by very little ce
ramic work which can be regarded as of high art, although no people of
ancient or modern times appear to have made such extensive use of pot
tery for purposes of architecture and general utility. Bricks were made
in great quantities, and tiles for roofing, drainage, and other purposes.

63. Charon, Hermes, and a Human Soul.
(From a Roman lamp.)

64. Hercules and the Nemeean Lion.
(From a Roman lamp.)

These objects had stamps, which the law required makers to place on
their works. The stamps give names of makers, of owners of clay-pits, of
consuls, with dates, and are of the highest importance for the historical
information thus preserved. Graves were enclosed with
tiles, and the stations of Roman legions in various parts
of the world are ascertained from the stamps on tiles
in soldiers' graves. All the useful forms of tiles known
to us were common to the Romans. Roof tiles, wall
| tiles, flues for hot air, mosaic pavements, were made of
j pottery. The inscriptions found on these are the prede-
jcessors of factory marks found on modern pottery and
[porcelain, some of them giving the date, the name of
the proprietor of the estate where they were made, the
spotter, and even the slave who moulded them. Cor
nices, friezes, gutters, and spouts were made. Orna
mental work for architectural use was painted in colors
-black, red, blue, green, and yellow.
In early times Greek and Etruscan potters made statues for Rome,

65. Roman Pottery.
A Grotesque.

ROME.

93

and these were abundant till the Imperial p3riod. Small statues and fig
ures were in favor and common with the Romans, representing a great
variety of subjects, mythological and real. Actors, buffoons, dwarfs, por
trait figures abound. Wherever the Roman power extended
in Europe these figures are found in quantity. They were
called sigilla, or sigillaria; the last days of the Saturnalia,
called Sigillaria, being the time when it was customary to
make presents of these images. The market-place in Rome
where they were sold was called by the same name.
Cages, money-boxes, even theatre -tickets, were made of
pottery. These last are the prototypes of the modern, having
on them the number of the row of benches and the seat to 66. Roman Pot-
Avhich the bearer was entitled. Pottery moulds have been tery< a Dwarf.
found which were used by forgers to cast false coin. A hun
dred and thirty moulds were found in one lot in France, and at another
place moulds were found,
with more than two thou
sand pieces of false silver
coin. Moulds have also
been found for making re
lief ornaments to be imposed
on vases. The two finest classes of
67. Bowl. Samian ware. pottery made by the Romans
are known as Aretine ware, from Aretium, where it was made ; and Sami
an ware, from the Greek ware of Samos, which this resembles.
The Aretine ware was bright red, sometimes nearly as brilliant as red
sealing-wax, unglazed, or more fre
quently covered with a thin but rich
lustre. It was moulded with relief
ornaments and figures. Pliny says
this ware was used in his time, as
well as the Samian, for table pur
poses. A few specimens are known
in black. The objects are mostly
small. The paste is somewhat softer
and the lustre less strong than that
of the Samian ware, which, however, so closely resembles it that it is not
always possible to distinguish the two, especially as both were made at
Aretium.

Roman Moulds for Pottery.

94

ANCIENT POTTERY.

69. Bowl. Samian ware.

The red Roman ware called Samian is found in all parts of the world
to which the Roman le
gions went. It is similar
to the Aretine, but strong
er in body and lustre. It
was used for all the do
mestic purposes to which
we apply porcelain. It is
remarkable that this ware,
wherever found, appears to
be of the same fabric as to
clay and lustre, although it
was evidently made in various localities. Many objects in it present very
fine decorations in relief. Potters' names abound on it, and inscriptions
are known, such as Bibe Amici de meo (" Friend, drink from my cup ").
At Paris cups of a late period were found, of curious shape, coarse red
glaze, with inscriptions in relief, such as Ospita, Reple Lagona Ceevesa,
which may be freely translated in the well-known line, "Come, land
lord, fill the flowing bowl ;" or, literally, " Landlord, fill up the jug with
beer." Among the most important and most beautiful works of the Romans
in pottery are lamps. These abound in va
ried shapes, with ornaments in relief, in all
the kinds of pottery described, as well as in
red lustrous pottery like that of Cyprus, £^vv
The designs on lamps are of great variety, '^s>
and exhibit as a class the finest artistic work
found in Roman pottery. The illustrations
will give an idea of some of these. Pot
ters' names are of frequent occurrence on
them. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York possesses an admirable collection of several hundred Roman
lamps, illustrating styles, shapes, and decorations.
As the Roman Empire began to decay, the decadence of all the arts
was marked. The pottery of the second, third, and fourth centuries of
the Christian era is of small artistic importance. Lamps of these cen
turies which bear inscriptions or devices of Christian character are nu
merous and interesting. Some of these have been mentioned as found
in Egypt. As there, so in other parts of the Roman dominions, lamps
are found having various Christian emblems, crosses, the monogram of

70. Triton. (From a Roman lamp

ROME.

95

71. Cybele. (From a Roman lamp.

Christ, the golden candlestick used in allusion to the seven churches, the
fish, and inscriptions.
In the fourth century, and later, pottery was made in all parts of the
empire, in black lustrous ware, of inferior workmanship, decorated with
raised ornaments placed on the surface, hunting scenes, wreaths, animals,
and sometimes with patterns in engraved lines. The common form is a
mug, but vases are found. The larger
part of the articles are small drinking-
cups, and on these are found inscriptions
in white, such as Imple (" Fill up ") ; Bibe
(" Drink ") ; Bibamtjs pie (" Let us drink
piously"); Sitio ("I thirst"); Ut felix
vivas (" May you live happy ") ; Vinum
tlbi dulcis (" Wine for you, sweet one ") ;
Ave (" Hail ") ; Amo te condite (" I
love thee, cherished one ").
In England and other parts of Europe
distant from Rome are found great quan
tities of Roman pottery. The red Sa
mian ware is found in England, but none seems to have been made
there. The decadence of art is exhib
ited in the rude character of the Roman
black pottery of the later periods. These
articles are of various color, from black
to gray ; the glaze on some brilliant, on
others dull ; the sizes varying, mostly
small cups, bottles, and vases. The orna
mentation consists largely of small lumps
of clay arranged in regular patterns.
Some are decorated with pebbles em
bedded in the clay. Much of this ware
is found in England, at and near Up-
church, and is sometimes called Up-
church ware. Another variety of black
ware is found at Castor, in Northamp
tonshire, as well as in various places on
the Continent, which is known as Castor
ware.

72. Late Roman Vase. (Castor, England.)

The rapid survey which has been taken of the history of ancient pot
tery is but for the purpose of introducing the student to the more mod-

QG

ANCIENT POTTERY.

ern history. The literature of the ceramic art of the ancients is ex
tensive. Many large works, devoted to illustrations of Greek vases,
have been published during the last and
present century, edited by Passeri, Millin,
Tischbein, D'Hancarville, Millingen, La-
borde, Inghirami, Gerhard, the Due de
Luynes, and other eminent scholars. The
American student, however, will find the
most thorough and exhaustive work on the
subject, which we have freely used in this
sketch, " The History of Ancient Pottery,"
by Dr. Samuel Birch, one of the most ac
complished of living antiquarians. The im
portant discoveries made in Cyprus since
the publication of the last edition of Dr.
Birch's work, adding greatly to our knowledge of early Greek art, serve
to show the accuracy and scholarly care with which he has investigated

Late Roman Vase.
England.)

(Upchurch,

74. Romano-British Vases.

the subject, and summed up the results of former explorations, suggesting
solutions of many doubtful questions which are fully confirmed by the
Cypriote discoveries.

FAJRT II.
MODERN POTTERY.

I.-SARACEN.
Under the name of Saracen potteries we propose to include all the
fabrics, opaque and translucent, of the Asiatic races as well in Persia as in
the countries which were overrun and conquered by the followers of Mo
hammed in the seventh and later centuries. The history of their work
in pottery commences in Persia in the seventh century, and ends with a
few modern factories in Anatolia and Northern Africa. The principal
seats of manufacture west of Persia were at Damascus, Rhodes, in the
Majorcan Islands, and Spain. But there were doubtless a great number
of local factories, scattered here and there through the East. The prev
alence of the use of enamelled tiles for interior and exterior architectural
purposes indicates the existence of potteries in nearly every city of any
magnitude under Mohammedan government.
The ceramic products of the Saracens include pottery and porcelain,
and, for convenience, both are described under the present division. The
Pottery is divided by its style of decoration into two great classes, the
one decorated with metallic lustre, the other with colors. The colored
decorations include wares painted and glazed, and wares covered with
stanniferous enamel. All these kinds of pottery seem to have been made
at the same time through a long period.
The Porcelain was made in Persia only, and is or both varieties — soft-
paste and hard-paste.
It is possible and probable that the Arabians possessed some knowl
edge of decorative ceramic art before the days of Mohammed, but their
art as know»n to us indicates so clearly its Persian origin that we may
assume as evident their adoption of the styles found in Persia, and the
subsequent growth, under their taste and influence, of peculiar styles
which are properly called Saracen. 7

98 MODERN POTTERY.

A varying extent of country has been, at different periods of history,
under Persian power. Iran, the home of the Aryan or Iranian races, in
cludes in general use Media and Persia proper, and the entire middle
portion of Asia stretching to the east as far as the western borders of
Chinese Tartary, and southward along the Persian Gulf to the range of
mountains bounding the valley of the Indus. In the western portion of
this territory a family of the race of man, lingering while the others went
westward to the plain of Shinar, or returning from the Dispersion, pos
sibly preserved the old manners, customs, and language of their antedilu
vian ancestors. From them went out colonies, who became progenitors
of the vast hordes in India on the south, and in China on the east, in the
colder regions of the north, and of those other hordes who, sweeping along
to the westward, hardened by the climates in which they lived, have from
time to time, in all ages since then, descended into the more southern
regions, peopled from the other families, and, with rare exceptions, over
come and possessed them.
Retaining perhaps longer than any other of the great families of men
the knowledge and worship of the one God, "the eternal Spirit inhab
iting the universe," founder of heaven, earth, the sky, and all space,
they in time divided this monotheistic belief into the idea of a dual
God, or into two Gods — one good, the other evil — Ormazd and Ahri-
man; and afterward, by the common course, the visible acts of God
were personified as deity, until the worship of fire became the chief
characteristic of the religion. It is impossible to say when the order
of the Magi, the priests of the fire - worshippers, arose. The date of
Zoroaster (if he ever lived), the reformer of the religion, is unknown
within many centuries.
The earlier history of the family may be conjectured as not unlike
that of the tribes who formed the Hellenic confederation. Herodotus
names four kings of Media, the last of whom was Astyages (594 b.c),
with whom our definite knowledge of history commences. Ctesias
speaks of a King Arbaces, who destroyed Nineveh (about 876 b.c.) ; but
this statement is not regarded as trustworthy. There were doubtless
quarrels between the sparse families in earlier times, the strong conquer
ing the weak. Separate governments, patriarchal and despotic, may have
grown up ; the tide of emigration and conquest sometimes flowed west
ward again, as well as eastward ; varieties of language, having the same
root, were used ; and at the commencement of known history two great
masses of families or tribes appear in the western portion of Central
Asia, known now as Persians and Medes.

SARACEN. 99

These two peoples, as they may be called, had common religion, lan
guage, and customs. The most valuable information concerning these
is derived from the Hebrew writer Daniel. The Medes were the ruling
race, but the Persians had a family of hereditary kings. In the reign of
Astyages (594-558 b.c) the Persians revolted under the lead of Cyrus,
who became king of Media and Persia, conquered Babylon, and extended
his conquests to the shores of the Archipelago. The history of the wars
in which the powers of Iran were hurled against Greece and Egypt in
the succeeding reigns need not be recapitulated. The Persians brought
down on them at last the vengeance of the Greeks led by Alexander,
who, when he covered the dead body of Darius with his cloak on the
battle-field of Arbela (330 b.c), spread also the pall over the kingdom
of the Medes and Persians, and ended the westward progress by force of
the Aryan races, language, and influence.
The Greeks did not penetrate Iran far to the eastward. The deserts
of Khorassan were an effectual barrier, and the lands beyond remained
practically unknown to them. These lands, stretching away to the al
most mythical Serica, Sinse, and the home of the Scythians beyond the
Imaus, were peopled by various tribes, acknowledging probably the su
premacy of the Median and Persian power. But under the successors of
Alexander, 250 b.c, the Parthian Arsaces revolted against Antiochus and
founded the Parthian kingdom, and at about the same time the Bactrian
kingdom was established. The Seleucidan kings retained possession of
Persia proper until 164 b.c, when the Parthians subjected the country,
and possessed it for four hundred years. In 226 a.d., the Persians re
established their independence, and the reign of the Sassanidse com
menced. The magian fire-worship was again the religion of the king
dom, which continued till the Arabian invasion, when the followers of
Mohammed, in the middle of the seventh century, poured in an irresist
ible flood over Western Asia, and established their religion with their
power over the entire extent of ancient Iran. The last of the fire-wor
shippers — the Parsees — retired into India, and Mohammedanism pene
trated that country and China.
The history of Iran has not been thus summarized without object.
The study of ceramic art in connection with this history is to become of
great interest. The country, the heart of Asia, is unexplored. Its art
history is enveloped in darkness. Into this country the history of enam
elled pottery leads from its origin in Egypt ; here it was made by the
Assyrians, until all record of the art is lost. Not quite all. The burial-
mounds of Warka afford enough indications to show a series of painted

100 MODERN POTTERY.

and glazed potteries from the Babylonian to and through the Sassanian
period. The Hebrew bowls found by Mr. Layard, though doubted by
some, may be links in the missing chain, rude pottery as they are. A
glazed earthenware bottle, found by Mr. Layard at Babel, is perhaps of
the Sassanian period. Further explorations in Persia will probably give
clearer information on the now obscure history of the relationship be
tween Assyrian enamelled pottery and the works of China on the East
and of the Mohammedans on the West.
The line which on modern maps divides the Iranian from the Chinese
territories was probably not defined until in comparatively recent times.
Persia and China have been commercial neighbors from the beginnings of
commerce among men. The Arabs traded with the Chinese by sea before
the Crusades. Chinese vessels were abundant in the Persian Gulf at an
early period. If the myrrhine vases of the Romans were, as some sup
pose, porcelain, we have Pliny's statement that these were made in Persia,
and Propertius speaks of them as " baked in Parthian furnaces." Our
entire knowledge of enamelled potteries tends to the idea as probable, in
the absence of distinct evidence to the contrary, that the art of making
them passed across Asia from Assyria. Where, then, was the next step
in the art, that ot making pottery itself translucent, first taken? No
known fact forbids the theory that porcelain had been made in Persia
before it was made in China. None of the earliest specimens remain in
either country. Specimens of equal appearance of age are found in both.
There is, therefore, in Persia a field of investigation which will proba
bly repay any amount of labor bestowed on it, since the ceramic history
of the Iranian countries, from the sixth century before to the seventh
century after Christ, is probably the history of the relations of China
and India to Western art, and thus of the connections existing between
families of the race now most widely separated in every way. Should it
be found that enamelled bricks were continuously made in Persia from
the Babylonian period to the Mohammedan conquest, the line of trans
mission of the art will be unbroken from the building of the Pyramids of
Egypt to the last factory established in America.
When the Arabs invaded Persia in the seventh century they adopted
Persian arts. Their history in this respect bears some analogy to that
of the Greeks in what has been called their "colonization" of Lydian or
Phenician countries. The conquerors learned new arts, evinced remark
able artistic powers, and transmitted these arts to their countrymen at
home and to all the territories which they conquered. It does not appear
whether the Persians were making glazed or enamelled pottery at the

SARACEN.

101

time of the Arab invasion, but the natural theory is that the invaders
found the old Babylonian art of enamelling brick still in use. The
glazed coffins of the Sassanians were perhaps yet made when the Arabs
came, and these were not likely to be the only style of glazed pottery
of the Persian potters of that time. There is ground for a suggestion,
too, that the Saracen style of architecture indicates that it was invented
to be ornamented with tiles, rather than that the tiles were applied to a
previously existing style.
The earliest specimens of Saracen ceramic art are these tiles, the suc
cessors of the enamelled bricks of the ancients. Before examining the
special characteristics of other Saracen products, it is important to look
at these tiles, which, in variety and beauty, deserve separate classification
among their beautiful works. Wherever found, they are so much alike
in fabric and intent that they are pre-eminently illustrative of that one
wide-spread art which is purely
Saracenic. Old mosques and
tombs in Persia, and far to the
east of modern Persia, abound
in wall tiles of superb charac
ter. Count de Rochchouart has
a blue glazed brick, found in
the ruins of the ancient city of
Kirman. Fragments of glazed
tiles have been found in the
ruins of Rhages, an ancient city
of unknown date, mentioned in
the story of Tobit. Mosques at
Natinz, of the twelfth century,
are built with tiles of the finest
character. The Blue Mosque 75. Group of four Tiles from Cairo. Blue and green on
of Tabreez, near Oroomiah, of white> each 8* b? 8* inches- (T-P- Coll>
very ancient date, takes its name from its exterior covering of blue tiles.
The Arabs carried the art swiftly back to Arabia, for the tiles on the
tomb of Mohammed at Medina are supposed to date from 707 a.d., when
that building was erected. These tiles are glazed, not stanniferous. The
art spread with the Saracen power, and old mosques in all parts of the
East illustrate it. Tiles are found on the mosques at Nice, in Anatolia
(built about 1389), and at Iconium, in Asia Minor (built before 1275 a.d.).
At Bokhara and Samarcand, in old Iran, are found wall tiles and pave
ments — how old is unknown. Mr. Vambery, who paid no attention to

102 MODERN POTTERY.

ceramic art, speaks of " colored bricks " in numerous mosques of Samar-
cand, and, describing the ruins of the Medresse Hanym, built by the wife
of Timour, says the remaining portion " has its pavement completely cov
ered with mosaic made of earth, the composition and coloring of which
are of incomparable beauty, and so firmly cemented that it occasioned me
indescribable trouble to cut away the calyx of a flower, and even of this I
could only remove, in a perfect state, the innermost part, with three leaves
folded together."
In the masses of broken pottery which surround all old Eastern towns
fragments of tiles of great beauty abound. On the hill-side of Mount
Moriah, at Jerusalem, which is little else than a mass of broken marble,
verd-antique, porphyry, and architectural remains in small pieces, we have
gathered many fragments of early Saracen tiles of rich character.
The Kubbet-es-Sukrah (Dome of the Rock), at Jerusalem, commonly
but erroneously called the Mosque of Omar, is an admirable example of
this art. In its present condition it exhibits the workmanship of the six
teenth century, when the building was re
stored by the Sultan Suleiman (1540-50) ; but
among the numerous tiles which adorn it, its
porches, and attached buildings, are many much
older than this date, and possibly as old as the
foundation in the seventh century. We have
in our collection several specimens of these
which are evidently far apart in date of man
ufacture. The illustration (76) shows one of
the exterior tiles, the pattern in dark blue, al-
76. Tile from Kubbet-es-Sukrah, most black, on ground originally white, but by
Jerusalem. Blue on cream-white, j ¦¦ . i , «•
8 inches by 8 (T -P Coll ) aSe exposure now become a rich burr or
cream-color. We have tiles of the same pat
tern, in various sizes, from Damascus. Another tile from the Dome of
the Rock is shown in illustration 83.
Throughout the Arab countries some of the more ancient houses of
the wealthy have large rooms decorated from floor to ceiling with tiles in
rich color, the patterns running from tile to tile, borders and bands follow
ing the curves and rectangles of the architecture, showing that the tiles
were made specially for the rooms in which they were placed. A noble
room thus decorated is in the ancient and vast house of Said Sadat, the
present head of the family of Mohammed in Egypt, and several smaller
rooms in the extensive buildings are similarly decorated. The Saracens
had very great taste in the choice of decorations for special rooms. Noth-

T
7*

SARACEN.

103

ing can be finer in effect, more fairy-like, or more marvellous in beauty,
than the interiors of rooms surrounded with these brilliant objects,
where the light is only such as comes through the wonderfully construct
ed lattices of Arab work. These lattices were made to be seen from
the interior, and no one who has only admired their beautiful patterns
from the outside can appreciate the exquisite effect from within, where
the wood is invisible, forming only black outlines around the lace - like
openings through which the light pours. The wall tiles were often
painted in the same patterns with the lattice -work, as in the one illus
trated (77).
The designs found on the tiles afford good opportunity for the study
of Saracen art, to which modern
art owes a vast amount of its
most valued patterns in archi
tectural, mural, and glass decora
tions. The debt of Europe to
the Saracens has never been suf
ficiently recognized.
Some of the spirit as well as |^f
the detail of this Saracen work
may be traced to the Persians,
from whom it was acquired.
There are patterns in common
use to the latest period which
are undoubtedly Persian. The
Mohammedans, like the He
brews, did not represent the hu
man form in paintings ; but the
Persians, who are followers of
Ali, had no such rule. Hence, in decorations strictly Persian, portraits and
representations of men on horseback are common. But the Arabian mind
was not content with the old Persian ideas, and the great wealth of Sara
cen decorative patterns belongs to that mind. There is a mystery attend
ing the rise, growth, and decay of Arabian art. Why in the seventeenth
century did the Arabs suddenly lose all taste and power of execution,
when up to that period they had been in advance of the whole world —
the teachers of Europe ?
There is a luxuriance in Saracen decorations not equalled in any later
period. The Trumbull-Prime collection contains more than two hundred
specimens of Saracen wall tiles, and no one of them fails to charm the eye

77. Group of four Tiles from Cairo : Lattice Pattern.
Blue and green on pale-green ground, each 8£ by
8| inches. (T.-P. Coll.)

104

MODERN POTTERY.

of the uneducated by the disposition of color, and of the educated by the
peculiar artistic skill exhibited in the arrangement and designs.
Nature afforded ample subjects for the Saracen artists. The growth
of plants, the intricate windings of the stems of vines, the blossoms of fa
vorite flowers, were abundantly illustrated ; and although these were not
always nor often symbolic, they established themselves so thoroughly in
the tastes of the people that they were repeated without change from cen
tury to century, in close imitation of nature, or in conventional forms
which grew into use. The rose, which was a special Persian decoration,
is found on old tiles in a close, heavy, stiff rosette. The tulip in bud and
in opening flower is well represented, and conventionalized into a form
sometimes difficult to recognize, as on tiles illustrated (78, 82). The hya
cinth is never to be mistaken. The white jessamine blossom appears often
on blue grounds. The carnation is a favorite flower, represented in good
drawing, and in a conventional form (111. 79) not difficult to recognize.
On tiles from Damascus in our
collection, of the sixteenth or
seventeenth century, grape
vines and clusters of grapes are
represented, the vines running
from tile to tile, and the clusters
of fruit hanging in dark-blue on
lighter blue grounds, or in pur
ple on blue. Arabesque pat
terns are found in great variety,
chiefly composed of stems and
tendrils of vines, with leaves.
These sometimes pass over
many tiles, and are sometimes
complete patterns on one tile,
78. Gro.ip of two Tiles from Damascus, and two from but SO arranged that some lines
Cairo. Blue and green on white. Each 8* by 8* connect with the Same pattern
inches. (T.-P. Coll.) Al . . . . ,., . f
on tne adjoining tiles in the wall,
or a corner device will become complete when four corners meet. The
cypress-tree was frequently represented. In the Egyptian department of
the Philadelphia Exhibition, in 1876, a group of nine tiles was shown as
coming from Cairo. In our collection is a precisely similar group, which
we obtained in Damascus. The design consists of architectural forms,
cypress -trees, and Mohammedan inscriptions, forming with nine tiles a
single pattern. We have other tiles, also from Damascus, on each of

SARACEN.

105

which stands, in the middle, a single cypress-tree, and at each side half of
another, made complete by the joining of the next tile. The effect of a
wall covered with these sombre trees, in deep green, with black lines indi
cating branches, must have been funereal. They were probably made for
a tomb. On Persian tiles, from au early period, a decoration in metallic lustre
was used, which was brilliant and effective, and was the parent of the won
derful products of Gubbio. This metallic lustre, appearing on the tiles
at Natinz, and other early specimens, continued in use down to the period
of Shah Abbas (1582-1629 a.d.), which, indeed, is near the end of Saracen
decorated pottery. This lustre was an art known only to the Saracens
until learned from them by Maestro Giorgio, of Gubbio, in the sixteenth
century, or by his teacher. We have found fragments of lustred Saracen
wares in the mounds of broken pottery around Cairo, indicating the prac
tice of the art there at an early date. It, however, never reached among
the Saracens the splendor to which it was brought at Gubbio. The ori
gin of this art is unknown. Did it perhaps spring from a desire to imi
tate in tiles the golden effects of the Byzantine mosaics ?
The ground colors of tiles vary, the most common being white and
blue. Some old Persian tiles in our collection have a very soft creamy-
gray ground, producing a charming effect.
A rare old color is an intense green ground,
on which arabesque patterns are placed in
brilliant black. The designs are painted in
blue of several shades, from the deepest to
the lightest turquoise, green of the same va
riety, purple, yellow, mauve, brown, red, and
black. Our notions about harmony of col
ors, which are arbitrary and generally in
correct, never trammelled Saracen artists.
Flowers and arabesque patterns are usually
outlined in black or blue, and filled in with
color. We have some specimens in which
various colors are used in such delicate taste
in small arabesques and rosettes as to give, at a little distance, an almost
opalescent effect.
The artistic ability of the Saracens consisted chiefly in their admira
ble use and disposition of colors; but occasionally on tiles found at Da
mascus there is evidence of great freedom and boldness of execution
worthy any artist. A tile, 10£ by 8 inches, belonging to Mr. Charles

79. Tile from Damascus. Blue,
green, and purple on white
ground. 7-J by 7-J inches. (T.-P.
Coll.)

106

MODERN POTTERY.

80. Tile from Damascus. White on
dark -blue ground. 8 by 10^
inches. (Collection of C. D. War
ner, Esq.)

Dudley Warner, at Hartford, brought by him from Damascus, is one of
a series, of which the decoration must have been exceedingly beautiful
and artistic. The ground is intense dark
blue, and over it spring the stems of the
three favorite flowers — the .tulip, hyacinth,
and carnation — with slender leaves, and here
and there a blossom, all in pure white, except
a touch of green on the bud of a carnation.
These white stems and leaves and flowers
were first outlined with black on the white
enamel, and then the ground was filled in
with the blue, covering the black lines. The
whole group must have presented on the wall
which it covered an appearance hardly to be
surpassed in natural effect, not to be surpassed
in grace and beauty.
Another enamelled tile which Mr. Warner
obtained in Damascus is in several respects unusual, and possibly of Per
sian fabric. The ground is marbled with white, having a green tint,
dark blue, black, and touches of green.
A large Persian lion is well drawn,
and colored green — the outlines,
mane, and other details in black. On
his back rests the sun — the outline,
eyes, and nose in black, the mouth
green. The tone of the whole work
is unlike any Damascus ware in our
collection, or which we have seen in
that city or elsewhere.
Two classes of pottery seem to
have been used for these wall tiles,
one softer than the other, and less
compact. Two varieties of covering
are found — one a pure glass glaze
laid over the painted surface, the other stanniferous enamel. The glass
glaze is strong and thick, but perfectly transparent. On fragments it can
be lifted off in small pieces, and the paint underneath is then easily scraped
away, leaving the pottery exposed. These tiles were first baked, then cov
ered with a thick surface of pure white clay, or prepared slip, on which
the designs were painted. The whole was then glazed and baked. The

81. Tile from Damascus. 9-J- by 91 inches.
(Collection of C. D. Warner, Esq.)

SARACEN.

107

blue, green, and purple colors seem to have combined in part with the
glaze, the red sometimes uniting to the glaze, but oftener remaining free
in powder. The white remains free under the glaze and under the other
colors, and can always be scraped off in a sandy powder.
The tiles with stanniferous enamel are generally of a purer white
than those which are glazed, from the fact that the glaze has often a
slight greenish tint, like pale -green
glass, which is not noticed until com
pared with a pure white.
We have not found any tiles dec
orated with the brilliant red which
characterizes Rhodian dishes, Except
on the shores of, or near to, the Med
iterranean. All that we have seen
thus decorated closely resemble the
fabric of those dishes. Our experi
ence, however, is far from being con
clusive.

Damascus furnishes a great varie1

82. Tile from Damascus, made for a corner.
Blue, green, and white. 11 by 8^- inches.
(T.-P. Coll.)

ty of the most beautiful specimens, the wealth and splendor of that city
from the times of Saladin commanding the best work of the Saracen ar
tists. In Cairo and the tombs around that city many fine specimens re
main. All along the track of the Arabian civilization in Northern Af
rica they mark the advance of Islam ; and Spain, from the time of the
Moorish conquest, abounded in buildings which were decorated with
them. In Constantinople the Mosque of Suleiman contains many, and the
tomb of Mustapha, his son, built in 1544, is one of the finest remaining
specimens of their use in architecture.
These beautiful works of art sometimes descend to base uses. Some
very fine specimens in our collection we found in a Cairene cook-shop,
where they were built into a modern wall around the furnaces, the rich
blue and green decorations effectually concealed by the spattering of
grease and dirt, which had become almost as firm as the enamel under
them. The sizes vary according to the requirements of the walls for which
they are made. Among the smallest and thinnest in our collection are
some from the cloisters or porches of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusa
lem, being about six inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick.
The Spaniards gave to the tiles the name asulejo, supposed to be from

108 MODERN POTTERY.

an Arabic word meaning "painted tile," but probably originally due to
the prevalent blue color on them, which in Arabic is azr, and in Spanish
azul. The mosque at Cordova, built in the eighth century, was cov
ered with them. The Alhambra was paved and its walls partly decorated
with them. The Cuarto Real, in Granada, is ornamented with white tiles,
on which are patterns in gold lustre, the designs being arabesques of
leaves, vines, and tendrils, a favorite pattern in the East. Mr. Ford
(" Hand-book for Spain"), who has collected and examined a large variety
of azulejos, thinks many of the Moorish tiles with blue enamel and de
tails in gold lustre as old as 1300 a.d. ; and that the old and fine work was
copied in inferior style at a later date. The fact that the same patterns
were favorites for many centuries, and that the Saracens were good pot
ters at all times, renders it difficult to determine the comparative age of
specimens. The Spaniards learned the art from the Saracens, and con
tinued to practise it, making reproductions of the ancient patterns, and
introducing devices of their own, down to modern times. The Saracen
work in the East ceased in the early part of the seventeenth century.
These tiles were probably made in the various places where they are
found. The same patterns were used in different potteries. Lustred tiles
are found only in Persia and in Spain. We have specimens of painted
tiles from Damascus and from Cairo which are identical in size, pattern,
and appearance (111. 78), and it is not probable that these were carried
from one place to the other. It is questionable whether the tiles of the
Kubbet in Jerusalem were made there. The variety is considerable, and
some specimens are of a peculiar make, the pottery more strong and com
pact, the tile less than a half-inch in thickness, the enamel and blue and
green colors excessively brilliant. The thinness and great beauty of these
recall the description of the light tiles made at Rhodes for the Church
of St. Sophia, in the days of Justinian.
The tile from the Kubbet, of which
we illustrate half (83), is decorated in
an intense blue, is only six inches
square, very thin, and of a class which
we have found very rare, and appear-
83. Half of a Tile from Kubbet-es-Sukrah, Je- ^ ^^ anCient-
rusalem. Dark blue on white. 6 inches by The history of Saracen pottery
6. (T.-P. Coll.) has Deen thus far considered with spe
cial reference to wall tiles, because in that respect the art was one from
the first. We now return to Persia for an examination of other ceramic
works.

SARACEN. 109

The Saracens in Persia made vases, cups, bowls, water and wine bot
tles, dishes and other objects in soft pottery, which were sometimes
painted and glazed, sometimes covered with stanniferous enamel. This
Persian faience is of great variety and beauty.
Besides these wares in soft pottery, other wares were made in Persia
which have given rise to much discussion, and it is not likely that the
questions will be definitely settled until we have more information on
the history of art in that country prior to the eighteenth century. If
we are to accept the modern definition of porcelain as translucent pottery,
of whatever materials made, all authorities agree that porcelain was made
in Persia ; for all class translucent potteries among Persian fabrics. But
numerous articles of true hard-paste porcelain are found in Persia, many
without mark, many with Chinese marks and Chinese dates, some with
Persian inscriptions, and of these it is by some eminent authorities sup
posed that the larger quantity are Persian fabrics, while other equally
eminent scholars believe them to be all Chinese, made for the Persian
market. The conflicting views of these gentlemen are important for the
student's examination.
Major Murdock Smith, director of the Persian telegraph department,
made extensive collections of Persian art in that country for the South
Kensington Museum, and at the request of the Lords of the Committee
of Council on Education prepared a brief dissertation on Persian art.
We cannot better serve the American student than by quoting this gen
tleman's clear account of the pottery and porcelain found in Persia :*
Before the discovery of the passage to the east round the Cape of Good Hope,
the trade from India and China passed either overland through Central Asia, or by
way of the Persian Gulf, to Europe, Persia thereby becoming a central point in the
transit. In the time of Shah Abbas (about 1600 a.d.) this trade route was still
much frequented. It is therefore to be presumed that the Chinese porcelains found
in Persia are of that period, if not of earlier date. The Persians gave them dif
ferent names, such as china of the Khalifs, china of Shah Abbas, etc. Any pieces
that may have come to Persia in later times are of a totally different style. With
the exception of a few of these modern articles, none of the Chinese porcelains
from Persia in the [South Kensington] museum collection can be of later date than
the reign of Shah Abbas, and many of them are probably still older. Of their
authenticity there cannot be the slightest doubt.
Regarding the earthenware of Persia, Chardin (to whom we are indebted for

* " Persian Art," by Major R. Murdock Smith, R.E. Published for the Committee, etc. : London,
Chapman & Hall.

110 MODERN POTTERY.

so many minute and accurate details about Persia as it was in the time of our
own Queen Elizabeth), writing in the beginning of the seventeenth century, says :
" La vaisselle d'email, ou de faience, comme nous l'appelons, est pareillement une de
leurs plus belles manufactures ; on en fait dans toute la Perse. La plus belle se fait
a Shiraz, a Meshed, a Yezd et a Kerman, et particulierement dans un bourg de
Caramanie nomme Zoronde. La terre de cette faience est d'email pur, tout en de
dans comme en dehors, comme la porcelaine de Chine ; elle a le grain tout aussi fin
et est aussi transparente, ce qui fait que souvent on est si fort trompe a cette por
celaine qu'on ne saurait discerner celle de la Chine d'avec celle de la Perse. Vous
trouverez meme quelquefois de cette porcelaine de Perse qui passe celle de la Chine
tant le vernis en est beau et vif."
There is nothing in this passage to show positively that true porcelain was ever
made in Persia ; that is to say, porcelain of hard paste like that of China. Chardin
appears to use the names faience and porcelaine indiscriminately, or perhaps to
speak of Persian faience as Persian porcelain, just as we speak of Dresden china,
English china, etc., which are of course only imitations of real Chinese porcelain.
As regards the paste, Chinese porcelain is undoubtedly better imitated in Europe
than in Persia. Long before the Europeans, however, the Persians made such
beautiful earthenwares that they might well be mistaken for Chinese porcelain — at
all events, as regarded design, color, varnish, and form. For instance, a vase bears
an inscription said to be Pehlevi. If this is the case, the vase must be more than
five hundred years old. But if Chardin had examined them more minutely, he
could not have failed to observe an essential difference in the clay or paste, which
is unlike the kaolin, inasmuch as it is always more or less light and porous.
Persian earthenwares are of various kinds, although Chardin does not appear to
have distinguished them. He speaks of a "transparent porcelain," as if the term
were generally applicable to Persian earthenware, of which in reality the trans
parent is only one kind.
There is another question to be examined regarding the manufacture of earth
enware in Persia. Besides the fact that numerous articles of Persian earthenware
are not only imitations, but actual copies, of pieces of Chinese porcelain, many of
them bear makers' marks in Chinese characters. It is all but impossible that they
could have been made in China, the material being so essentially different from the
kaolin of that country. Either the marks were made by Chinese potters who had
been brought to work in Persia, or they were made by Persian workmen in im
itation of the marks on true Chinese porcelain. The question may possibly be
solved by Chinese scholars, as it is improbable that Chinese characters could be so
well imitated by strangers as to deceive an expert. Should the marks prove to be
really Chinese, and not forgeries, an explanation of their existence on articles made
in Persia is not difficult to find. An intelligent and powerful Persian sovereign
like Shah Abbas, seeing the lucrative trade in porcelain which was carried on
with China, may well have conceived the idea of manufacturing it in his own

SARACEN. Ill

country, and with that object have brought a number of Chinese workmen to
Persia, just as our own government has acted for the cultivation of the tea-plant
in India; or Chinese potters may have come to Persia at some other time on their
own account. For instance, Sir John Malcolm, in his " History of Persia" (vol. i., p.
422), says that a hundred families of Chinese artisans and engineers came to Persia
with Hulaku Khan about 1256 a.d. However that may be, if Chinese potters
were ever actually employed in Persia, they would naturally imitate as far as pos
sible, and in so doing teach their Persian fellow-workmen to copy the true porcelain
of their own country. Should the Chinese marks, however, turn out to be forgeries,
the resemblance of the Persian earthenware to Chinese porcelain is sufficiently ac
counted for by the abundance in Persia of Chinese models, which were skilfully
imitated by native workmen. In either case it will be interesting to compare the
two collections in the museum, namely, the Chinese porcelain found in Persia, and
the earthenware of Persian manufacture. A large yellow bowl in the one has
almost its exact counterpart in the other.
One fact appears certain, that the art of pottery gradually degenerated in Persia
after the time of Shah Abbas, since whose reign nothing of much value has been
produced. The earthenware of the present day, as regards both workmanship and
material, is of the commonest description.
The faience a reflet (or, with metallic lustre) excepted, the ancient Persian earth
enware may be classified as follows :
The finest, which is also that most closely resembling the Chinese. This is
usually of a white ground, with designs in azure-blue ; the paste is very hard ; the
designs are bold and the lines freely drawn ; and the color is not blended with the
glaze, which is generally pure and brilliant. Examples of this class are usually
thinner than of the' others, and many bear Chinese marks. Some, although only
a few, have designs in relief. In the catalogue they are generally designated as
Faience fine. This kind appears to be the one that has survived the longest in
Persia, the earthenware of the present day being a degenerated form of it. The
Gradual decline may be followed in the specimens in the museum, the excellence
of which are nearly in proportion to their age. In the objects of recent date the
varnish or glaze is more vitrified, less even, and easily dissolved, the colors are
blended in the varnish, and the designs are badly executed.
The second kind imitates less closely the Chinese designs; the objects are
thicker ; the paste is softer and more porous ; the blue is brighter ; the glaze is
not so good, and is less even ; and the designs are not so well drawn. A few of
them have Chinese marks. Of this thicker kind of earthenware there are, never
theless, some specimens of fine workmanship, with sharp -lined designs of various
colors ; such as red, lapis-lazuli, blue, etc. Many of them have designs in relief, or
in gouffrures, or channelling. Besides the colors of the designs, some of them are
varnished on the outside with a single color, generally bronze or lapis-lazuli blue.
The third class is of a harder and denser paste than the others ; the designs are

112 MODERN POTTERY.

of a blackish color on a white ground, but not so well executed as in the first and
second kinds ; the varnish is whiter, and appears to be harder. This kind seems to
have some affinity to the stanniferous earthenware said to have been invented by the
Arabs in the beginning of the fourteenth century, as, like it, the paste is more or
less dark in color, and the glaze thick and white. Some of the objects of this de
scription are varnished outside with a single color which, when a lapis-lazuli blue, is
remarkably bright. If the design includes figures, it will be remarked that the faces
are left blank. This earthenware was therefore probably made by Mussulmans of
the Sunni sect, whose tenets regarding graven and painted images are much more
rigid than those of the Shiahs. Very few large objects are to be found of this kind,
and there are apparently none with designs in relief or with gouffrures. In general,
they are less artistic than those of the first or second class. Occasionally they bear
a mark somewhat like Chinese. In the catalogue they are designated Faience dure.
The fourth kind is a translucid white earthenware, somewhat resembling the
transparent porcelain of China. It is generally thin ; many of the articles have
gouffrures, and some of them are varnished with a single color outside, in which
case they are a little thicker than the others. The paste appears to be harder than
that of the other kinds. The examples, which are all small, have no makers'
marks. This kind of earthenware, called in the catalogue Faience translucide, or
Porcelaine blanche de Perse, is rather rare.
The fifth kind is also translucid, but very thin, and has generally lace-like de
signs a jour. It is perhaps more of a porcelain than a true earthenware. Probably
one of these last kinds was meant by Chardin when he wrote of the porcelain of
Karamania as being transparent and resembling that of China. Pliny also men
tions a substance found in Karamania of which murrhine vases were made. These,
however, were remarkable for their various lustres, or reflets, of which the kind we
are describing is devoid. It is now extremely rare.
The sixth kind comprises all the common pottery made of reddish clay, and
varnished with a single color. The paste is sometimes uncommonly hard. The
most remarkable division of objects of this class are large dishes and other vessels
of great thickness and weight, many of which are imitations of the celadon porce
lain of China. The varnish, especially the greens and bronzes, is often very fine.
Some of the pieces have designs in gouffrures or in relief. Being of a commoner
description, this kind is probably of older origin than most of the others. In fact,
fragments of it mixed with bits of common unvarnished pottery are found amono-
almost all the ruins of Persia. Such fragments of unglazed pottery are mostly of
the rudest and coarsest description, and evidently date from the infancy of the art.
In the ruins of Rhages many small pear-shaped pots of this kind are found, the
paste of which is extremely hard, like that of English ginger-beer bottles. Similar
pots to those found at Rhages have been discovered in Egypt and other countries.
From their general resemblance in form to pine-cones they have been called tkyrses,
and are supposed to have been used for holding mercury. In the ruins of Rhages

SARACEN. 113

(a city whose origin is unknown, but of which mention is made in the book of
Tobias, and which was undoubtedly one of the principal cities of Persia long before
the Christian era) very few have been found unbroken. They generally have rudely
executed figures or written characters in relief. The Persians have no tradition as
to what purpose they served. There is no doubt, however, that they were made at
Rhages itself, as pieces spoiled in the baking have been found in places which bear
all the marks of having once been potters' kilns. There are one or two of these
vases in the museum collection as well as some fragments of the same ware from
the ruins of Rhages.
The first and second kinds (of the above classification) before arriving at the
state of perfection which they ultimately attained, and also the sixth with its dif
ferent sorts of common pottery, must be of very ancient date. Possibly the differ
ent kinds were produced in different parts of the country, although there are at
present no records to prove that such was the case.
In addition to the above distinctions, there remains to be noticed the most re
markable of all, namely, the earthenware a reflet metallique, or with metallic lustre.
The paste or clay seems the same as that of the first and second kinds, but the cov
ering is altogether sui generis. It would seem to have been employed for articles
of luxury only, having apparently at no time been abundant, and being now very
rare. Unbroken examples are now hardly ever to be seen. Fragments, as has al
ready been mentioned, have been found among the ruins of Rhages. This city was
several times destroyed by earthquakes and by conquerors ; the last time by Hulaku
Khan (son of Genghis Khan), about 1250 a.d. The debris now found among the
ruins must therefore, at the very latest, be of that date. After each destruction,
however, the city appears to have been rebuilt ; not exactly on the site of the pre
ceding, but generally within it and on a smaller scale. Some of the enceintes can
still be partially traced. Outside the later enceintes there are mounds of the debris
of the older ruins. The contents of these mounds must therefore belong to the
period of destructions previous to that by Hulaku Khan ; possibly several centuries
before the Christian era. It is in those mounds that fragments of the earthenware
a reflet have mostly been found, thereby giving a latitude of from six hundred to
upward of two thousand years for the age to be assigned to them.
It does not of course follow that all the articles of this kind belong to one period.
Their manufacture continued, in fact, as late as the time of Shah Abbas, 1582 a.d., in
whose reign tiles with metallic lustre were still made. Are they possibly a kind of
the murrhine vases so esteemed by the Romans, which are mentioned by Pliny (as
before remarked) as made of a substance found in Karamania (Kerman), and said to
have been chiefly remarkable for their peculiar reflets, or lustres, of different colors ?
Of this earthenware a reflet two kinds are found in Persia ; one, yellow oh a
white ground ; the other, lapis-lazuli blue. Of the former there are several varieties ;
the yellow being more or less dark, and giving different reflets. The latter (which
is the rarer of the two) is of one style only. 8

114 MODERN POTTERY.

The wall tiles a reflet metallique are evidently an imitation of this kind of earth
enware. There is a remarkable absence in Persian earthenware of articles meant solely
or chiefly for show. Everything was made for ordinary use — such as dishes, bowls,
plates, water-bottles, etc. This, however, only shows how generally diffused were
artistic taste and good workmanship in the country. The same remark applies
equally to almost all other classes of manufacture.
The chief seat of earthenware manufacture was Kashan and the neighborhood,
including Nain, where good clay is still found. Cobalt, the color chiefly used, is
also found at Kashan and Koom. The common name for Persian earthenware is
still " Kashi Kari," or Kashan work.
At Koom a very porous clay is found, of which the inhabitants make unglazed
water-cooling bottles and drinking vessels, which are sent to the surrounding parts
of Persia. Even of such common utensils many are elegant in form, and orna
mented with clever designs impressed in the clay, or with specks of color in imita
tion of turquoises.
Mr. Fortnum (in the South Kensington Catalogue) classifies Persian
glazed pottery as follows :
A. Wares generally highly baked and sometimes semi-translucent. Paste fine and rather thin,
decorated with ruby, brown, and coppery lustre on dark-blue and creamy - white ground.
Examples in collections probably date from the middle of the sixteenth to the middle
of the seventeenth century, but lustred tiles exist of much earlier time.
B. Wares of fine paste, highly baked, semi-translucent, of creamy color and rich clear glaze, run
ning into tears beneath the piece of a pale sea-green tint ; characteristic decoration holes
pierced through the paste and filled in with the transparent glaze ; the raised centres, etc.,
are bordered with a chocolate-brown or blue leafage slightly raised. This is supposed to
be the Gombron ware.
C. Wares frequently of fine paste and highly baked to semi-transparency. The ground white ;
decoration of plants and animals, sometimes after the Chinese, in bright cobalt-blue, the
outlines frequently drawn in manganese, some pieces with reliefs ; imitation Chinese marks
also occur. This variety is perhaps more recent than the others.
M. Jacquemart, who has devoted great attention to this, as to all other
departments of ceramic art, in his " Histoire de la Ceramique," makes the
following classification of Persian wares :
1. La porcelaine email que nous croyons la plus ancienne.
2. La porcelaine tendre, ou poterie siliceuse translucide.
3. La faience.
4. La porcelaine dure.
The expressions " translucid," " semi-translucent," applied to pottery,
at once direct attention to the fact that the modern distinction between
pottery and porcelain is not satisfactory. It is beyond question that pot-

SARACEN. 115

tery sometimes becomes translucid when subjected to great heat. The
nomenclature of the several wares of Persia, however, is of small moment.
The important question is whether Persia has produced true hard-paste
porcelain. This question is important for several reasons ; not only as
an interesting point in the history of art, but as bearing on the question
of the original invention of porcelain, and also on the transmission of that
art to Europe. It will be seen hereafter that the first porcelain made in
Europe was produced at Venice in the early part of the sixteenth cen
tury ; and the next successful manufacture, and the earliest of which we
have any attested specimens, was at Florence towards the close of that
century. The Florentine specimens show clearly the knowledge and imi
tation of the Oriental art ; but it is open to question whether the imita
tion is of the Chinese, Japanese, or Saracen. Italy had, but a short time
before the Venice porcelain was made, accepted styles of pottery and the
great art of stanniferous enamel from the Saracens. Did Italy also learn
from them the art of making porcelain ?
And perhaps a more interesting question, to which allusion has been
made, is involved in what may be hereafter learned on this subject. Mes
opotamia had derived from Egypt, and probably transmitted to Eastern
Asia, the art of enamelling pottery. The Chinese authorities indicate
that porcelain was first made in China not earlier than 175 b.c. But
there is no authority for attributing the invention to the Chinese. If
hard-paste porcelain was one of the arts of Persia four centuries ago, it
may well be that it was a Persian art many centuries earlier, a direct de
scendant of the Egyptian art of enamelling, which was received by the
Persians from Nineveh or Babylon in the days of Cyrus. Is it not quite
as possible, theorizing from our present knowledge, or rather our igno
rance, of the subject, that China learned the art of making porcelain from
Persia as that Persia "learned it from China?
M. Jacquemart has made an enthusiastic examination and description
of the hard-paste porcelains which he believes to be of Persian manufact
ure. As he is the only Avriter who has attempted this, and is recognized
as among the highest authorities, we condense his account, referring the
student for fuller details to the " Histoire de la Ceramique."
He divides the hard-paste porcelains of Persia into the same classes in
which some writers place the porcelains of China : 1 . Those decorated in
blue under the glaze ; 2. Those decorated in polychrome. Under the sec
ond class are the subdivisions which the French authorities adopt (but
which appear to us wholly unsatisfactory) of the families Chrysanthemo-
pceonienne, Green, and Rose. His descriptions (abbreviated) follow :

116 MODERN POTTERY.

The porcelain decorated in blue under the glaze, the most common kind, has
often a coarse paste, carelessly worked, having warps, checks, sandy or metallic
specks, and disunion of parts united by slip. The enamel, blue in tint, vitreous, is
not always perfectly spread; but the striking characteristic is the mode of baking.
In China every piece is placed on a support or circular plate, of the same paste of
which seggars are made, which holds the foot in form, and leaves a slight indented
circle, to which afterward are adjusted the wooden or metal mountings. The Per
sians content themselves with placing the vases on a coarse sand, of which the
grains adhere to the soft paste and penetrate it deeply. When taken from the
oven, one finds, in consequence, many quartzose pebbles; or, if the piece is specially
worked, it is seen that its base has been polished on the wheel, and thus some grains
have sprung out, leaving their empty cavities, and others worn, variously colored,
form a sort of pudding-stone with the porcelain.
A specimen is in the ordinary form of the water-bottle, a bulb with high neck.
On it are four medallions in which are inserted, in Persian, the lines of a four-verse
stanza, in which the poet invites a drinker to use the forbidden liquor, and to forget
in drunkenness the cares of this vale of tears. " Drink wine," he says. " Friends,
do not separate without pain. Give me the surahai." The inscription is interest
ing as containing the Persian name of the vase.*
Two similar surahais have the same stanza, not on borders, but in medallions
on the bulb. Many others, without legend, pass unseen in commerce, confounded
among the quantities of common Oriental porcelains with which the Dutch flood
the market.
Another piece is a large cup or plate without the flat border, of which the outer
circumference is engraved under the glaze with sea-waves ; the porcelain has been
turned yellow by smoke in the furnace, and the cobalt-blue has come out with a
black tint. On the inside are a long Persian legend, and many conventionalized
Persian characters. On the bottom is a legend in Chinese dating it Siouen-ti pe
riod, Ming Dynasty (1426-1435). This is one of the dates most frequently found
on Persian porcelain. After Siouen-ti, the most frequent date is Kia-thsing, then
Wan-li. The Iran porcelains are also frequently marked underneath with Chinese
symbols, such as the leaf, the jade tablet, the pearl, etc.
We will not stop to describe the numerous and often gigantic plates, the vases
for the ablutions, the biberons, the narghile receivers, where the blue painting is
combined with reliefs in the paste.
Of the pieces " dipped in blue," some are large ewers without handles, having
spouts like an S, the top opening in a crescent form ; others are covered coffee-pots,
and small pots with handles, like our cream-pots. The blue is very fluid, but wants
* This form of water-bottle, apparently derived from the gourd, is still common to many peo
ples of Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. It is the Hindostanee srai, the Mahratta khoojah, the
Egyptian ghooleh ; is found in Phenician and Greek ancient pottery, in the modern wares of many
countries, and is the prototype of the modern wine-bottle.

SARACEN.

117

purity ; it would seem to have been appliedlike a celadon, on a paste slightly black
ened. The porcelains of Iran go back to an ancient date, certainly beyond the fif
teenth century, since in 1426 they were in all their perfection. As to the origin of
the blue vases, we can attribute it to Khorasan. Professor Chozdko, long resident
in Persia, recognized these vases as the same called by the inhabitants porcelain of
Mesched. We attribute to the same origin pieces decorated in blue with glaze
lightly tinted in the Nankin yellow.
Of the Chrysanthemo-Pceonian family, most pieces are decorated only in
iron-red and gold. Among the most important are ewers for ablutions. One in
the cabinet of M. Sechan (111. 84) has a
neck, encircled by a ring channelled with
a double row of fluting. On each side
of the bulb a palm stands out in half-re
lief, with a red ground in which are ara
besques left uncolored. From under the
palm, branches diverge into flowers, of
which the principal flower is a lily. These
flowers, with the leaves of a water-plant,
scrolls, etc., in red or gold outlined with
red, form all the decoration. A kind of
bottle with fluted bodies, quite large necks,
a little open at top, and biberons, show the
same style of ornaments, with slender stems
and grasses in gold not outlined.
Specimens of the Green family are
many. The enamels equal the Chinese.
The decorations are distinctively Persian.
Pieces have large scrolls cut out, resem
bling the Greek acanthus. An ornamental
tulip is common. The symbolic palm is frequent, surrounded by a serrated border,
filled with bouquets resembling the embroidery on Cashmere shawls. Some pieces
have only the palms arranged symmetrically.
Another class, imitating Chinese work, includes plates, jars, bottles, etc., deco
rated with peonies, the fang hoang (of China), and other fantastic animals, sur
rounded by rich vegetation. In these the ground is covered with a mosaic, a loz
enge pattern, or with broken lines, in iron-red.
Another class has Chinese figures, more elongated than Chinese work ; the fat
men are obese ; marked faces are exaggerated to grimaces.
The green decoration of Persia is often associated with various colored grounds.
The bleu-fouettee heightened with gold covers the outside of bowls, with palms and
bouquets on the inside, and the palms and bouquets on the outside are on a fine
Nankin or brown dead-leaf glaze.

84. Persian Porcelain Water-pot.
Coll.)

(Sechan

118 MODERN POTTERY.

Pieces of the Rose family are the least numerous, and probably the latest,
Large stiff stalks issue from a kind of round pot, terminating in a wide, open cruci
form flower. Serrated leaves are in scrolls. All these are in bright tints. We
have seen enamels of this family on square tea-canisters with cylindric spouts, on a
fine ewer, and on gigantic jars, ornamented with the figure of the simorg. The
beauty and delicacy of these show to what richness the decoration of Persian pal
aces must have arrived.
The Chinese white was imitated in Persia. A double cup having the exterior
of open-work scrolls of flowers has been engraved, and covered again with a creamy-
white glaze. A cylindrical candlestick, ribbed, with broad base, has for sole deco
ration crossed ogives, traced with the point, and surmounted by impressed dots.
Celadons are frequent, with the Chinese sea-green tint, only to be recognized'
by their style. Some are simply gadrooned or fluted, others have ornaments in
relief. Another variety consists of pieces " dipped in color," invariably decorated in
white engobe. The most of these are bottles, or surahais, for wine; others with
conical bodies and a swelling towards the top of the neck, and also biberons, tea
pots with handles either high or in elliptic arcs. On grounds of beautiful brown
are arabesque borders with pearl pendants ; bouquets of chrysanthemums rising
from spheroidal pots spread on both sides of the piece, and are accompanied by a
kind of cactus trunk, with alternating prickly -pear leaves. This is done largely
with a white paste, applied with a single stroke, and where the strokes cross the
white is purer and more mat. The result is almost a modelling which gives real
ity to the flowers. The leaves, conical with three denticulations at top, take that
peculiar character of form which is less characteristic of a particular species than of
the Persian style in general, since we find the same form in the white open-work
and also in the paintings of the Green family.
M. Jacquemart, whose view of the hard-paste porcelains of Persia we
have thus far condensed, refers to a rare green porcelain, mentioned in
" The Thousand and One Nights" by the name martabani, and supposes
it the same referred to by Chardin, who describes a green porcelain,
known in Persia in his time, so valued that a dish cost five hundred
crowns, and adds that its price comes from the beauty and fineness of
the material, which render it transparent although of a thickness greater
than that of two crowns. M. Jacquemart, however, decides to assign this
rare porcelain to Siam, one of whose ancient states was Martaban.
The variations of opinion among the experts may well lead the stu
dent to regard the question of the existence of a Persian fabric of true
porcelain as left in a maze. All the writers, however, agree in assigning
" translucent potteries " to Persia, and translucent pottery is porcelain.

SARACEN. 119

But we have no doubt of the fact that true hard-paste porcelain has long
been made in Persia, of a quality equal to the best wares of China. No
other theory is consistent with numerous specimens in our own and other
collections. While the enthusiasm of M. Jacquemart may possibly have led him
to extend the scope of the Persian hard-paste porcelain in some directions,
it is quite possible that he has not included all the varieties of the fabric
which must be assigned to that country.
M. Chardin states that in his time it was said the Dutch mixed the
Persian porcelains with the Chinese which they sent to Europe. The
early trade of England, as well as that of Holland in the Indian seas, gath
ered the products of every accessible people and brought them to Europe,
where they passed under the general name of Oriental or Chinese wares.
Numerous pieces of blue and white porcelain are found in the possession
of old families in this country, which in their peculiar glaze are unlike the
Chinese or Japanese.
The absence of marks has led many to doubt the existence of Persian
porcelains. The larger portion of these wares are without marks, but the
failure to collect Persian marks may be due to the want of observation of
the more common wares, on which they occasionally occur. We have a
number of vases of different forms, decorated with designs Persian in
character, and not Chinese or Japanese in manner, which we believe Per
sian. No marks occur on them. A small bowl in our collection, rudely
decorated with a few dashes of cold pale blue, which is black
and almost lustrous where the brush has left the color thick, %^L
has on the bottom the unintelligible mark in the margin, • • *
in blue (111. 85). The glaze on tins bowl is peculiar, hav- ^^^Cijgf
ing a green tint where thick, and a little of that peculiar
pearly character, familiar to those who know the modern
wares glazed with bismuth preparations. The foot is small, high, and
perpendicular on the inside. The ware is fine hard-paste porcelain.
Another small bowl in our collection is also rudely decorated in the
same color, but with an indication of artistic freedom showing that it
. was not done by pattern. The glaze is identical with the
tji-j jUl last described ; the foot is the same, and the ware of the
SL * XjLm same fabric. This bowl has the mark in the margin (111. 86)
twice, in the inside bottom, drilled through the glaze with
no small labor.
Another bowl in our collection is of fine green celadon outside, paler
inside, with the same characteristic foot, and the same glaze on the hot-

120 MODERN POTTERY.

torn. It has on the bottom the mark in the margin (111. 87), the Chinese
, house-mark being in bright blue, and the characters
by its side cut through the glaze with the point of
a drill. The same drilled mark is repeated on the
i inside bottom of the bowl. These marks, especially
j those drilled by an instrument with all the labor
i of engraving a hard stone, may be Chinese or Jap
anese, but if so, were not executed by one familiar with the languages
and modes of making lines for their signs.
But a bowl precisely similar to the second above described in foot,
glaze, color, and pattern of decoration, better executed, and a larger spec
imen, is in the collection of Mr. G. Trumbull, of
Hartford, obtained from an old Connecticut family, in
whose possession it had been for some generations.
This bowl has on the bottom the mark in the margin
(111. 88) in blue, which is doubtless Persian. There is no doubt that all
the four bowls described are of the same fabric. The specimen last de
scribed has a peculiarity in the decoration. The pattern has been pricked
out with a point before the color was laid on.
A water-jar in the collection of Mr. Robert Hoe, Jr., in New York,
r, _ is of the ordinary surahai form, except that it has a
Ipm™^ small handle on the side of the neck. The decora-
\ tion in pale blue is Persian in character, and on the
^ ^mJ bottom, in blue, is the mark in the margin (111. 89).
m This specimen is translucent, a coarse hard -paste
89- porcelain.
Mr. Hoe has also a small covered mug, of pure white porcelain, enam
elled with palm-leaves, rosettes, etc., in yellow, green, and red, unquestion
able Persian work, closely resembling work on " Damas
cus wares." This cup has on the bottom the marks in
the margin (111. 90) in red. Attention to the subject
will probably add largely to the list of marks on Per
sian hard-paste porcelains.
Readers of Arabian tales are accustomed to meet
with references to feasts served on splendid porcelain.
It is a fact that the wealthy among the Arabs have in their houses abun
dance of porcelain, much of which they treasure with traditions that it has
been in the possession of their ancestors for many centuries. Some which
we have thus found is apparently Chinese or Japanese. But other va
rieties are of classes which we hesitate to assign to any known fabric,
although giving many indications of Persian origin.

SARACEN. 121

Among the interesting episodes of travel in the East, we recall the dis
covery and acquisition of many fine specimens of pottery and porcelain.
While chatting with a number of persons, mostly Arab, in a shop on
the Street of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the subject of old tiles
came up, and led to the remark by an Arab resident of Jerusalem that he
had in his house some old porcelain which had been in the family many
centuries. Arab statements of antiquity are not much to be relied on,
but the collector never hesitates to look at pottery or porcelain when he
hears of it, and the possessor of these dishes of fabulous age readily con
sented to bring them at once for inspection.
They proved to be a series of six noble dishes, ancient, wherever made,
of exquisite character and beauty. Fifteen inches in diameter, bowl or
saucer-shaped — that is, sloping by a single curve from the rim to the level
of the bottom — they are decorated in blue under the glaze, with vines hav
ing large broad leaves and great clusters of fruit, wandering over the en
tire interior surface in such profusion as to cover and nearly conceal the
white ground. The porcelain is remarkably thin, much thinner than in
any Chinese or other wares of the size we have met with, pure, clear, and
translucent. The foliage and fruit are different on different dishes, but the
execution the same. These belong to a class of porcelain which would
be assigned to China, according to the opinions ordinarily received, but
the vines, leaves, and fruit are wholly dissimilar to any we have seen on
Chinese work, the execution is more free and artistic — the whole "look"
of the dishes is not Eastern Asiatic.
The purchase was accomplished in the Oriental style. The owner val
ued them at a price equal to their weight in gold doubled, and we offered
a price equal to half their weight in copper. The day passed on over
Jerusalem, and the sun had gone down into the sea before the trade was
ended. They cost a price, but they were worth it. The. result of this
commercial transaction was apparent in Jerusalem next day, and many
Arab families desired to turn their pottery into gold. Among these
sellers of ancient household goods was one who told us that he had great
quantities of porcelain of brilliant character, which had been for four
hundred years m his family. " Would we come and see it ?" " Yes, cer
tainly;" and we went. For once an Arab had not exaggerated. It was
a great quantity, and very brilliant and curious. He was of an old and
well-known family, and his house was of some pretence. In the recep
tion-room, whose ceiling was some eighteen feet high, we found a high
shelf, running around the room near the ceiling, accessible only by bring
ing in a ladder. On this were arranged, in gleaming rows, large and small

122 MODERN POTTERY.

dishes, plates and bowls, dust-covered, but resplendent with rich enamels
in red, blue, yellow, green, and gold.
We sat down on the diwans, and one by one the shining porcelains
were laid on carpets spread over the stone floor of the room. " Where
did they come from ?" Neither he nor his half-dozen friends, who had
come in to help the bargaining, could tell. Only the master of the house
averred, and his friends sustained him as solemnly in the averment as
if they had all lived in Jerusalem long before the days of Suleiman the
Magnificent, that an ancestor brought them to Jerusalem more than four
hundred years ago. They were well preserved, in perfect condition, ex
cept some smaller pieces which had seen service.
" Do you use them now ?"
" Mashallah ! No. They are too precious antiques ;" and much more
of the same sort, to enhance the value in the bargaining, which now be
gan. But here a new element entered. It was a wily dodge of the
Arabian to say that they belonged to the women, and he did not know if
they would sell them at all. " Then why did you ask us here ? We did
not come to see your porcelain ;" and we rose to go. " Wait, and I will
ask the women if they will sell them." Thus began an odd chaffering.
We could not select pieces, but the women would sell the whole or none.
Back and forth to the harem rooms trotted the indefatigable bargainer,
doing an unreasonable amount of work to keep up the stupid myth that
a female party controlled and directed his gradual approaches to a price
per piece which we were willing to give. For the dicker (in American
parlance) began by his bringing in from the harem an offer to sell at so
much per piece, an offer based on previous purchases which he knew we
had made. Some of the specimens were worth literally fifty times the
value of others ; and as there were about a hundred pieces, it was neces
sary for us to make a rough estimate of total value, and constantly multi
ply the offers per piece to know how near they approached a fair closing
price. It was finished at last, the day having been consumed again, and
only finished at the door- way in which we stood, ready to depart indi te
nant at his unreasonableness, and followed closely by his friends who vo
ciferated their assurances. of the value and antiquity of the articles.
It does not concern the subject to relate the packing of the quantities
of pottery and porcelain there and elsewhere obtained in Jerusalem, a
city destitute of packers, in which hay is unknown, straw only found in
the form of cut straw for donkey feed, slippery, glossy, unfit for packing
breakables, and where even wrapping-paper was then almost unknown.
Cotton cloth and the cut straw, however, made soft wrappers, and stout

SARACEN. 123

boxes were built for the occasion. We saw onr purchases swinging in
pairs of boxes on the sides of camels, going out of the Jaffa gate, and
watched them as they disappeared along the mountain road leading to the
sea-coast, mentally convinced, and resigned to the conviction, that we
should find them again only in fragments at the end of their long land
and sea journey. But they came to New York in as perfect order as
they had first come to Jerusalem, and are classed now in our collection
among specimens of Persian, other Saracen, Chinese, and " unknown man
ufactures, probably Asiatic."
Among the articles purchased from the unseen women of the harem
were some probably of Chinese origin. A bowl of fine porcelain, deco
rated in a shining blue under the glaze, with groups of Chinese symbols,
is marked with the very ancient mark of two fish ; and another bowl,
with less rich blue, has another form of the same mark. The former is
a rarely beautiful specimen of porcelain and color. Two other large
bowls, of more doubtful origin, have the entire ground blue, one a deep
lapis lazuli, the other a very unusual shade of leaden hue. Over these
grounds run tendrils and leaves, in faint touches of gold. Other pieces
are of doubtful origin. We have spoken of numbers of large dishes.
The Oriental custom of eating meals in groups around small tables leads
to the possession, as table furniture, of those large metal dishes, on which
the food is served in mass, each one helping himself with his hands.
The course ended, another dish with another course is brought in. In
old families of wealth, porcelain dishes were used in place of metal, and
hence it results that we sometimes find in the East, what is at least very
rare if at all known elsewhere, large services of these great porcelain
dishes. For the same reason bowls of large and small size are more com
mon in the East than elsewhere, and services of bowls on dishes, uniform
in decoration, are sometimes met with. The ladies of the harem sup
plied our collection with some admirable specimens of large dishes, and
bowls with plates, illustrations of Eastern customs as well as of fine ce
ramic art. Nothing can be more striking than the appearance presented
by a service consisting of twelve large deep dishes, each fifteen inches in
diameter, hard -paste porcelain, of uniform decoration in brilliant blue,
rose-red, green, and gold. These colors are laid on over the glaze in a
thick enamel, so that every part of the decoration is like embossing. In
the centre of the dish a red rose is surrounded by green leaves, and blue
and red flowers, all executed by laying the enamel from a broad brush.'
Green leaves are made by a single stroke of the brush, leaving a heavy
mass of thick enamel. The interior sloping borders of the dishes are

124

MODERN POTTERY.

covered with the decoration here shown in outline (111. 91) executed in
the same enamels. The paste is good and very translucent, the glaze a

<^m£

smoky white varying on different specimens, with somewhat of the pearl-
shell characteristic (produced by the use of bismuth in modern works),
and each piece has three support marks.
Besides these, we obtained about forty bowls, of various sizes, and of
three patterns of decoration,
each bowl on a correspond
ing dish, the porcelain and
glaze of the same sort with
the large dishes.
The first series of bowls
was decorated with the pat
tern here shown (111. 92), ex
ecuted in the same enamel and colors as the large dishes, except that the
pattern is on a salmon ground, ^-^____^

slightly washed with gold.
Next was a series of bowls
decorated as here shown (111.
93), in a superb deep-blue en
amel, with gold meander, stars,
etc., and a slight use of iron-red.
No other color appears. The
flowers in the rectangular medallions are blue and gold, those in the
ovals are gold only.
A third series of bowls and dishes had the decoration here given (111.
94), the colors like the last series, but the small flowers in the diamonds

93.

SARACEN.

125

are rose-red and green, and an interior bordering has the same colors. Sup
port marks occur occasionally on the bottoms of plates, in all these series.
The blue enamel on all is of

W0WMWM

the same character, laid on over
the glaze, to which it adheres so
slightly as to be easily broken off
in places, leaving the white glaze
exposed. The blue is of the deep
est bleu-de-roi shade, the green a
vivid apple-green, the red of two
colors — one, rose-color, deepening
to lake-red Avhere thickest, the other a. yellowish iron-red. We have never
met with this blue on a Chinese or Japanese specimen.
Damascus Wares. — The term Damascus or Damas wares was used in
Europe in the fourteenth and fif
teenth centuries, to describe va
rious Saracen pottery vases and
dishes. Thus in 1380, in the in
ventory of Charles V. of France,
is found, tmg petit pot de terre en
facon de Damas ; ung petit pot
de terre d biberon sans gamy son,
de la facon de Damas; and in
1420, in the inventory of the
Duke of Burgundy, is mention
ed ung pot de terre de Vouvrage
de Damas blanc et bleu, garni le
pie, et couvercle, que est dejaspre,
oV argent dore, un anse de serpent
dJ argent dore. Mr. Fortnum says
that in England examples are
known in silver mountings of the
period of Queen Elizabeth.
The decorations as well as the
general character of the pastes in
a very large class of pottery made
in various Saracen localities are
so much alike, and so distinct from other classes, that Mr. Fortnum's pro
posal that the name Damascus or Damas ware be revived for this family
is an excellent suggestion, which we adopt.

95. Damascus-ware Jug, height 18 inches.
(Huth Coll. : Marryat.)

126

MODERN POTTERY.

96. Rhodian Dish, diameter 15 inches. (Huth Coll. :
Marryat.)

These wares seem to have been made more extensively at Damascus
and Rhodes than elsewhere, but were probably produced in many places.
They have been commonly called Persian ; but the name is neither cor
rect as to place of manufacture, nor always correct as to style of decora
tion. The paste varies slightly,
according to the locality of man
ufacture, and even in the same
localities. It is usually an un
even white, and coarse in quali
ty, sometimes light and lacking
compactness, sometimes hard,
compact, and sonorous. The
decorations are generally very
brilliant. A blue or white
ground is most frequent ; tur
quoise, chocolate, or lilac less
common. On dishes a common
and characteristic covering of
the ground or of borders is in
small scrolls or spirals, executed
by a rapid turn of the brush. Flowers are much used in the decoration
in blue, turquoise, purple, green, yellow, black, and a brilliant brick-red.
Hyacinths and carnations are the most frequent flowers ; but tulips, roses,
and a few smaller flowers are common. The more ordinary forms are
dishes, bowls, bottles, and jugs for water. Bowls were made on feet.
Water-jugs of graceful shapes, with high necks, and with arched handles,
and lamps for mosques, with central vases, are among the most interest
ing as well as the oldest known specimens.
An Oriental symbolism, the origin of which may be in one of a half-
dozen reasons, no one of which is certain, has made the egg a favorite or
nament for the interior of Christian churches and Mohammedan mosques
in the East. Ostrich eggs abound, plain and decorated with paintings,
hanging in all parts of the buildings. This is a very ancient custom, and
led, at an early period, to the imitation of these eggs in pottery with
white enamel. M. Jacquemart seems to regard some of these as among
the earliest known specimens of Saracen pottery. A group of these eggs
formed the hanging ornaments of a lamp in the Church of the Nativity
at Bethlehem, where we chanced to pass a night just when this ancient
luminary broke the rusted chain by which it had hung, uncleaned, for cen
turies, and fell to the stone floor. The eggs were fragile, but four of them

SARACEN. 127

sustained the shock, and, being no longer of use to the lamp, naturally
found their way to our collection. One of these has a clear, pure white
glaze, under which are decorations in pale -blue
arabesques. The others are of coarse paste, yellow
ish glaze, with decorations of rude cherubs' heads,
and crosses of the Jerusalem pattern, painted in
yellow, blue, and green.
Many of the dishes of this ware, especially some
which are decorated with the brilliant red, are in all
respects like tiles which we have found in Cairo.
A special resemblance consists in the use of the
red, which is always laid on so thick as to produce
a decided relief or embossed effect ; and from this 91. Pottery Egg, from the
, . , , , iii Church of the Nativity at
lt occurs, in many pieces which have been rubbed Bethiehem. (T.-P. Coll.)
in use or exposure, that the glaze is broken over the
red, and the color escapes or can be scraped out in powder. This red is
one of the most brilliant and effective colors found in ceramic art. It
appears remarkably strong and rich on a dish in our collection whose dec
oration consists of long, narrow, waving leaves, half red, half green, di
verging at right angles from centres, and forming open squares on the
dish, in which are balls of dark blue, a red and a green spot on each.
The tiles from Cairo decorated in these colors, and resembling the
dishes, are more fragile than any others. In two cases, containing a hun
dred and fifty tiles, sent from Alexandria to New York, which were ship
wrecked on the way, while other varieties suffered some breakage, twenty
of this class were reduced to small fragments, and hardly one escaped to
tal destruction. Mr. Fortnum is of opinion that the wares made at Damascus may be
known by " evenness of surface and rich glaze, with subdued but harmo
nious coloring, certain tones of which are peculiar to this variety, as a
dull lilac or purple replacing the embossed so conspicuous on the Rho
dian, and used against blue, which is of two or three shades, the turquoise
being frequently placed against the darker tone ; a sage green is also char
acteristic. The dishes of this variety usually have the outer edge shaped
in alternating ogee." We find this opinion confirmed by the color deco
rations of tiles found at Damascus.
The island of Rhodes was the seat of ancient Greek potteries, and in
the early tombs of Kameiros specimens of glazed ware somewhat resem
bling the Egyptian have been found. Possibly glazed wares were made
there continuously down to modern times. In the sixth century, the

128

MODERN POTTERY.

Rhodian Dish. Decoration in red, green,
blue, etc. (T.-P. Coll.)

church dedicated to the Divine Wisdom, now the Mosque of St. Sophia,
in Constantinople, was erected by
Justinian (531-538 a.d.). The writ
ers of Byzantine history and others
describing it at the time dwell more
or less on the luminous splendor of
the decorations of the dome, which
was probably in mosaic work. One
speaks of " vitreo lapides fulvo auro
supertectos." " Crystal made with
fire" is an expression used by Paul
Silentiarius, who wrote a poetic de
scription of the church at the time
of its erection ; and other writers use
expressions in regard to some of the
work which may indicate the use
of enamelled tiles. An anonymous
Greek writer says of the dome, KaTixpvauoe ra opofya e£ itXtvov \pvaov
Xa^wpoTara, which Du Cange, in his commentary on Paul Silentiarius
cites, and translates tesselis vitreis inauratis, distinguishing them from
mosaic. The editor of "Murray's Hand-book," describing the mosque,
gives Paul Silentiarius as authority for this account: "The tiles on the
arch of the cupolas, which astonished every eye by their extraordinary
lightness and boldness, were prepared at Rhodes of a particularly light
clay, so that twelve of them did not weigh more than the weight of one
ordinary tile. These chalk -white tiles bore the inscription, '¦God has
founded it, and it will not be overthrown. God will support it in the
blush of the dawn? When the building of the cupolas at length began,
the tiles were laid by twelves, and after each layer of twelve tiles relies
were built in, while the priests sang hymns and prayers for the dura
bility of the edifice and the prosperity of the church." This minute
account of the tiles we do not find in the poem of Silentiarius; but
if it be from any writer of the period, it would establish conclusively
the making of painted and possibly enamelled tiles at Rhodes in the sixth
century. This is one of the few indications which we possess of the use of
glazed potteries at this early period. It is not improbable that Rhodes
continued the manufacture without interruption down to modern times.
There are many ancient tiles in Eastern buildings on the Mediterranean
shores which may have been made here, and the faience eggs, with Chris-

SARACEN. 129

tian symbols in the decoration, found in old churches (such as those which
we obtained in Bethlehem) may possibly be of the early Rhodian fabric.
In the seventh century (616 a.d.), the Persians, under Chosroes, captured
Rhodes, and held it a few years. It remained under the Eastern Empire
after that for a brief period, was occupied by the Saracens in the seventh
century, and thereafter had varying fortunes alternately under the Greek
Empire and the Genoese, and the princes of Gualla, who, having been its
governors under various powers, asserted and maintained an independent
sovereignty. In 1306, the Knights of St. John, expelled from Acre,
and having the form of a grant from the Emperor Emmanuel, besieged
and took Rhodes, where they established themselves until the memorable
siege and conquest, in 1522, by the Turks under Suleiman II. Potteries
made at Eindus during the occupation of the knights are known, as they
bear the cross of the order. A tradition says that some Persian potters
on their way to Venice were wrecked on the island. Another suggestion
is that the knights brought Persian potters with them from Acre, and
established a pottery. The more probable theory is that from the time
of Justinian potteries had existed, and that during the Saracen occupa
tion, if not before, Persian styles were introduced.
Mr. Salzman found remains of old Saracen furnaces at Lindus ; hence
the Rhodian potteries have been sometimes called " Lindus ware." The
decorations on Damascus ware which have been described are character
istic of the Rhodian fabrics, especially the brilliant red, which forms
almost a relief, and the scroll borders. Ships, birds, animals, and shields
of arms occur.
A very large number of specimens of all kinds of Damascus ware
(excepting tiles) now in European collections have been found in Italy,
where the Saracen potters had their best market. Italian palaces were
furnished by them in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and perhaps
at an earlier date. From this fact, as we shall hereafter see, arose the
splendor of ceramic art in Italy in the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Several fine dishes in the Trumbull - Prime collection, one of which is
, illustrated (98), were found in an Arab tomb at Cyprus, accidentally
opened by General Di Cesnola while excavating at Dali. The circum
stance is unusual.
Other varieties of Saracen wares, exceedingly rare, and some known
only in fragments, cannot be assigned to any special locality. Dishes and
vases lustred in gold and copper are now very generally supposed to be
of the fabrics of Spain, the Majorcan islands, or Sicily under the Moors ;
but this is far from being certain. On the contrary, it is possible and
9

130 MODERN POTTERY.

probable that wherever there were extensive potteries, there the lustred
wares were made.
The extended commercial facilities of the Saracens may have dis
tributed the products of Yalencia, Malaga, and Majorca throughout the
East ; but from the vast quantities of old Saracen pottery of all kinds
which we have found buried deep in the mounds around Cairo, and on
the slopes around Jerusalem, we are inclined to believe that many varie
ties of ware were made in the same localities.
The mounds around Cairo have furnished us with many specimens.
These were not found in any one locality more than in another. Trav
ellers are familiar with the vast heaps which surround all Eastern cities,
and which are composed largely of broken pottery, in such quantities that
one would think there had been enough pottery broken in one city to
supply the world for centuries. On the north, east, and south sides of
Cairo these fragments lie in unlimited quantity. The only special lo
cality which we have noted was on the south side, where in 1869 a new
carriage-road had been cut nearly on a level grade from the outskirts of
the city through a long succession of pottery mounds, which stood on both
sides of the road to a height sometimes reaching thirty feet. Here, in the
lowest level of the mounds, we took out fragments of pottery, which may
fairly be supposed the broken wares of Cairo thrown there when the
mounds had not yet risen much above the level of the city within the
walls. Among these was a piece of the side of a large heavy vase, very
strong, hard pottery, black throughout, three - eighths of an inch thick,
covered with a gleaming stone - colored enamel, green, yellow, and gray
mingled in soft tones, over which are arabesques, leaves, etc., in deep
brown. The glaze is pure and fine over all. Another fragment, part of
a bowl or dish, is of red pottery, close and compact paste, covered with a
delicate yellow, or straw-colored enamel, on which are Arabic letters, ad
mirably executed, two inches long, outlined in brown and filled with
white. This is a relic of a very beautiful piece of Saracen work. Vari
ous fragments of dishes and the foot of one vase are of very light soft
pottery, reddish - white paste, covered with white enamel, on which are
leaves and arabesques in gold lustre, in the Hispano-Moresque style. A
fragment of coarse red pottery with a brownish-black glaze looks like the
bottom of a modern crock, with a device in green and white mingled, on
the centre of tlie interior. Many fragments were of hard pottery, glazed
in yellow. A remarkable fragment, found with these, is evidently the remains of
a lamp of ancient pattern, like a small cream-pitcher with open top, the

SARACEN.

131

pinched nose black with smoke. This is of soft pottery, covered with a
rich and brilliant green enamel such as we have on old Damascus tiles.
Without further enumerating the varieties of pottery in the mounds
around Cairo, enough has been said to show the extent to which the man
ufacture must have been carried on in that place, or the wide-spread com
merce of the Saracens which supplied the East with the fictile products
of the West. It is no exaggeration to say that in the one spot where
we gathered the specimens referred to there were cart-loads of similar
fragments. Northern Africa. — The old Saracen art, which had travelled along
the north coast of Africa and

crossed into Spain, lingered along
its line of travel. Potteries have
been made in Tunis, Algiers, and
all the Mohgrabbin settlements
without interruption down to the
present time, retaining in their
styles and decorations some of the
old beauty of color ; vases, bowls,
dishes, water-bottles, and other
articles, at a distance present a
brilliant appearance, produced by
a rude decoration, in the style
shown in 111. 99. It is impos
sible to determine the compar
ative age of these wares. Some

99. Pottery of the Mohgrabbin. (T.-P. Coll.)

are quite modern, others of the eighteenth century. The paste is coarse
and very heavy, apparently a stone-ware, the glaze generally a cold gray.
Check, diamond, circular, and arabesque patterns are colored in green and
yellow under the glaze, and, after baking, a bright-red pigment is used,
in lines, spots, and large blotches, to give a final effect of brilliancy, which
is successful, but not permanent, as this color wears off. Tiles are made
for architectural purposes; but we have found that the tiles in palaces
in Tunis are in some cases of old Italian fabric, made in styles to suit
the Arab taste.
Egypt produces a great abundance of common unglazed potteries, and
some in bright-red clay, others black, which are polished up to the lustre
of the old Greek wares. All along the track of the Arabic civilization in
Afi'ica, and even among the savages with whom the Arabs have traded,
unglazed pottery is made in good forms learned from the Arabs. A

132

MODERN POTTERY.

100. Ugogo Pottery.
Africa.)

(Central

water-jar from Ugogo, and a group of pottery from ITjiji, for which we
are indebted to Cameron's "Across Africa,"
will serve to illustrate modern styles in the
negro country.
Chanak-kalesi (" the pottery castle") is the
name given by the Turks to the "Castle of
Asia" on the bank of the Dardanelles. The •
name is derived from the manufacture of fai
ence here, which has been celebrated for a long
time. Travellers are familiar with the gro
tesque water -jars, brilliantly colored and well
glazed, which are brought on board steamers touching here, for sale to
passengers. For how long a time the manufacture has been carried on is not
known ; but wares of a peculiar kind have been made since the last cen
tury, and it is not impossible that among the superb tiles which ornament
the mosques in Constantinople some were made on the Dardanelles. In
the year 1856 the venerable sheikh of the Mosque of Omar, in Jerusalem,
told us that it was then determined to repair the Dome of the Rock, and
that new tiles were to be made at Chanak-kalesi, where he believed many
of the old tiles were made. The fabrics are varied in form, supplying
the domestic purposes of the Turks in many of the Mediterranean cities.

101. Ujiji Pottery. (Central Africa.)
Water-jugs, bowls, perfume-burners, ink-holders, cups and saucers in Euro
pean style, and other objects are decorated variously. Specimens of the
modern fabrics in our collection are of good pottery, coarsely glazed, col
ored unevenly in turquoise, purple, deep green, and yellow. White cups

SARACEN.

133

Height 18 inches. (From
Chanak-kalesi. T.-P. Coll.)

and saucers have rudely painted flowers, with leaves and border lines in
a good pink copper lustre. This is the last of the Saracen lustres.
The grotesque water-jars seem to have been a
speciality of the pottery of Chanak-kalesi for a
long time. An ancient specimen exhibited at
Philadelphia in 1876, in the Egyptian depart
ment, elaborate and not unartistic in style, was
possibly of the sixteenth or early seventeenth cen
tury. One in our collection, yellow, with splashes
of green, a bird and flowers in relief, with leaves
painted in lustre after baking (111. 102), is perhaps
of the last century. Another in our collection
has a rich dark -green glaze, with rosettes, etc.,
in lustred reliefs, and another is gayly decorated
with horizontal bands of red, crossed by perpen
dicular stripes of green and black, on a rich yel
low ground : the neck is in tortoise-shell. These
wares, still produced, are the latest representatives 102. water -jug in yellow
of that art which has left throughout the East
such abundant relics of its splendor.
Hispano-Moresque Pottery. — In the beginning of the eighth cen
tury (712 a.d.), the Arabian flood reached Spain and swept over it. In
756 a.d. Abd-er-Rhama, having expelled his Mohammedan predecessors,
established his caliphate at Cordova. The wall tiles of the mosque at this
place are lasting examples of the art of the Saracens. In 1090 the Moors
accomplished the conquest of Spain, but we have no relics of their art in
pottery prior to the building of the Alhambra, decorated with tiles at
Granada in 1273. With this date commences the series of works now
styled Hispano-Moresque. The Vase of the Alhambra, so called because
found under the pavement of that structure, is four feet three inches high
— of pottery, white ground with ornaments in two shades of blue and in
gold or copper lustre (111. 103). Its date of manufacture is supposed to
be about 1320.
The discovery of this pottery as a manufacture of Spain is quite re
cent, and due to M. Riocreux, the coadjutor of Brongniart at Sevres.
Large quantities of the ware, previously classed with Italian majolica, and
found in Italy, are now placed in the Hispano-Moresque group. Mr. J.
C. Robinson, of the South Kensington Museum, an able authority, consid
ers those pieces to be of the earlier period which have decoration in the
paler yellow lustre, with interlacings and other ornaments in manganese

134

MODERN POTTERY.

and blue — animals, coats of arms, etc. — those having the ornaments in the
pale-yellow lustre only, without color, to be nearly of equal date, and also
some of the darker copper lustre pieces
with shields of arms : he places at a later pe
riod those with glaring copper lustre. The
specimens decorated with dark copper lustre
in diaper and scroll patterns without color
are probably not Moorish, but Spanish work
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The date of the Hispano-Moresque pot
tery is from the fourteenth to the beginning
of the seventeenth century. As the wares
are made with stanniferous enamel, this Sar
acen work in Spain antedates the introduc
tion of the art into Italy by more than a
century. The patterns of the decoration
are varied, and curious rather than beau
tiful. Small ivy or briony leaves, in blue
or in lustre, arranged in circles, bands, ara
besques, covering the entire surface of the
piece, or otherwise disposed, diaper patterns
in lustre or color, scrolls of various sizes, are
common ornaments of the grounds. In the
centres of dishes are shields of arms, ani
mals, flowers, and other designs. Christian
emblems and inscriptions are found. Large
vases are known, of similar character to the Alhambra vase, and bowls,
drug-pots, and dishes.
It is with great diffidence that we venture to express a doubt whether
there is not danger that many articles may be assigned to the fabric of
the Moors in Spain which were made elsewhere. The Saracen art is so
much alike, wherever practised, that no one style of decoration can be
deemed characteristic of a locality. The large quantities of fragments of
pottery, decorated in gold lustre, with ivy leaves and other patterns, which
we have found at great depth in the mounds around Cairo, lead to the
belief that these wares were made also in Egypt. It is possible that they
were made in various other localities, as well as in Spain.
Ibn-Batoutah, writing about 1350, describes a visit to Granada and
Malaga. He says of the latter, "At this place is manufactured the beau
tiful gilded pottery or porcelain which is exported to the most distant

103. Vase of the Alhambra.

SARACEN.

135

countries." This factory is mentioned in 1517, but no later. It is prob
able that the Alhambra vase and its lost companion, which was in exist
ence in 1764, as well as the fine vase in the South Kensington collection,
and three in the Museum at Bologna, are all of the fabric of Malaga.
The Alhambra vase has been copied at Sevres, and by a modern French
maker of faience, who also produces good copies of various Saracen work.
The pottery of Malaga is supposed to be the most ancient of the Hispano-
Moresque work. After it in order of time is placed the fabric of Majorca,
interesting as giving the name majolica to the lustred and other wares of
Italy. _

104. Hispano-Moresque Dish: Arms of Castile and Leon and Arragon. (British Museum.)
Saguntum, near Valencia, was celebrated in Roman times for red
ware. It was the seat of extensive potteries. There is no known re
lation between these and the works established by the Saracens in the
eighth century, or their successors, the Moors. In 1239, James I. of Ar
ragon granted a special charter for making pottery to the Saracens of
Xativa, now San Felipe, which mentions vases, domestic pottery, and
rajolas— another name for wall tiles. M. Daviller thinks lustred pottery

136

MODERN POTTERY.

was introduced from Malaga, not earlier than the fifteenth century. The
Valencia potteries were probably the most important and extensive in
Spain. Marin eo Siculo, in 1517, says the faience of Valencia was the
most esteemed of all in Spain.
It is not quite certain what wares are to be assigned to Valencia.
The special veneration there paid to St. John the Evangelist, and the use
there, in processions, of the eagle, with the first words of his Gospel on
a banner, " In principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum," has
led to the supposition that Hispano-Moresque wares, several specimens of
which exist bearing the eagle and this inscription, are of the Valencia
fabric. In the British Museum is a plate, painted with an antelope and
a Moorish ornament in blue, and the words
Senta Catalina Guarda Nos, also sup
posed to be of this fabric. Pottery wares
were made here till the early part of the
present century, but the Hispano-Moresque
character is not found later than the early
part of the seventeenth. Copper lustred
wares were made in 1780 at Manises, and
M. Davillier found recently the last repre
sentative of the fabric in an innkeeper at
Manises, who, with his wife assisting, had a
wheel and small furnace, and produced lus
tred pottery.
There were other places in Spain where
the Saracen pottery was made. Barcelona
faience is mentioned in 1491. Marineo
Siculo is authority for potteries at Murcia,
Morviedro, Toledo, Talavera, and one or
two other places. The wares of these sev
eral places are not distinguishable.
Marks of makers or places of fabric are almost unknown on the
Hispano-Moresque pottery. Twto plates are known with daubs of color
on the bottoms, which are as likely to have been unmeaning dashes of
the painter's brush as anything else, and are of no importance.
Sicily. — Two classes of ware, of which specimens have been found in
Sicily, are named Siculo-Arabian and Siculo-Moresque. The latter are
found at Calata-Girone, and are ascribed to Moorish potters, as distinct
from Arabian potters, a distinction which is without sufficient foundation,
and impossible in examining the masses of broken pottery surrounding

105. Hispano-Moresque Vase (Valen
cia), with Christian Inscriptions.

vARACEN.

137

Eastern cities, where all varieties are found together. The Calata-Girone
wares have a stanniferous enamel surface, with copper-lustre ornamenta
tions. The enamel is remarkably line, the lustre patterns are small and
richly used, and specimens are rare. Mr. Robinson thinks that a fine
specimen, with deep -blue enamel, in
the South Kensington Museum, is an
Italian imitation of the old Persian or
Damascus wares.
The pottery classed as Siculo-Ara-
bian is similar in paste to the Rhodian
wares, and is decorated on the paste in
blue outlined with black, or with lus
tre over the enamel somewhat differ
ent from either the gold or the cop
per lustre of the Hispano-Moresque.
We have found fragments of similar
pottery in the mounds around Cairo.
The Sicilian origin of both these va
rieties is doubtful. Arabic inscrip
tions, generally illegible, occur on the Siculo-Arabian. The ware may be
an ancient fabric of Eastern potteries.
Majorca. — The Balearic islands are interesting as the seat of ancient
Saracen potteries, and as having given to the Italian language the word
maiolica, as descriptive of some sort of pottery.
This derivation of the word majolica is given by the elder Scaliger ;
and his remarks in connection with the subject are not only interesting
and amusing, but somewhat puzzling as to what sort of ware he supposed
to be majolica.
Jerome Cardan ("De Snbtilitate ;" Nuremberg, 1550), writing of the
clay of Waldeburg, had said :
Videntur enim flgulorum vasorum esse ha? quinque laudes, ut sint levissima, ut non sorbeant,
ut non exudent, ut non facile frangantur, ut ignibus resistant ;
and, proceeding with a short discussion of the vasa murrhina, after quot
ing Pliny's description, adds :
Ergo quis non videt figulina hsec esse et ejus generis quod (ut dixi) hodie Procellanas solemus
appellare. Constant enim et hasc, ex succo quodam sub terra densato, et ex Oriente vehun-
tur * * * Nunc longo India? tractu hunt maxime apud Chinam : hi olim Seres, ut alibi dictum
est. Fieri dicuntur ex conchiliorum atque ovorum corticibus : sepeliunturque constanti fama in
80 vel 100 annos quasi in haereditatum loco. Inde eruta obducuntur vitro ne combibant. Succi
autem quibus cortices excipiuntur, non satis noti sunt. Pinguntur etiam antequam vitrum super-
addatur. Incertum est an excoquantur ob nitorem ac dnritiem. Majora in pretio sunt, sed mul-
tum ab antiquis degenerant.

106. Siculo-Arabian Vase. (Castellani Coll.)

138 MODERN POTTERY.

Julius Caesar Scaliger replied with criticisms on this work of Cardan
(" Exotericarurn Exercitationum Liber Quintus Decimus de Subtilitate ad
Hieronymum Cardanum ;" Paris, 1557), in which, with an appearance of
learning which is now very amusing, he corrects some of Cardan's errors.
He seems to have been familiar with porcelain, for he first describes it
critically, by various qualities ; first, that pictures on it which scarcely ap
pear are visible when opposed to the light, and the other portions, not
painted, are translucent; second, that, when containing warm liquids,
porcelain is warmed to the extent of the liquid, and not further. Thus
much, he says, he knew from a few specimens " among the miserable rel
ics of the house of the Scaligers." A third quality, he states — that now
with his own hands he has proved — to wit, that fragments of broken por
celain will " strike fire." A fourth quality he attributes to the supersti
tion or imposture of merchants, namely, that poison placed in porcelain
will injure and even break it. He proceeds :
Fiunt hunc ad modum : Ovorum putamina et marinorum conchas umbilicorum (porcellana?
species horum sunt unde et nomen) in tenuissimum redigunt pollinem, quern aqua? subactum
vasorum facie informant : subtusque terrain condunt : centesimo anno pro perfecto, effodiunt ac
venale opus habent. Quod eorum vita? superest ha?redi testamento transcribunt. Quotannis
conficiunt atque infodiunt, referuntque in commentarios ex quibus eruunt matura. Ex provincia
China optima advehuntur. Alii putant non vasa sed materia? condi massem qua extracta con-
fiant vasa. Horum pretia? cum et opes et patientiam, postremo etiam fidem excederent, novo in-
genio tam belle imitati sunt in insulis Maioricis ; ut sa?pe difficile judicatu sint, utra vera utrave
adulterina. Profectione forma, nee specie, nee nitore cedunt : aliquando etiam superant elegantia.
In Italia audio tam perfecta venire ut cuivis cassitero, quod ibi vocatur Peltrum, anteferantur. Ea
corrupta una litera, a Balearibus, ubi dicuntur excellentissima fieri, Maiolica nominantur.
These extracts from Cardan and Scaliger present a puzzling question.
They are discussing porcelain, and especially porcelain of China. Scali
ger knew what he was writing about. The old Scaliger collection had
furnished him with general knowledge, and he had experimented with
fragments. He must have been equally familiar with Italian decorated
pottery of the best art, for he was born in Italy in 1484, and was long
resident of Verona. Majorcan faience, too, had been common in Italy
for a century. He was now writing in Paris, and says that the Major-
cans imitated Chinese porcelain so closely that it was difficult to tell the
true from the false ; that the Majorcan was in no respect inferior to the
Chinese in kind or in splendor. He says this was "novo ingenio" in
Majorca. This cannot refer to the old art of lustred pottery, practised
by the Saracens for centuries, and for fifty years at Gubbio, in a style in
finitely surpassing the Majorcan potters. Nor would he say that any
of that pottery resembled the Chinese porcelains so closely. There is

SARACEN. 139

scarcely more resemblance between the two than between a wooden
trencher and a silver dish. Besides, he is clearly not writing of the
pottery which he knew when in Italy, but of a ware of new inven
tion which he, now absent, hears has been brought to Italy in such
perfection as to be preferred to pewter for use. This was something
unknown when he had lived in Italy, yet those times were when pottery
was in its glory. But at this very date — 1555-57 — Ferrara was probably
making porcelain as Venice had previously made it.
In short, we must arrive at one of two conclusions in explaining
this passage. Either Scaliger knew what he was writing about when
he undertook to criticise Cardan, and the Majorcan wares which he de
scribes were true porcelain ; or Scaliger knew nothing about the subject,
and was as ignorant of the appearance as he was of the method of man
ufacturing porcelain. If the first conclusion be correct, majolica was a
name applied in Italy to porcelain. Nor is the conclusion unreasonable.
The Majorcans had extensive commercial relations. The Saracens con
trolled the commerce of the Mediterranean, and their caravans crossed
Asia in all directions. Persian porcelain may have been brought to Ma
jorca, and sold to Italy as a Majorcan fabric. The novelty of the ware
is well known. It had been imported into Italy ; Venice had produced
it ; Ferrara was then attempting its product, and probably had succeeded.
It was the very ware to take the place of pewter, and the Saracens, wide
awake traders, may well have sent to Persia for it to supply the new
demand in Italy, when Scaliger first heard of it. This is all guess-work
indeed, and we have given space to the subject because it illustrates the
obscurity overhanging much of the history of ceramic art.
The Majorcan islands were not only an important seat of potteries,
but a great commercial centre of Saracen trade. Capmany (cited by Mr.
Fortnum) gives the authority of Balducci Pegolotti for a list of towns in
Italy trading with Majorca in the fourteenth century, and the statement
that the island then had nine hundred vessels, some of which were of
four hundred tons burden, and twenty thousand sailors. Giovanni di
Bernardi da Uzzano (also cited by Mr. Fortnum) wrote a treatise on com
merce in 1442, in which he speaks of the faience of Majorca and Minorca,
which had then " a very large sale in Italy."
The manufacture of Saracen pottery in Majorca was of early date.
Sismondi states that in the year 1113 the Pisans fitted out an expedition
to deliver the many Christians taken by Moorish pirates and held in sla
very by the Nazir of Majorca, which, in the next year, conquered Ivica
and laid siege to Majorca. After a year of fierce resistance, Majorca was

140 MODERN POTTERY.

taken by assault, the Nazir was killed, and the Pisan expedition brought
home great riches, including much of the Majorca pottery. Many of the
dishes were built into the towers and walls of Pisan churches, as thank-
offerings and memorials of victory. Many churches were thus orna
mented in Italy — at Pesaro, Pavia, Ancona, and other places. They are
mostly of white ground, with arabesques of brownish yellow, birds,
crosses, knots, stars, etc., some with blue grounds, many blue without or
nament. This style of decoration may have originated with the spoils
of the Saracens. It continued till the time of Luca della Robbia, in the
fifteenth century. The best work on the Hispano-Moresque pottery is
Baron Davillier's "Histoire des Faiences Hispano - Moresques a Reflets
metalliques," Paris, 1861.
In leaving the subject, it .may be remarked that the estimate placed
on Hispano-Moresque pottery during the past few years is altogether
above its merits. It is rarely beautiful, either according to our standard
or the highest standard of the Saracens. It never equalled the work of
the Saracens in other styles ; and the lustred wares are only curious. The
importance of the lustred wares in the history of the art consists in the
fact that the Saracens probably taught the Gubbio artists ; but Maestro
Giorgio's lustres are as far more brilliant than the Hispano-Moresque
as a calcium-light is more brilliant than a candle.

II.-ITALY.
The people of Europe, for many centuries during the decline and
after the extinction of the Roman Empire, had little love for pottery.
Ceramic art almost disappeared from among the fine arts. The causes of
this were various, and their examination would involve a careful consid
eration of the state of European society and civilization too extensive for
present discussion. It is not, however, an evidence of barbarism that a
people did not use pottery for high-art purposes. Rome in the days of
her greatest luxury had neglected it ; other tastes occupied the refined
and cultivated, and there were always many of this class in Southern
Europe throughout the ages commonly called dark.
Why the Christian world should fall in love with the characteristic
arts of the worst enemies of Christendom may seem a difficult question
for answer. Nations have often adopted the tastes of the nations con
quered by them. The acceptance of even barbaric styles by civilized peo
ples is not without illustration in history. But Europe adopted the arts

ITALY.

141

107. Luca della Robbia. (Fac-simile from
Vasari, Florence edition, 1568.)

of their unconquered Saracen foes, doubtless because of their power and
beauty, which were of a sort to command
the tastes of those who were able to pos
sess things rich and beautiful. The Cru
sades and the establishment of the king
dom of Jerusalem had introduced the
peculiar styles of Eastern armor, metal
ornamentation, dress stuffs, and general
decoration ; but subsequent commercial
intercourse had more to do with the
permanent establishment of these styles
among Christians. Trade is the power
ful assistant and servant of art until art
becomes established, and its products in
demand, when trade suddenly ceases to
be a servant and becomes master. The
rich fabrics of Asia were sought by lux
urious and splendor -loving Europeans.
Then the Saracens, learning that their
work could be turned into Christian
gold, poured their fabrics into European markets ; and as these were the
only foreign goods, it was according to the law of all time that people
should seek to possess them. So in our day the arts of China and Japan
are visible in the furniture and decoration of thousands of American
houses. The gradual effect of Saracen styles on the artists of Europe in the
Middle Ages is distinctly marked, and its study exceedingly interesting.
For there were artists in Europe in those days. The freedom and luxury
of the Eastern styles, the use of color without stint and without rule, as
nature uses it, the rich effect of arabesque ornamentations, golden inlay-
ings on metal, and golden lustres on pottery — all these were pleasing to
the artists of Europe. Many of them were earnest, laborious men, who
here and there in monasteries, or in their own houses, created out of
loving and devout minds beautiful pictures of saints, and seized gladly
from the Saracen ornamentations ideas wherewith to surround the pict
ures, and glorify the pages recording saintly thoughts and lives. To such
men the fresh and free style of Saracen ornamentation in color was a rev
elation of beauty. Gradually this revelation came to the whole educated
mind of Italy, and we find coincident with the beginning of the revival
of art the introduction and reproduction of Saracen potteries.

142 MODERN POTTERY.

The Saracens were something more than conquerors, spoilers, and pi
rates in the Mediterranean. They were also manufacturers and traders,
sharp, active, watching for a market, and quick to supply it. The Chris
tian people of Italy were not all devotees, nor were the knights all rob
bers. Society existed, and men and women were much such men and
women as live now, and have always lived in all times. A fashion began
to prevail in Italy of admiring Saracen fabrics, and was quickly supplied.
Among other admired fabrics was the pottery.
It is impossible to say at how early a period native Italian workmen
began to make pottery with lead-glazed surfaces. Probably this art had
never wholly ceased. The monk Theophilus says that the Byzantine
Greeks decorated pottery with vitreous colors, and elsewhere allusion has
been made to the probable manufacture of tiles for the Church of St.
Sophia in the sixth century. From the sixth to the twelfth century we
have abundant relics of unglazed pottery, but few glazed. Germany fur
nishes more evidence of continuous mediaeval art than any other part of
Europe. We are told of a plate found buried at Cividale del Friuli, with Lom
bard characters " incised on the glaze," which is supposed to be of the
eighth century. In various parts of Europe glazed tiles were made for
pavements throughout the early centuries, and this art must have been
steadily known. Churches in Italy of the eleventh century were orna
mented with disks and dishes of glazed and painted terra-cotta. Passeri,
in his history of the wares of Pesaro, relates the extreme antiquity of the
potteries of that place, dating from Roman times, suspended during the
Middle Ages and revived in the fourteenth century. Mr. Fortnum found
on a church at Pisa, built 1107, among the bacini in the facade, a frag
ment of a Persian or Damascus ware dish, and several others " of a coarse
and probably native manufacture ornamented with rude painting in color,
or with sgrafflato work, and covered with a lead glaze." These may have
been of the twelfth century.
There is, therefore, reason to believe that lead -glazed pottery was
made in Italy from the eighth to the fifteenth century, although examples
are rare. In the Castellani collection are three small vases, found at
Rimini, in the Romagna, in the walls of a building that was in process
of destruction, which are rudely decorated in black and green, and cov
ered with lead glaze. These are coarse pottery, but important specimens,
probably of the early part of the fifteenth century, and good illustrations
of the work of Italy at that time.
In the Phenician pottery has been seen a process of decoration by

ITALY.

143

incising lines through the glaze. The first advance in ceramic art in
Italy, perhaps, consisted in an improvement on this — namely, covering
objects with a coating of white earth, resembling pipe -clay, which was
dried, and possibly slightly baked. Through this coating designs were
scratched, so that the red or yellow color of the clay beneath was visible
in the lines. This gave an effect of color without using paint. A lead
glaze covered the work. These are now known as Sgraffiati, Graffiti,
or Incised wrares. Early specimens, supposed to be of the fourteenth
century, have been procured from the churches at Pisa, where they w7ere
built into the facades. The majority of known specimens, however, are
of later date than much of the painted wares.

108. Mezza-majolica Dish. (Pesaro ? Castellani Coll.)
It was not till the fifteenth century that the fashion for Saracen pat
terns compelled the Italian potters to attempt to equal them. Passeri
says that in the fourteenth century the art made great advances in Pe
saro. The method of obtaining a white surface for the sgraftiato ware
was a Saracen method, and probably learned or imitated from them.
Much of the Saracen ware was thus coated and decorated with colors.
The Italians used blue, green, yellow, brown, and black for painting, and
adopted Saracen styles of borders and ornamentation. These wares,
made without stanniferous enamel, painted and glazed, are called mezza-

144 MODERN POTTERY.

majolica. In the middle of the fifteenth century Pesaro began to be
famous for its products. Other manufactories were established in Italy.
Princes encouraged the potters, who were probably in some cases them
selves the artists. From 1450 to 1500, with rare exceptions, mezza-majol-
ica was the only artistic ware produced in Italy. Viewed by our stand
ard, it was poor art at the best. Viewed from a century previous, it
was an advance. Viewed in comparison with Saracen contemporary art,
it ~was inferior. The colors of the mezza - majolica are gaudy, but cold
and thick, without life ; the designs stiff, flat, and uninteresting ; the ex
ecution in general rude, and much more archaic than contemporary paint
ing on plaster, panel, or canvas. The execution is strangely inferior to
wood and copperplate engraving which was contemporary with much of
it in the latter part of the fifteenth century. Coats of arms, portraits,
saints, and goddesses are common, usually surrounded with the favorite
Saracen scale or other border ornamentation. Dishes painted with por
traits of ladies, and inscribed with their names, to which "Bella" or
" Diva " is attached, give a fearful idea of the standard of female beauty
in Italy in those days, and excite wonder as to whether all the young
women of Italy looked alike and had the same unmeaning countenances
and features. A few exceptions to the rule of uniform ugliness occur in
the case of some wares, supposed of Pesaro, which have a lustre known
as the mother-of-pearl lustre, changeable when seen at different angles;
but even this in general only serves to heighten the stiff paintings, in ex
ecrable taste, which it encloses.
The mezza-majolica, and not a little of the majolica which succeeded
it, are merely curious specimens of early ware, and of the tastes of an age
which was learning new ideas in art.
The mezza-majolica was made throughout the period of the best art
in majolica. Potters who did not care for the higher art in decoration
to which the stanniferous enamel, when introduced, so greatly contributed,
preferred the old way of covering the pieces with clay, paint, and glaze.
Luca della Robbia, born 1388-1400, was a goldsmith in Florence, a
profession of artistic order, but which he abandoned to become a sculptor.
The bronze doors of the sacristy of the cathedral at Florence, and the
marble frieze of singing-boys for the organ-loft, are monuments of his
talent. Like all sculptors, he modelled in clay, and he wished to make
his models permanently beautiful. He desired to do that which Vasari
says he accomplished, faceva V opere di terra quasi eteme — "made work
in clay as it were eternal." He discovered the Saracen art of stanniferous
enamel. Probably it was not difficult to discover. Much time has been

ITALY. 145
lost in discussing where and how he found it. It was no secret. The
Saracen potters everywhere — and they were probably as numerous as Sar
acen towns and colonies — used it. It was as well known among them as
the use of lead glaze for mezza-majolica in Italy. Any Saracen potter, if
asked, "How do your people produce that white enamel so common to all
your works ?" would have answered at once, " By the use of tin." Italian
potters had not wanted the art, and for their general purposes probably
regarded it as involving more trouble in painting and finishing than the
benefits were worth. To Luca, however, it was precisely the art which
he desired, to make white statuary out of clay. His first work in it was
placed in the cathedral in Florence in 1438, and was the predecessor of
a long line of works of the same class. As he grew old, and had pro
duced some good works in color on flat surfaces, other potters tried the
stanniferous enamel occasionally. But none of his contemporaries seem
to have liked it, probably because artists were not experienced in paint
ing on it. Nevertheless, here and there in Italy it was practised enough
to show that it was widely known before Luca's death.
There is evidently no foundation for a common myth that Luca pre
served it a secret, which he communicated only to his nephew Andrea,
who, in turn, left it to his four sons, with whom it died. Some of the
Delia Robbia processes may have been secrets, but at the time of Andrea's
death several potteries in Italy were using stanniferous enamel.
Other potters probably learned the art as Luca had learned it. It was
not, however, till the beginning of the sixteenth century that it came into
general use. Then it afforded to masters in decoration abundant oppor
tunity for superb painting, and during about fifty years the peculiar ce
ramic art of Italy flourished.
When the stanniferous enamel was introduced, artists of greater ability
were led to paint majolica. It was at one time supposed that Raphael
Sanzio himself painted on pottery, but this was never verified. Battista
Franco, Taddeo Zuccaro, Raffaelle dal Colle, and other well-known artists
made designs for pottery decoration.
The forms in which majolica was made are various. Large and small
vases^ cups, bowls, and other round forms are common. But the finest
works of artists are more commonly found on plates or larger dishes,
which furnished flat surfaces for their work. One of the most common
forms was the drug-vase, for apothecaries' shops, or the spezieria. Old
Italian palaces had medical establishments attached, and instead of the
glass with gilded labels to which we are accustomed, the old drug-store
was furnished with pottery jars, more or less ornamented by the majolica
' . 10

146 MODERN POTTERY.

painter. Castel-Durante was celebrated for its product of these jars.
The form nearly or quite cylindrical, sometimes swelling at top and bot
tom, and rounding in to the foot and to the opening, is known as the
albarello, or little tree. It represents a section of a tree or large bamboo,
and it has been suggested that this name came from the known fact that
Oriental drugs were imported in sections of the bamboo, used for boxes
or bottles. Beauty of form was not a characteristic of the Italian wares. Forms
which are most graceful in Greek pottery and in metal were used in ma
jolica, but in the thick ware of the Italians are clumsy, and only rescued
from positive failure by the decoration. The entire merit of the Italian
wares consists in the paintings. It is all wretched pottery. That which
is not decorated by good artists is rarely redeemed by the color on it.
A large majority of the specimens in cabinets and collections are illus
trations of poor pottery and poor daubing. In contrast with these the
works of the better artists shine conspicuous in rare and costly examples.
Many of the elaborate dishes, on which yellow, green, and blue are lav
ished in the decoration, show the failure of Italy in attempting to use the
Saracen art.
The exquisite interminglings of the same colors on the Damascus
wares, the startling effects produced by the bold use of turquoise on
grounds of darker blue or lighter green, were never reached by the
Italians. This was, in truth, due to the fact that the Italians were su
perior to the Saracens in drawing and painting. From the fifteenth
century Italy excelled in delicate drawing. This is wonderfully illus
trated by comparing the methods of reaching success in wood-cuts which
were employed by the great creator of German art, Diirer, with the
methods used by the early Italian designers on wood. In Germany bold
lines left the imagination to fill in the details. In Italy the picture was
carefully outlined in slender lines. Diirer's drawing of the human form
was rude, forcible, and immensely effective by what we may properly call
the roughest style of indication ; while the Italians, following in careful
drawing the outline of the form and muscles, produced, before the six
teenth century, such statue-like work as we see by the unknown artist of
the Polyphilus. The German and the Italian schools reached equally
good results ; but if Saracen pottery had come to be the foundation of a
new art among the Germans, as it was among the Italians, the former
would never have made the mistake of attempting to apply the Saracen
system of a few bright strong colors to accurate and sharply defined
drawing of figures. The Saracens admired the colors and used them

ITALY. 147
freely, with drawing which had little artistic character except its boldness
and unrestrained license. A carnation was a carnation, whether in blue,
yellow, red, or black outline. Arabesques flowed in streams over their
work, and melted into the ground colors on which they wTere drawn.
Green leaves and purple grapes were pleasant to the eye on dark-blue
grounds. Arbitrary rules of harmony of colors, so called, which in these
days find fault with nature, and condemn yellow blossoms in green fields
as out of taste, had no consideration from the Arabian artist, and hence
a glorious freedom. But for the careful and detailed results of portrait
or subject painting which the Italians sought to produce, and would have
accomplished had they possessed the tools, all the colors of the modern
porcelain painter's palette were needed. The stiff contrasts or harmonies
of color on their work are often painfully disagreeable. The want of
flesh-colors rendered necessary conventional ways of treating faces and
undraped bodies, curious enough at times, but only curious, making men,
women, gods, and saints alike green, sallow, and sickly. Exceptions to
this general rule of disagreeable color are decorations in grisaille or in
chiar-oscuro, which present examples of wonderful beauty. The most
delicate and charming effects were produced in gray, creamy white, or
other soft shades, in which sirens, dragons, cherubs, masks, and ara
besques float or sink into the rich deep ground color. The enamel and
glaze heighten their beauty.
The knowledge of the method of producing lustred wares was to ce
ramic work in Italy as important as the discovery of tin enamel. This
was an art fitted to lift the coarse and heavy pastes and colors of Italian
pottery into the realms of positive beauty. How good was the taste
which led to the placing of this lustre ornamentation on plates decorated
with well - executed pictures by able artists is a matter of doubt. The
bizarre effect of this intermingling of inconsistent decorations was doubt
less pleasing to many, while it is puzzling to our ideas of the age of Ra
phael and his school. But no doubt can be entertained of the splendor
of the lustre itself, and it is this characteristic which marks the Italian
majolica as distinct from all other ceramic art in history. When, or in
what manner it was obtained from the Saracens, or whether it was an in
dependent discovery, does not appear. The lustred wares of the East
or of Spain had been long known and admired in Italy. It first appears
on Italian fabrics in an inferior lustre, known now as the madreperla,
but this disappeared in the improvements made at Gubbio, where Maes
tro Giorgio produced the gorgeous lustres, surpassing all Saracen dreams
of splendor.

148 MODERN POTTERY.

The best period of the Italian art in pottery was the first half of the
sixteenth century. After 1560 fine work is exceptional. The factories
of the Abruzzi, however, continued to produce painted wares of excellent
quality down to the eighteenth century ; and Del Vecchio and Giustini-
ani of Naples may be regarded as about the last of the continuous series
of artistic potters in Italy.
Having thus outlined the history of the art in Italy, the products of
particular localities and factories must be separately examined.
Sgraffiati, Graffiti, or Incised Wares. — The earliest examples of
this decoration are those which we have described among the Phenician
pottery, where simple combinations of lines are scratched through the
surfaces of black and red wares. In Italian potteries it consists in scratch
ing or incising designs through a surface color, so as to exhibit the under
lying color, whether that be artificial or the natural color of the pottery.
Scratched lines are among the earliest styles of decoration occurring to
savage manufacturers, and are more or less used for really artistic pur
poses in the best potteries.
In Italy the method was simple, and the results good. The pottery
was first baked unglazed, then covered with a thin coating of white clay,
usually the marl of Vicenza. This was done by mixing the prepared clay
in water to the thickness of cream, and dipping the piece in it. When
this coating was dry, designs were scratched in it with an iron point,
showing the red pottery in the lines. The whole was covered with a
lead glaze slightly colored with iron and copper, and the final baking
finished the work.
This form of decoration was one of the earliest in Italy. Early Pisan
bacini have been mentioned. Other examples are probably as old as the
fourteenth century, and many are undoubtedly of the middle and latter
part of the fifteenth. The decoration continued in use throughout the
best period of Italian pottery and its decadence, even into the seventeenth
century. The use of the Vicenza earth leads to the belief that some specimens
were made near that place in the early periods, but a great portion of the
known examples have by some been assigned to Citta di Castello, and by
others to La Fratta. Mr. Fortnum speaks of a class of these wares, dis
tinguished by their designs as probably the work of one bottega, among
which a border of mulberry leaves is general ; shields of the " Pavoise "
or kite form are found, a sort of florid Gothic character on some of the
leafage moulding, costumes of the North of Italy in the fifteenth century,
lion supporters, and other details connecting them with North Italian art ;

ITALY. 149
and he is of opinion that they were produced in Lombardy or on the
Venetian main-land.
Some highly finished pieces of rich brown color are of the latter part
of the seventeenth century, the work of an artist at Pavia, who seems to
have been clerical, since on a bowl is inscribed Presbyter Antonius Maria
Cutius Papiensis Prothonotarius Apostolicus fecit.
Specimens are in a variety of forms, and the incised decoration is
often used in conjunction with color painting and relief ornaments of
leafage, etc. Cups are supported on feet, around which figures are
grouped. Religious and profane legends, rhymes, and proverbs are on
them. Florence. — We have seen that Luca Delia Robbia was the first Ital
ian who is known to have used stanniferous enamel. It has been suer-
gested that Saracen potters had before this time established themselves
in Italy. It is not impossible or improbable; but no specimens of the
work of such potters now exist, and the earliest example of stanniferous
enamel made in Italy is the work of Luca Delia Robbia at Florence.
The enamel of Luca is by some supposed to have been a peculiar com
position which was the " secret " retained in the Delia Robbia family ;
and many think the white on his work peculiar and superior to any other
of the period. But the enamels of the Delia Robbia ware vary in purity
of color, as do those of the various majolica-makers in the sixteenth cen
tury. Mr. Fortnum is of opinion, however, that the enamel of Luca
shows a greater degree of opacity and solidity. He was, so far as we are
now informed, the only person in Italy for a long period of years who
used the stanniferous enamel. Few, indeed, used it until after his death
(in 1481).Luca used for decoration at first blue, sparingly applied, then green,
maroon, and yellow colors. His white relief figures were often on blue
grounds, with a few touches of blue on the figures. His modelling was
admirable, and all his works, notwithstanding the quaintness of style, are
full of expression and emotion. The faces of his Virgins are often beau
tiful, and his grouping is invariably effective. The student must always
bear in mind, while examining his works, that the art of the sculptor was
not far advanced in the fifteenth century. He had renowned predeces
sors, and he advanced in some respects not only beyond them, but beyond
his age.
His works consist chiefly of reliefs for wall or altar use, and also for
external ornaments of buildings. His taste was exquisite. His colors
were applied with the most judicious effect, never brilliant or gaudy, ex-

150

MODERN POTTERY.

cept in work to be seen from a distance and far below. He also painted
on plain surfaces, and works of this kind, enamelled, are attributed to him.
Vasari, in his biography of Luca, describes many of his relief works in
enamel, concluding with a marble sepulchre of the little brother of the
Duke of Calavria, which he executed "with many ornaments of glazed
work, assisted by his brother Agostino ;" and
adds, "After this Luca sought to discover a
method of painting figure and history on the
flat surface of terra-cotta, to give life to the
pictures, and made an experiment in a tondo
which is above the Tabernacle of four saints
on Or S. Michele, on the surface of which
he painted, in five compartments, the instru
ments and insignia of the arts de' fabricanti
with very beautiful ornaments. And two
other tondi he made for the same place ; in
one, for the apothecary's art, Our Lady ; and
in the other, for the mercantile business, a
lily above a bale of goods, which had around
it a festoon of fruit, and foliage of various
kinds, so well done as to seem natural and
not of painted terra-cotta. He made, too, for
109. Majolica Vase, belief work: M- Benozzo Federighi, Bishop of Fiesole, for
white on blue ; silver-gilt modem the Church of S. Brancazio, a marble tomb,
handles. (Philips Coll.) above wMch WRg Federigo, recumbent, taken
[ritratto~] from life, and three other half-length figures. And on the orna
ments of the pilasters of this work he painted, on the plain surface, cer
tain festoons with masses of fruit so vivid and natural that with pencil on
panel it could not be so well done in oil. And, in fact, this work is mar
vellous and most rare, Luca having in it done the light and shade so well
that it does not seem that by fire [a fuoco] this were possible." Vasari
goes on to speak of work (" storie e figure dipinte in piano ") which Luca
left unfinished at his death, of which he saw pieces in his house.
It is evident from these extracts, which we translate from Vasari
(Florence edition, 1568), that Luca was a painter on pottery, as well as a
sculptor ; but it is to be noted that the expression a fuoco does not bear
out the translation " in vitrified enamel " which has been given to it. It
is probable, however, that he did use enamel on plain surfaces, and per
haps was the first Italian so to do. Mr. J. C. Robinson has no doubt of
tlie propriety of assigning to Luca twelve circular medallions each 1 foot

ITALY.

151

10J inches in diameter, in enamelled terra-cotta, painted in chiar-oscuro
with impersonations of the twelve months.
M. Jacquemart is of opinion that Luca acquired the art of enamelling
pottery at Caffagiuolo, where he thinks it was practised before 1438 ;
but this opinion is based on an arbitrary disposition of some specimens
of enamelled ware, in which other authorities do not agree with him.
Luca died in 1481, leaving, according to Vasari, two brothers, Ottaviano
and Agostino, the latter being his assistant before named. It is, how
ever, supposed that this was not a brother, but was Agostino di An
tonio di Duccio, who worked at Perugia in 1461, before the death of
Luca, where Vasari says he executed in the Church of S. Bernardino three
subjects in basso - rilievo and four
figure tonde multo ben condotte e con
delicata maniera.
Andrea Delia Robbia, nephew of
Luca, born 1457, was heir to the art
of his uncle, as sculptor, potter, and
painter. Vasari enumerates a long
list of his works in marble and in
terra-cotta, in Florence. Among the
latter are a Circumcision ; another
and great work, God the Father hold
ing in his arms the crucified Christ,
surrounded by a multitude of angels ;
all the figures in the loggia of the
Hospital of St. Paul in Florence, of
terra invetriata, and many others
which Vasari says show the great ar
tistic ability of Andrea. His works
resemble those of his uncle, and it is
difficult, sometimes impossible, to distinguish them. Some of his reliefs
are harder and more stiff and conventional in treatment, and he over
loaded his borders with ornament. He executed the same class of work
with Luca, and the churches of Italy were enriched with relief ornaments,
medallions, altar-pieces, and other objects within, and immense disks, orna
mented with colored fruits and flowers in relief built into the external
walls. He died in 1528. Andrea left a large family of children, of
whom three — Giovanni, Luca, and Girolamo — inherited the artistic char
acter, and produced various works in enamelled pottery, but not equal
to those of their father and great-uncle. Vasari says that this Luca did

1 10. Madonna : Delia Robbia ware.
blue. (T.- P. Coll.)

White on

152

MODERN POTTERY.

much work in enamel, and mentions by him the pavements of the Loggi
of the Vatican at Rome, made under the eye of Raphael. The works of
Giovanni are inferior to those of his brothers. Girolamo went to France,
where he was employed by the king to decorate the Ch&teau de Madrid,
near Paris, which work he commenced in 1528, and continued, with an
interruption of six years passed in Italy, till his death, which was about
1567. This chateau was ornamented with much of his enamel, which in
1792 was destroyed with the building, the terra -cottas being sold and
ground up for cement.
It has been supposed that other potters in Florence made relief work
like that of the Delia Robbias, but none is verified as made there.

111. Majolica Painter at Work. (From a Caffagiuolo dish at South Kensington.)
Caffagiuolo. — This quiet little village, once a favorite resort of the
princes of the house of Medici, who had here a villa or palace, was one of
the earliest seats of manufacture of Italian artistic pottery. It does not
appear as yet when this establishment first used tin enamel. No dated
piece of such ware is known as certainly made here before the sixteenth

ITALY. 153
century, although many specimens exist which may with reason be con
sidered Caffagiuolo work of the previous century. No mezza-majolica
seems to have been made here. All the wares are enamelled. In the
Castellani collection is a plaque in the form of an heraldic shield, with
white enamelled ground, on which stands a black cock holding a fleur-
de-lis. in his beak. Underneath is the date 1466. If this be correctly
assigned to Caffagiuolo, it is the oldest dated specimen, the Cluny Mu
seum in Paris having one dated 1475, and the Sevres Museum one dated
1477. These specimens, however, although probably correctly assigned,
cannot be accepted as without question of this factory. The dates which
can be relied on begin with 1507.
The glaze and enamel of Caffagiuolo are of a pure, even white. The
general characteristics of the ware are this pure glaze, and the use of a
rich dark blue, very brilliant, used in some cases in masses showing the
strokes of the brush. Other colors were brilliant, but not so distinctive,
excepting a bright red, which is peculiar. The arms of the Medici family
are frequent in the decorations, their emblems and mottoes, and some
times the letters S P Q F, for Senatus Populusque Florentinus.
From the commencement to the end of the first period, the decorators
of pottery in Italy used for the ornamental portions of their work the ex
quisite designs which had been invented and published by the engravers
on wood of Italy, France, and Germany. These designs in many cases
originated with the illuminators who had preceded the arts of engraving ;
but in the latter part of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth
century books were adorned with beautiful border -work and elaborate
initial letters, sometimes so large as to cover nearly half the page of a
folio, in which arabesques of every conceivable form were deliciously ap
plied. The dolphins and dragons with human heads which appear in
color on majolica plates had been favorite subjects of ornamental letters
in books of the fifteenth century. The transition from the Saracen styles
of the earlier period to the Italian styles of the finer period was exactly
the transition which the illuminators had experienced, who to the inter-
weavings of ribbons and stems and flowers of the Saracen decorations
had added grotesques, birds, griffins, and an infinite variety of compli
cated arabesques, on which the wrood - engravers founded a still greater
variety of beautiful and inexplicable forms. This is one of the most in
teresting parts of the study of the pottery decorations of Italy, as it illus
trates the relations which the different arts bore to one another at this
period of universal revival. The name of the place is spelled on the
majolica Cafagiol, Caffagiulo, Chaffaggilolo, Gafagizotto.

154 MODERN POTTERY.

An interesting dish in the South Kensington Museum, of Caffagiuolo
fabric, was sold in the Bernal sale for one hundred and twenty -five
pounds, having been purchased by Mr. Bernal for five pounds from a
dealer who had bought it at the Stowe sale for four pounds. It was said
to represent " Raphael and the Fornarina," but simply shows the interior
of the studio of a majolica artist who is at his work, while two visitors,
perhaps a duke and duchess, sit looking on. Some idea may be gathered
from the design (111. Ill) of the manner in which the majolica artists
worked. Siena. — Quite recently the works of this place have been withdrawn
from those of Pesaro, Caffagiuolo, and Faenza, among which they had
been placed. The letters I P occurring in large size on pieces had led to
their classification with work of Pesaro. They are now known to be of
Siena manufacture. The discovery of another signature on a small plate
—fato i Siena da mo benedetto — further aided in the selection of speci
mens, for this plate was evidently by the same hand with some of those
bearing the I P. It is supposed that this Maestro Benedetto was both the
head of the establishment, and the artist who executed the finest of the
work. The examples show a resemblance to the works of Caffagiuolo.
The superior class of the workmanship, and the delicacy of the arabesque
and other ornamentations, entitle them to high rank. A dish, illustrated
in colors, in the South Kensington Catalogue, presents remarkable resem
blance to the style of the illuminators of the previous century.
Pisa. — There must have been ancient potteries here. The bacini
which are let into the walls of old churches, and which are not Saracen,
but Italian work, were probably produced on the spot. Some of these are
sgraffiati, others decorated in blue, all coarse and archaic, but interesting
as work of the early period. Mr. Fortnum, who has most carefully ex
amined them, has deposited specimens in the South Kensington Museum,
which he dates at about 1300 a.d. These are small bowls, cream-white
ground, with leaves, zigzags, etc., incised, and colored green and brown.
Later, faience was probably made at Pisa, though little is known of it.
A vase with serpent handles is inscribed Pisa. Some think this a work
of Pesaro, and it resembles the fabrics of Caffagiuolo ; but Mr. Fortnum is
unwilling to deprive Pisa of this solitary example.
Monte Ltjpo made a pottery of red clay, colored deep brown or black,
decorated with gilding and oil-paintings in colors. Wares of similar char
acter were made at Castel-Durante. Reliefs and raised work of white or
cream clay on the dark ground occur. Marbled or mottled surfaces like
stone or shell are also found. Paffasle Girolamo signs a cup dated 1639.

ITALY. 155
Coarse lead-glazed wares with figures in striking costumes are assigned to
this place.
Urbino. — In no part of Italy is the history of the best period of the
potter's art so interesting as in Urbino, and this because of the general art
history of that old city.
The revival, or the birth, of art in Italy was in the fifteenth century.
For it is in many respects to be regarded as a first birth in Italy, rather

112. Dish: Charles V., by Orazio Fontana. (Urbino. Castellani Coll.)
than a renaissance. The ancient arts in Italy had been Phenician and
Greek rather than Italian. The period when the Malatesta court at Rim
ini, the Sforza at Pesaro, and the Montefeltro at Urbino alike lent their
aid to the cultivation and progress of the fine arts, is full of interest in all
departments. To Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, is perhaps due, as murh
as to any other person, the development of Italian art. He was a soldier
and, for his times, a scholar. He had led no life of inglorious ease. He
fought at St. Flaviano in 1460, at Molinella in 1467, at Rimini in 1469.
He captured Volterra in 1472, and there took for his sole share of the
spoil of the conquered city an old manuscript Hebrew Bible, which he
thought worth more than gold, and which he deposited in his library.
Encouraging learning and art, he made Urbino, what it was then and

156

MODERN POTTERY.

afterward called, the Athens of Italy. Sismondi speaks of him as the
Meceenas of the arts. Italy has always looked to Urbino in his day as the
city of the schools of learning. His duchess, Battista Sforza, was his aid
and ally in all his good works, whom Tasso has immortalized. He died,
a very old man, iu 1482, leaving Urbino the artistic centre of Italy.
Raphael Sanzio was born there, in 1483, and brought up, to the age of
twenty-one, among the influences which Federigo had created. What the
world owes to the old Duke of Urbino can hardly be overestimated. Nor
did the glory of Urbino fade with the death of Federigo. Guid' Ubaldo,
his son, educated by his mother and by the masters whom his father had
gathered, was his worthy successor, and continued to be the steadfast pa
tron of the arts. His wife, Elizabetta Gonzaga, was renowned for her
beauty, purity, and accomplishments. So celebrated was she, and so well
known in England, that it has been suggested by Sir Charles Eastlake
that Shakspeare had her in mind when he makes the Prince address Mi
randa : "For several virtues
Have I liked several women ; never any
With so full soul but some defect in her
Did quarrel with the noblest grace she ow'd,
And put it to the foil : but you, 0 you,
So perfect and so peerless, are created
Of every creature's best."
The art history of Urbino under the reign of Guid' Ubaldo I. is full
of importance. He died in 1508, and was succeeded by Francesco Maria
della Rovere, whose relationship to the pope (his
uncle) enabled him to send Raphael to Rome. On
his death, in 1538, Guid' Ubaldo II. succeeded him,
and became the patron of the great artists in ma
jolica throughout his duchy.
It is not probable that painted pottery was
made at Urbino as early as at other cities which
were or became parts of the duchy. The four
great seats of the work in the time of Guid'
Ubaldo II. were Pesaro, Gubbio, Castel-Durante,
and Urbino. The products of these factories made
Urbino renowned in the art, and the city itself be
came, in the sixteenth century, the residence of ar
tists whose work gives, perhaps, the greatest fame
to majolica painting.
The first of the Urbino artists of whom we have any definite knowl-

113. Pilgrim Bottle, painted
by Orazio Fontana. (Ur
bino.)

ITALY. 157
edge was Nicola. He worked very shortly after the year 1500, and his
paintings are now very highly prized. The earliest pieces of Urbino
fabrication are by him, in a service known as the Gonzaga-Este service,
made while Isabella d' Este was living and after her marriage, therefore
between 1490 and 1539.
The manner of Nicola da Urbino, says Mr. Fortnum, " is remarkable
for a sharp and careful outline of the figures; the features clearly defined,
but with much delicacy of touch ; the eyes, mouth, and nostrils denoted by
a clear black spot ; the faces oval, derived from the Greek model ; a free
use of yellow and a pale green ; a tightening of the ankle and a peculiar
rounding of. the knee; the hair and beard of the older heads heightened
with white ; the architecture bright and distinct ; the landscape back
ground somewhat carefully rendered in dark blue against a golden sky ;
and, lastly, the steins of the trees, strangely tortuous, are colored brown,
strongly marked with black lines, as also are the rolled-up clouds : these
are treated in a manner not very true to nature."
Many artists worked at Urbino in the best period following Nicola,
and contemporary with him, and a large proportion of the majolica ware
now preserved was made and painted here.
The Fontana family removed to Urbino from Castel-Durante, but at
what date does not appear. Their name was formerly Pellipario, and
" Guido Niccolai Pellipario, figulo da Durante," was certainly in Urbino
in 1520. They were both potters and painters. Mr. Robinson's opinion
(Soulages Catalogue, Appendix B) is that Nicola Pellipario had a son
Guido, who had three sons, Camillo, Orazio, Nicola second, and that Ca-
millo had a son, Guido Flaminio, all of whom are of the Fontana family
of artists. Nicola is by some supposed identical with the Nicola da Ur
bino before named. The family continued work from father to son, until
the seventeenth century.
In the Fountaine collection is a vase signed Fatto in Urbino in botega
di M. Guido Fontana Vasaro. Other works are marked Fate in botega
di Oratio Fontana. Orazio worked with Guido, his father, up to 1565,
when he established a separate botega. Camillo is said to have gone to
Florence or to Ferrara, and returned to Urbino, where he died in 1605.
The existence of a potter and artist whose signature is Guido Durantino
has led to a discussion of his probable identity with Guido Fontana, the
father, which is now generally believed to be the fact.
Signed work from the Urbino botegas may of course be classified ; but
as a large majority of the pieces are not signed, they can be attributed to
their makers only by careful examination and comparison. There were

158 MODERN POTTERY.

evidently other unknown artists employed in the works, who decorated
pieces wholly or in part. The work of Orazio Fontana is perhaps more
highly esteemed than that of any other artist. No written description
can assist the student in understanding its peculiar merit or characteris
tics. His figures are drawn with spirit and freedom, and perhaps it may
be said that in looking at his best works one forgets, more readily than in
examining any others, the defective color and green or yellow look which
so often offends the most cultivated taste which has not been educated
to the majolica decorations.
The dish with a portrait of Charles V. (111. 112) is, however, an ex
ceptionally fine work, on which any eye would repose with content and
admiration. The emperor wears a blue velvet cap and vest with a purple
coat ; his order of the Golden Fleece, in yellow, hangs from his neck.
The curtain at his left is a deep green, and the pillar at his right a brill
iant blue. The flesh-tints are in pale yellow, the palette of the majolica
artists not furnishing them with more appropriate flesh-colors ; but even
on this the blue eyes have a life and light rarely seen in faience painting.
While Orazio has been called the Rubens of majolica painters, another
Urbino artist rivals him in fame. Francesco Xanto came from Rovigo
to Urbino, and has left his name or X on many pieces of his work, by
which alone we know him. His full name was Francesco Xanto Avelli,
to which he added, as was customary, the place of his birth — " da Rovigo."
He produced a great amount of work, much of which was sent to Gubbio
to be finished with the lustre of Giorgio. Opinions concerning him dif
fer. Mr. Robinson says of him, he " had a talent for the arrangement of
his works in composition, nearly all his subjects being ' pasticci ;' the va
rious figures or groups introduced being the invention of other artists
copied with adroit variations over and over again, and made to do duty
in widely different characters. * * * His designs are generally from
classical or mythological subjects. Xanto's execution, although dexter
ous, is monotonous and mechanical. His scale of coloring is crude and
positive, full of violent oppositions ; the only merit, if merit it be, being
that of a certain force and brightness of aspect : in every other respect his
coloring is commonplace, not to say disagreeable even."
We have quoted Mr. Robinson thus, for the sake of illustrating to our
readers the fact, always to be borne in mind in reading works on art, that
standards of excellence are often arbitrary. In no respect are they more
so than in discussing the majolica paintings of Italy. A comparatively
small number of persons have devoted attention to the subject, and very
few lovers of art are attracted to this queer and sui generis department.

ITALY. 159
Hence the standards of merit are not established, as in sculpture and
painting, by the verdict of the art-loving world, but only by a few stu
dents, who, each for himself, has determined what work best pleases him.
This is natural and necessary. The majolica painting cannot be com
pared with any other, not even with modern faience painting. The col
ors possessed by the artists were few, and they were compelled to produce
the best results they could with these. In chiar-oscuro decorations, they
came into the field of the painters in fresco and oil, and may be compared
with them. In color painting, they pursued their own ways of making
what they thought beautiful, and it must be frankly confessed, judging
from our standards, the best of them succeeded very rarely. This it is that
gives high value to the limited number of successful examples. But the
reader who has not studied the works themselves must bear in mind that
this was an art of painting which has no parallelism with that art which,
at this same time, had its grandest triumphs from the pencils of Albert
Diirer in Germany and Raphael Sanzio in Italy. Originality is not a
special characteristic of any of the majolica painters. Their business
was to make pottery for sale. They compelled to their uses the designs of
other artists, notably of the German and Italian engravers of their own
and preceding periods. The potters who employed them, or the artist-
potters themselves, desired chiefly success as merchants, not as painters.
Xante's work was evidently exceedingly popular in his day, and, whatever
made it so, it is noteworthy that many lovers of art, who have not been
accustomed to the study of majolica, are now more attracted to his works
in general than to those of any other majolica painter. Mr. Marryat,
whose standard is probably his own, says of Xanto : " His drawing is very
correct, his coloring rich, his carnations yellowish, heightened with bian-
chetto; the hair of his ladies light, often composed of plaits fastened in
front ; the foliage of the trees executed in a bluish green, with the lights
of a pale green, and the trunks black hatched with yellow, which produce
a very good effect. * * * The vestments are generally blue or yellow,
varied with a purplish or violet color, and there is invariably some gar
ment of the greenish blue."
Both the gentlemen quoted are high authorities, and thorough stu
dents of the art.
Xanto often copied engravings after Raphael by Marc Antonio and
other engravers. The subjects were mostly from ancient history and
mythology. He signed in various ways, usually with some such abbrevia
tion of his name as F. X. A. P., or Fra. Xanto Av. Po., or F. Xanto A.
da Povigo. His latest dated work is 1542.

160 MODERN POTTERY.

Among the products of Urbino are a large class of specimens orna
mented with grotesques, chimaeras, etc., introduced in graceful arabesques,
or scattered over the surfaces of pieces. This style was afterward much
used in the work of Rome. It was also copied at Ferrara. It differs en
tirely from that style known as a candeliere, used also at Urbino, Castel-
Durante, and other factories.
Battista Franco made designs for the use of painters on majolica ; but
it is not certain that, as Passeri states, he painted on the pottery himself.
Many of the artists of the Italian schools may have been interested in the
majolica painters and their work, and it is possible that they occasionally
amused themselves with trying their hands at the art. But if they did,
they probably produced wretched results. The experience of long prac
tice was needed to enable any one to paint on pottery a picture which
would look well after baking. The fact that many of Raphael's works,
engraved by Marc Antonio, are found copied on pottery, led to the erro
neous idea that the great artist himself painted pottery. The common
name, Raffaelle ware, was given to Italian potteries in England before
they had become subjects of study.
The Urbino potteries produced ware throughout the sixteenth century,
and in the early part of the seventeenth. Francesco Durantino signs
some work in 1544 : perhaps he was a potter. A dish is in the Louvre
signed Ne 1551 fato in botega de Guido Merlino, but there is little in
formation concerning this Guido. Caesare da Faenza worked in 1536.
Other names of artists or potters are recorded, but they are unimportant.
Xanto seems to have painted for a potter named Francesco Silvano, as in
dicated by the signature on a plate, one of Xanto's finest works represent
ing the Storming of Goleta, formerly in the Marryat collection.
Giorgio Picchi the younger, from Castel-Durante, painted at Urbino
cupids among clouds.
The Patanazzis, of a noble family, were artists of the later period in
Urbino, and excellent painters. Alfonzo Patanazzi signed ALF. P. F
URBINI 1606. Vicenzio, last known of the family, was a child when he
began work. Passeri cites a piece signed by him, in 1620, di eta W anni
tredeci. A remarkable collection of majolica is in Loretto, belonging to the
Santa Casa. It consists of three hundred and eighty-five medicine jars
and vases which belonged to the spezieria of the palace of the dukes
at Urbino. Probably many of these were made at Castel-Durante, and
some assign them chiefly to that place. The finer among them are the
work of the Fontana botega. After the death of the Duke Francesco

ITALY. 161
Maria, in 1631, this collection was presented to the Holy House. They
are arranged in two rooms, and on them are paintings of scenes sacred
and profane. On eighty-five of them are children playing games. A
grand duke of Tuscany once offered for these jars an equal number of
silver vases of equal weight, and Louis XIV. is said to have offered for
five of them, painted with the Four Evangelists and St. Paul, five golden
statues of the same persons. Battista Franco and Raffaelle Colle made
the designs for many of these, and Orazio Fontana painted them.

114. Dish: The Judgment of Paris, by Patanazzi. (Urbino. Castellani Coll.)
After the days of the Patanazzi the art in Urbino utterly decayed.
On the whole, it may be said with some assurance that it never had the
qualities of a permanent art. It was peculiar to an age and a people, and
when the age changed it was no longer to the taste of the people. Long
afterward, in 1773, we find a lamp in pottery which an inscription states
to be of the " fabric of fine majolica of Monsieur Rolet in Urbino, 28
April 1773." A Frenchman established a pottery where Orazio and Xanto
had worked, but whether he succeeded or failed we know not. He seems
to have made wares in the modern styles of Moustiers, in France, and per
haps of other works.
Pesaro. — The Duchy of Urbino included within its territories four
of the most celebrated of the majolica factories — Pesaro, Castel-Durante,
11

162 MODERN POTTERY.

Gubbio, and Urbino. The history of the potter's art in these places goes
back to the Roman period. In Pesaro there were probably potteries
where wares more or less rude or artistic have been made with little in
terruption from the periods of antiquity. Some of the earliest fabrics of
modern times, built into the walls of churches, and other extremely early
pieces, were produced here.
Passeri, a resident of Pesaro, writing in the middle of the last century,
his "Istoria delle Pitture in Maiolica fatte in Pesaro e in Luoghi Cir-
convicini," gives the most important historical notices now extant of the
art in his ancestral city. He traces the potter's art there from the Roman
times down to his own, in 1752, with a long mediaeval break in the suc
cession. There is no reason to doubt that painted wares with lead glaze
were made here at an early date. Churches were decorated with glazed
bacini in the fourteenth century. Mezza-majolica was largely produced
here in the sixteenth century, and probably in the fifteenth. Passeri
speaks of a plate with a picture of Horatius Codes, on which was in
scribed "made in Pesaro, 1451." No other dated specimen is known
prior to 1540, at which time the enamelled, lustred, and painted majolica
was made in greatest perfection in the same duchy.
The earliest dated piece of Pesaro work now known is in the posses
sion of Mr. Fortnum, who says, " It is a fruit dish, on which is painted
the creation of animals by the Almighty, who, moving in the midst, is
surrounded by animals rising out of the ground ; a distant landscape with
a town (!) on the side of a steep mountain forms the background." The
legend written on the back is not very clear, but is the title of the picture,
which is perhaps intended to illustrate the passage in St. John's Gospel,
"By him all things were made." It seems to be Chri*vit* animallis
Christtus fatto in pesaro. We have placed stars in place of two doubt
ful letters. Mr. Fortnum reads the Word Chrianite.
The majolica artists were in general poor writers and worse orthog-
raphers. Their inscriptions are often illegible, and when legible are fre
quently misspelled.
Passeri is the authority for assigning to Pesaro early works with the
lustre known as madreperla. This claim has been disputed by some, in
favor of Gubbio or Diruta ; but while the question is involved in some
uncertainty, there is nothing to disprove the evidence of Passeri, a resi
dent of Pesaro a hundred years ago, with means of knowledge which we
may not possess. He says that about 1450 the glaze began to improve,
when pieces were produced decorated with arabesque borders enclosing
arms, portraits, aud heads, outlined with manganese and colored with

ITALY. 163
madreperla lustre, leaving the faces white, and that it was not till about
1500 that the finer work on stanniferous enamel was begun.
Dishes are known with the mark In la botega di Maestro Girolam.o
da la Gabice in Pesaro, and others In botega di Maestro Gironamo
1542, both, as Passeri states, by the same maker. There is a piece dated
1550 with the inscription, "Made in the bottega of Master Baldagsar
Vasaro of Pesaro, by the hand of Terenzio son of Master Matteo boc-
calaroP These are the only names known of artists or potters at Pesaro,
although the number of its products was very large. In 1567, at the
beginning of the decline of the art, the Duke Guid' Ubaldo II. granted a
license to Jacomo Lanfranco, who had begun to place gilding on pottery.
It is not certain that any pieces of this ware exist, though M. Jacque
mart confidently regards as such a baptismal shell, with chimera head,
enamelled with blue on which are broad touches of brilliant gold, and
other pieces, among which are some with papal and other arms, and oth
ers with arabesques in gold and white.
Before 1500 Pesaro produced in mezza-majolica pieces with orna
ments in relief, borders of fruit in the yellow lustre on white ground,
and with the ordinary centres, heads, portraits, arms, and saints.
Passeri claims for one artist, now unknown, at Pesaro the execution
of a class of dishes regarded as the best works in mezza-majolica. These
are thick, heavy dishes, large, the projection around the foot perforated
with two holes for a string by which to hang them, glazed yellow on the
back, decorated with half-length portraits of princes before 1500. Rims
are bordered with imbricated, checkered, or striped patterns, colors are
yellow, and the lustre is iridescent. Mr. Marryat doubts the propriety of
assigning them to one artist and period, and regards the description as a
general characteristic of majolica at the beginning of the sixteenth cen
tury. It is interesting to remark that here, as in Delft and other modern
works, we find the same perforations for the same purpose which we
found in Phenician work two thousand years earlier.
In 1474, Pope Sextus IV. wrote to Costanzo Sforza, Lord of Pesaro,
thanking him for a present of earthen vases. Lorenzo de' Medici also
wrote to Robert Malatesta, of Pesaro, thanking him for like pieces, and
says, " They please me entirely by their perfection and rarity, being quite
novelties in these parts, and are valued more than if silver, the donor's
arms serving daily to recall their origin." The novelty was probably the
lustre, which was then unknown at Florence.
The art declined at Pesaro, as elsewhere in Italy, after 1560. Passeri
ascribes its decay in part to what he thought very bad taste — a preva-

164

MODERN POTTERY.

lent taste, however, in later times — the admiration of Chinese porcelain
which had begun to come into Italy. But Pesaro continued to make pot
tery down to the present century. In 1718 there was only one potter
there, Alfonzo Marzi. In 1757, Giuseppe Bertolucci and Francesco di
Fattori established a pottery, but its existence was short. In 1763, an
other was established by Antonio Casali, Filippo Antonio Caligari, and
Pietro Lei da Sassuolo, the latter an artist on pottery from Modena, and
this establishment produced excellent work in modern styles.
Castel-Durante. — It is probable that painted wares were made here
as early as the thirteenth century. The early works, lead-glazed mezza-
majolica, were coarse, painted with arms and half-figures, the flesh white,
and the dresses gaudy. Enamelled ware was made quite early, possibly
before 1500. The factory reached its highest period about 1525-30,
made good work till 1580, and

continued producing wares in
the next century.
Although Piccolpassi re
sided here, whose work on the
general art affords much detail
ed information, we are left in
comparative ignorance of the
artists of Castel-Durante. Yet
it was the mother of the great
artists, the Fontanas, who went
hence to Urbino, and "from
Durante" was the title of art
ists in Venice, Rome, and in
France. Signor Rafaelli sug
gests that many wares known
as from Urbino were only from
that duchy, and may have been from Castel-Durante. Its products were
not inferior to those of any other botega in Italy. The earliest known
piece is a bowl, the ground a rich dark bine, the decoration grotesques,
among which are the arms of the Rovere family, over them the papal
tiara and keys, trophies of books, festoons of drapery, and a boy -angel
holding the Veronica, or handkerchief with the Saviour's face. On two
labels is inscribed Iu. II. Pon. Max. Tu. es. sacerdos. I eter. It was made
for Pope Julius II. Mr. Robinson says, " In the design and execution of
the painting, splendor of color, and perfection of enamel glaze, this mag-

115. Dish: Flight into Egypt. (Castel-Durante, 1526.
Castellani Coll.)

nificent piece is a triumph of the art."

ITALY. 165
Castel-Durante wares, as well as those of Urbino, Faenza, Gubbio, and
other factories, are often decorated with the forms of monsters, dolphins,
dragons with human heads, sea-horses, masks, and other devices, executed
with great freedom of drawing. When these are arranged in symmet
rical patterns with foliations, the decoration is called a candeliere, and it
is common to call the objects themselves candelieri. This peculiar dec
oration was a remarkable growth. It came from a union of many styles,
of the widest divergence and far separate places of origin. Persia and
Pompeii, Rome, Damascus, and mediaeval Europe, all contributed. The
adaptation was not original with the majolica painters. The same gen
eral designs had been favorites with engravers from the fifteenth century,
continuing in the sixteenth ; and the fine issues of the printing-presses of
Germany, France, and Italy abounded in examples which the majolica
decorators eagerly seized upon as admirably adapted to their purposes.
They had been used in illuminations and in metal work. But nowhere
are they so striking as in engravings, where they appear in white on black,
such as the works of Urse Graff, at Basle, or so beautiful as on the majol
ica in grisaille, or in chiar-oscuro on dark -blue grounds. The triumphs of
the majolica paintings are in these decorations, which require no special
education in Italian pottery to be appreciated and admired by all lovers of
art. No defects of color mar their beauty.
Many of the pharmacy jars found in collections are attributed to
Castel-Durante. The paste of the wares is of a pale -buff color, and the
glaze rich and pure. Most of the dishes, whose sole decoration is a large
portrait, are supposed to be of this fabric, but this is not certain. Mr.
Fortnum thinks many of the pieces ornamented with oak branches, yellow
on blue ground, and sometimes in relief, surrounding a small medallion
central portrait or head, are also of Castel-Durante. Of the fine specimens
in the Santa Casa at Loretto, a large number are attributed to this fabric,
as is also the making of cups from the dust swept up in the Holy House.
Gubbio. — The interest attaching to the work of Gubbio centres wholly
on the Master Giorgio Andreoli and the gorgeous fabrics in lustre which
he produced. He was a gentleman of Pavia, who came to Gubbio about
1485. We have already seen that Passeri claimed for Pesaro works in the
madreperla lustre, and that others ascribed them to Diruta. The lustres
of Giorgio were another affair from the madreperla, though possibly a
growth out of that. They are as brilliant as gems, the ruby not a ruby
color, but varying in shades from deep claret towards the ruby, gleaming
with more than the splendor of polished stones ; the silver giving superb

166

MODERN POTTERY.

effects like moonlight on white water ; the green, rarest of all and most
gem -like of all; the gold and the half shades of various tints always
superb. Giorgio had done some work in relief in the style of the Delia Rob-
bias ; but when or how he became possessed of the secret of these lustres
is unknown. Passeri says he brought the ruby lustre with him from Pa
via to Gubbio. In the South Kensington Museum is a St. Sebastian in
relief, attributed to him, but not signed, lustred with gold and ruby, dated
1501. He probably painted on majolica also scrolls, trophies, flowers, and

116. Dish: Chiar-oscuro. (Castel-Durante. Castellani Coll.)
foliage, grotesques, and ornamental arabesques, which he heightened with
lustre, giving gorgeous effects.
It is now generally supposed that he learned the art of lustre from an
unknown predecessor. The South Kensington Museum has three dishes
whose lustre is fine, even superior in the gold to that of Giorgio, which,
Mr. Robinson thinks, are by this unknown predecessor. The blue color
used by this unknown artist has peculiar strength, and is a full dark in
digo, by which his work is distinguished.
Mr. Robinson, in studying the Soulages collection, arrived at these con
clusions in regard to the work of Giorgio:

ITALY. 167
1. That he did not invent the ruby lustre, but succeeded to and mo
nopolized the use of a pigment used by an earlier artist of Gubbio.
2. That the signed works were really painted by several distinct hands.
3. That his own work may be distinguished with approximate cer
tainty. 4. That probably nearly all the "istoriate" pieces (1530 -'50) of Ur
bino, Castel-Durante, or other fabrics, enriched with lustre, were so deco
rated by a subsequent operation, at the Giorgio botega.
5. Consequently, the use of lustre colors was mainly confined to Gub
bio, wdiere painted wares by Xanto and other artists working at Urbino
and other places were sent to be lustred.
These conclusions, especially the second, and the various character of
wares signed by him, indicate that Giorgio became the proprietor or head
of a considerable establishment, at which the work of placing lustre on
wares was carried on, nominally by him ; that this establishment employed
artists, and produced painted and lustred work, on which Giorgio placed
his name, as he had right to do. But the fact that his name is on a piece
does not imply that he painted or lustred it. The painting, if any, of his
own hands must be judged by the characteristics. It is not impossible
that it was the practice of his establishment to buy, from other potteries
or from artists, painted majolica, to be lustred and sold from the Gubbio
factory. Pieces are known which have the mark of Giorgio, with the
mercantile sign of trade added. The factory may have used such a sign
on goods made for the public market. In the Castellani collection are
two well -painted dishes, which have such a peculiar, unfinished look in
large spaces, that we have no doubt they were intended to be finished
with lustre, but never received it.
Signed work of Maestro Giorgio is known from 1519 onwTard. His
best pieces were generally signed Maestro Giorgio da Ugubio with the
date, but he used various short forms of signature. The piece of his
work which has the highest reputation is a dish signed and dated 1525.
The subject is a group of fifteen female figures bathing in a forest, a city
in the distance. It has been called Diana and her Nymphs, but is rather
more modern in intent. The bath has a marble front, with winged
cherubs and grotesque heads lustred. The painting is not remarkable,
but the border is very fine — dragons and serpents with human heads,
trophies, cornucopias, ribbons and foliage winding in a fine arabesque, on
which the richest lustre is expended. This specimen, lately in the pos
session of the Baronne de Parpart, in Switzerland, is said to have been sold
recently for eight hundred and eighty pounds — in round numbers, four

168

MODERN POTTERY.

thousand five hundred dollars. Another large dish, signed in full, and
dated October 20th, 1520, is without border ornament, the subject — the
Judgment of Paris — covering the entire surface. The trunks of large
trees sweep across the dish with a bold effect. The colors are chiefly
blue and green, with deep red in the slight draperies of the figures. The
lustre on this piece, as on many others, is laid on in dashes here and there,
scattered like moss on the ground, roughly lined on the trunks of trees,
and so disposed, in general, as to produce a bizarre effect, not at all ad
mirable, but certainly odd. A large dish in the Fountaine collection

117. Dish. (Castel-Durante. Castellani Coll.)
signed Mo G 1525 has also no border work, but the three Graces, stand
ing under palm-trees, cover the entire field. A dish, with Hercules and
Antaeus, in the Castellani collection (111. 120), is one of the finest speci
mens of Maestro Giorgio.
This artist was living in 1552, but his latest dated works are in 1537.
A piece dated 1541 has been mentioned, but its existence is not certain.
His son Vincenzio probably succeeded to the management of the work.
Pieces are known signed with the letter N in various forms, which Mr.
Robinson suggests includes the letters V I N, and may be the monogram
of Vincenzio, who was known as Maestro Cencio. Brancaleoni says he
worked with his father till 1536. Mr. Fortnum is of opinion that al-

ITALY. 169
though Giorgio may have occasionally applied the lustre pigments with
his brush to pieces painted by artists at other places, the majority of these
were executed by his son or assistants, and that this practice did not begin
till 1525.
Mr. Robinson describes two small Gubbio cups, with figures in relief,
on which is a pale-yellow lustre, outlined with blue on white ground. A
bas-relief in the Louvre, the Virgin and Child, lustred, is signed with a C,
and below it Perestinus. Other lustred pieces are signed with a simple
P. A piece dated 1557, subject Venus and Cupid, is signed In Gubbio
per mano di Maestro Prestino. All these are supposed to be from the
hand or shop of Maestro Prestino, dated pieces being from 1530 to 1537.
Mr. Robinson says, " The works of this master are interesting as exhibit
ing a return to the style of the early Gothic masters of the sixteenth cen
tury, the iridescent lustre being identical with that of the painters of the
bacili amatoria pieces. It is possible that Maestro Prestino's fabric pro
duced the coarse late specimens, enriched with the yellow lustre, fre
quently occurring. He is, at any rate, the most recent master hitherto
identified using the lustre colors."
Piccolpassi professes to explain how the lustres were produced. He
gives the pigment, as he learned it from Maestro Vincenzio of Gubbio, as
terra rossa 3, bolo arminio 1, feretto di Spagna 2 ; and another pigment,
terra rossa 6, feretto di Spagna 3, cinabrio 3, adding a " carlino " of silver.
A peculiar furnace was built in which the pieces after being baked were
to be lustred. This process was done by exposing them to the smoke of
burning fagots of wood and broom. The carbon of the smoke combin
ing with the metallic ingredients of the pigments left the brilliant lustre
in a thin surface on the pottery. Piccolpassi says that the process was
expensive, for sometimes only five or six pieces in a hundred were suc
cessful. This statement, however, must be regarded as too sweeping. It is
not probable, if the risk of failure were so great, that the Gubbio factory
would have received, as they did, the finished works of eminent artists in
other places, to be subjected to a process which would be successful only
by chances so very small. There was doubtless very great certainty in
the work which was applied to the paintings of Xanto without injuring
them, and without producing, so far as we know from examples, any
semi-successful or doubtful results.
The art of making the lustre was lost, or ceased to be popular, soon
after the first half of the sixteenth century. From 1560 to 1570 it de
clined, and soon disappeared. It has been sought in modern times, with

170

MODERN POTTERY.

much labor and little success. Luigi Carocei, a chemist of Gubbio, is said
to have approximated nearly to the old work. Mr. James De Morgan, in
London, has within the past two years produced some superb specimens
of the gold and ruby lustre, often fully equalling the old Gubbio, and a
silver or opalescent lustre which is exceedingly fine, and in many speci
mens not inferior to the best Saracen and Italian works.
Perugia. — The old name Peroschia occurs on an oval cistern in the
Fountaine collection, painted with subjects after Giulio Romano, and
dated 1553. At Citta di Castello, near Perugia, early ware was made, and
much of the sgraffiato ware has been assigned to it.
St. Quirico. — Terchi, of Bassano, established or found a factory
here about 1714, which was the
property of Cardinal Chigi.
Mr. Fortnum says the wares
were only made for presents.
M. Jacquemart says Piezzen-
tile, a painter, was first director,
Bartolomeo Terchi the next,
and Ferd. Maria Campani, of
Siena, was a painter.
Borgo San Sepolchro. —
Giovanni Battista Mercati, a
native of this place, a painter of
some note, whose etchings are
known and prized, signs a plate
painted with a stag hunt, blue
(Castellani Coll.) Qn white) dated 1649; A ]amp
is known dated 1771, and signed Mart. Poletus fecit, with the name of
the place. We have met Monsieur Rolet also at Urbino in 1773.
Faenza. — There is doubt whether the French and English languages
derived their word faience from this place. There is a French town,
Faiance, which once made pottery. It may have come from that ; and
other derivations are suggested. In French, faience formerly implied all
kinds of pottery and porcelain. Its meaning is now more limited. In
English it includes all decorated pottery except porcelain and majolica.
But the original meaning of majolica is not determined. Mr. Fortnum
proposes to confine it to lustred wares as its original signification ; but
the idea that this was its original meaning is chiefly based on Scaliger's
statement, and Scaliger's testimony is not clear, as we have seen here
tofore.

118. Gubbio Lustred Dish.

ITALY.

171

As early as 1455 Faenza made " white and brilliant " wares. Piccol
passi, a Durantine potter himself, in the day of the best work, 1548 a.d.,
gives to Faenza the highest rank in vases. It was an ancient seat of the
potter's art, and its products were large and widely scattered. Much
doubt exists as to the earliest dated specimens. The 1475 plaque in the
Hotel de Cluny, assigned to Caffagiuolo, is by some assigned to Faenza.
A service of seventeen pieces in the Correr Museum, at Venice, signed
Salomone 1482, is assigned to Faenza. Pavement tiles in a chapel of the
church of St. Petronio, at Bologna, of date 1487, signed (as Signor Frati,
of Bologna, reads it) Bologniesus Betini fecit, are assigned to Faenza, the
word Faventcie frequently occurring on them, and a label bearing Petrus
Andre Defave. This pavement is well painted, with trophies, animals,
heads, the keys of St. Peter, and other devices. Among the wares of
Faenza none are more important than those known as of the Casa Pirota,
of which the distinctive mark is a circle crossed with two lines, or a
crescent so crossed, or both combined. Other marks are on pieces which
are evidently of the same fabric. The grounds are blue, and the borders
are in shaded white, grotesques and arabesques. These wares are exceed
ingly beautiful, and of a class wholly distinct from the green and yellow
wares of the Urbino and other potteries. The blue grounds are rich in
tone; the decorations, largely derived from the illuminations and wood-cut
ornaments of this and the preceding periods, are admirably executed and
effective. The centres have various subjects, and the work of several
artists is evident in them. They are of the
early part of the sixteenth century. One of
the painters- is commonly known as the "green
man," an excellent artist, signing B. B. F. F.
Another artist used the same signature.
There are fine works of an artist who signs
Baldasara Manara (his dishes "have yellow
backs with red lines), and also of the painter
of the service in the Correr Museum, perhaps
the same who signs other pieces F. R.
A great variety of works were produced.
Drug or pharmacy jars decorated with bright
blue and yellow, with medallion heads or other
designs on the sides, are frequent, on some of
which the name Faenza leaves no doubt of
their origin. The generally characteristic feature of the products is the
dark-blue ground, which is richer in tone than that of any other fabric.

119. Boccala of Gubbio; lustred.
(Castellani Coll.)

172 MODERN POTTERY.

Decorations in dark blue on lighter blue are common, in the " berretino "
style. The backs of the plates are also decorated in yellow and blue
with circles, scrolls, and marks of color. Bas-reliefs were made at an
early period.
Some of the wares of Faenza had not the distinctive characteristics,
and cannot be separated from other works.
The manufacture passed into decadence in the latter part of the six
teenth century. Coarse and common wares seem to have been made at
a later period, and there is a modern fabric at Faenza which reproduces
the old work.
Ravenna. — A plate with bluish-gray enamel, painted in blue camaieu
with Amphion borne by dolphins, is mentioned by M. Jacquemart as
bearing the name Pavena. Another plate with a mark including the
letters R. V. A., is assigned to the same place.
Forli. — In the last years of the fifteenth and first of the sixteenth
century there was a factory of excellent majolica here, supposed to have
been of one Maestro Jeronimo, whose name is on fine dishes, the decora
tions of which show some lingering love of Saracenic styles. Piccolpassi
refers to the painted majolica of Forli, and it was doubtless esteemed.
Rimini. — All the majolica known of this place is dated 1535. The
number of specimens is not great, and most of these are perhaps of one
service. On a plate in the Hotel Cluny are Adam and Eve ; on one in
the British Museum, The Fall of Phaeton. The work is of a good char
acter of painting, with strong contrasts of color, free drawing, and the
glaze is remarkably fine, so rich as to be a characteristic. A jug, in the
University Museum at Bologna, is signed GiuUo da Urbino in bottega di
Mo Alessandro in Arimin.
Rome. — Diomede, of Castel-Durante, came to Rome, and established
works. A vase is known with the name of Paolo Savino, in 1600, and an
inscription on another states that it was made in the shop of M. Diomede
Durante in Rome. Their decoration is in grotesques in yellow and blue
on white ground, in Urbino fashion. Giovanni Volpato established a pot
tery in 1790, at which he produced potteries and porcelains, including
terraglia verniciata, which was a sort of queen's-ware like the English,
and some of it remarkably good. Statuettes, figures, and various objects
were made in this ware. Occasionally these pieces are marked G. Vol
pato Roma, impressed in the clay.
Diruta. — Here, Passeri says, was made a beautiful ware. The earliest
specimen, dated 1525, resembles Faenza ware, with grotesques on blue
ground. The only known artist signs a piece, now in the Louvre (the

ITALY.

173

subject from "Orlando Furioso"), i deruta El frate pensit, 1545. He is
not a remarkable painter. But fine work is assigned to Diruta in various
styles, it does not appear on what authority. Some early specimens with a
golden lustre are inscribed in Diruta. From this it was once argued that
all the pieces with madreperla lustre were made at Diruta, an argument
without force. The assignment of many of these works may be consid
ered as still doubtful.
Fabriano. — A single fine work dated at Fabriano, 1527, and signed
with a mark like X, is the only evidence of a fabric here. This plate was
sold at auction in London for one hundred and fourteen pounds. An
other from the same fabric was sold at the same sale ; and yet another is
known with the mark of the artist as on the first mentioned. All are
good works, the one a picture of the Madonna della Scala, after Marc An
tonio's engraving from Raphael ; another, Tlie Rape of Proserpine.

120. Gubbio Dish : Hercules and Anta?us, by Maestro Giorgio. (Castellani Coll.)
Viterbo. — Rough work is known of this place ; and Diomeo, an art
ist's name, in 1544.
Loretto. — We have spoken of the treasure of Urbino and Castel-Du
rante wares in the Casa Santa. They used to sweep up here the accumu
lated dust and dirt on the floor of the house, work it in with clay to make
small cups and bowls, and inscribe them outside con. pol. di. s. casa (with

174 MODERN POTTERY.

dust of the Holy House). These had paintings of the Virgin and Child.
Holy water was sometimes mingled with the dust, in which cases et aqua
was added after con. pol. Possibly these were made at Castel-Durante.
Venice. — Although it has been conjectured that Venice produced pot
tery in the fifteenth century, nothing is known of its work until 1540,
and even then some doubt exists as to the correct assignment of a fine
dish so dated. A large dish, dated 1546, and inscribed "made in Venice,"
exhibits the Destruction of Troy, painted in Urbino style. Another dish
— subject, Moses before Pharaoh — is inscribed 1568 Zenee Domenigo da
Venecia feci in la botega al ponte sito del andar a San Polo. On
the reverse of this dish is a fine border on blue ground. Later pieces are
known by Dionigi Marini, dated 1636. The earlier wrares have a gray
surface, on which the design is executed in blue and white. Ornaments
on the reverses are general.
In the seventeenth century Venice produced thin and light ware, very
sonorous, with ornaments in relief, fruits and flowers around the rim, the
colors generally blue and brown, with yellow on white or pale-blue ground.
These were sometimes mistaken for enamelled metal. They are attrib
uted to the Bertolini who obtained a favorable charter from the senate in
1753. Treviso. — A dish with a curious picture of The Sermon on the Mount
has a circular mark, stating that it was made at Treviso, 1538. More
modern works are white, with reliefs, blue, green, violet, and yellow, or
decorated with flowers. Sgraffiati wares of poor character were made in
the last century.
Cornaro. — Dishes are described, of grayish-blue decoration, the mark
the shield of the Cornari family.
Bassano. — Simone Marinoni founded a pottery here about 1540, which
produced no work of importance until the brothers Bartolomeo and An
tonio Terchi took it about 1600, and made some good faience for a few
years. The mark of the crown, Mr. Chaffers tells us, is not distinctive of
Bassano, as he finds it on other ware. Sir William Drake says (" Vene
tian Ceramics," p. 4) that a plate of 1595 exists signed S. M., for Simone
Marinoni. He also produces evidence that the sisters Manardi estab
lished a factory about 1728 to 1735, for majolica and "latesini" or
" crockery " in general. Another factory of the same wares was founded
in 1735 by Giovanni Antonio Caffo. Some time before 1753 Gio. Maria
Salmazzo established works to rival those of Antonibon at Nove.
Nove. — This place became in the eighteenth century the seat of pot
teries, from which much interesting work has proceeded. In 1728 Gio-

ITALY. 175
vanni Battista Antonibon established a pottery, and in 1732 opened in
Venice a shop for its sale. The business of Nove was widely extended.
In 1741, Pasqual Antonibon was at its head. In 1762, his son, Giovanni
Battista, became a partner. In 1802 they leased the factory to Baroni.
In 1825, Giovanni Battista Antonibon, with his son Francesco, again
worked. The wares are now produced in fine modern styles.
The early work included all kinds of ware, services, figures, groups, of
large and small size. The full names of the Antonibons are sometimes
found on their works.
Candiana. — No such place is known, but this name, with date 1620, is
found on faience with Persian designs. The letters S. F. C. are also on
pieces, and names — as ms. dega and p. a. crosa — which are not intelli
gible. These wares may well be the product of some Venetian factory,
in imitation of Saracen, and the word Candiana have some allusion to the
island of Candia.
Padua. — Sir William Drake cites from Lazari the statement that the
potteries of Padua were in a street called the Boccalarie. There was a
house, Lazari says, not long since restored, in which a few years ago evi
dent signs of furnaces were found. The walls of this house towards the
street were covered with alternate white and blue triangular tiles, within
which was fixed the magnificent disk of majolica, fifty-two centimetres in
diameter, now in the Padua Museum, showing the Madonna on a throne
between St. Rocco and St. Lucia, with angels and an escutcheon above.
The ground is concave ; the figures — in relief — are white, except the hair,
which is slightly yellow, and the Virgin's dress, which is pale blue. This
disk is after a cartoon of Niccolo Pizzolo, who, with Andrea Mantegna,
was a pupil of Francesco Squarcione, and his signature, Nicoleti, is on a
tablet upon it.
A coarse plate, with Adam and Eve, is dated 1563, and another 1564,
the styles resembling Faenza.
Verona. — A plate, with the subject Alexander and the Family of Da
rius, has a curious signature inscription which has been a puzzle. It is
1563 adi 15 zenaro [Gw~] giovani Batista da faenza In Verona M*.
After the M is an illegible letter. The letters which are in brackets —
Gio — are by some read Giu for Giuseppe, and Mr. Chaffers reads them
Fco for Franco, and believes it a work of Battista Franco.
Este. — "Fine faience" of pipe- clay was made here, very beautiful,
with the name stamped in relief. Specimens have decorations in rich
corals. Milan. — The faience of Milan, as known, dates from the last century.

176 MODERN POTTERY.

Services in Chinese decoration, with gold, are signed with a mark includ
ing the letters F. C. ; and another potter or artist, Pasquale Pubate, signs
his name to similar works, with reliefs in scrolls, shells, etc. Pieces with
yellow borders and Chinese red flowers are of Milan. Some pieces are
copies of the Oriental porcelains.

121. Faenza Dish. (British Museum.)
Lodi. — The wares of this factory, established in the seventeenth, and
continued in the eighteenth century, are not of high character. The
name and date, 1764, are on a dish rudely decorated with fish and fruit.
The monogram AM, which occurs also on this dish, is found on others,
with blue, yellow, and red decorations. The pieces have the three sup
port marks, unusual on Italian wares.
Ferrara. — In 1436 there was a Maestro Benedetto bocalaro in Cas-
tello at Ferrara. The Duke Alphonso I. was a patron of the art, and
sought to establish a pottery in his castle. Wares were made here during
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In 1494, Isabella D' Este sent a

ITALY. 177
plate, broken in three pieces, to be repaired at Ferrara, and it was done.
Before 1567, one Camillo was summoned here from Urbino, and seems to
have re-established the discontinued works. Some have supposed him to
be Camillo Fontana, but this is doubted. He executed a service on the
occasion of the marriage of Duke Alphonso II. , bearing the emblems of
the duke. Ferrara potteries are found decorated in the Urbino style with
grotesques. Of the efforts to discover the secret of porcelain mention
will be made elsewhere.
Sassuolo. — At this place, near Modena, work was executed from 1741
by Pietro Lei da Modena and Ignacio Cavazzuti.
Turin. — The Marquis Campori has found records of the payments of
money, in 1564, to Orazio Fontana by the Duke of Savoy, in one of which
Orazio is styled " chief potter of his highness." From this it has been
supposed that the great ceramist of Urbino had worked for the duke in
Savoy, and it is not impossible that he had visited Turin, and superin
tended the foundation of majolica works there ; although M. Jacquemart
regards the title as only honorary. There was a factory established about
this time. The earliest dated specimen is of 1577, a fruit-dish with open
work sides, painted with a boy carrying birds. The wares which were
made here were in many cases decorated in blue, somewhat like those of
Savona, and in others with polychrome pictures. Francesco Guagni is
named as a painter.
Maurienne. — M. Jacquemart describes hunting flasks of faience, close
ly resembling the French ware of Nevers, as of Maurienne, and attributes
also a mark on a dish with blue decoration, Jean, gony, to the same place.
Castelli. — The wares of the Abruzzi, north of Naples, are interesting,
and many of them beautiful. They come down to comparatively modern
times. At Castelli, faience has been made from the sixteenth to the eigh
teenth century, but none is known of the sixteenth. In the latter part
of the seventeenth the Castelli fabric survived all others in Italy in fine
work ; and although the products do not rank in rarity with the relics of
the older art, they rival them in beauty, and are often much more to the
taste of admirers of art who have not familiarized themselves with the
majolica styles. The family of artists named Grue were the most emi
nent decorators in the eighteenth century. Remarkable decorations were
produced, in figure and landscape painting, occasionally heightened with
gilding. The Grues continued the work, which educated the Neapolitan
modern school of potters, and enabled the Capo-di-Monte factory at Na
ples to find artists who could produce those exquisite paintings on porce
lain which make that ware more valuable than its relief work. The gen-
12

178 MODERN POTTERY.

eral characteristics of Castelli work of the higher class bring it nearer to
painting on panel or canvas than the ordinary majolica work. Borders
in which cupids are repeated are frequent, and a rich yellow ground and
covering to the backs of plates and dishes. It is not easy to separate the
works of the different members of the Grue family. A drug jar of 1707
is signed Kal. Xris Dott. Grue f Neap. ; another piece, Franc. Ant. Xa-
verius Grue Phil, et Theol. Doctor inventor et pinxit. In oppid Buxi.
Anno D. 1713 ; and the name is found (F. A. Grue) as far back as 1677.
There were several others of the name, who were all painters of pottery.
Bernardino Gentile was an able painter on Castelli wares, about 1700.
The products were in all varieties of ornamental and useful pottery, even
to small cups and saucers of modern shape.
In Southern Italy are found a great variety of pottery images, and
figures, mostly of a religious character, made sometimes
for arrangement in groups forming scenes from sacred
history — the Nativity, the miracles of the Lord, etc.
Many of these are extraordinary works of art, the faces
being remarkable for expression and character. Some
are entirely of pottery ; others have only the heads,
hands, and feet of pottery, the bodies being made of
other substances. Various potteries have produced
these. Shall we attribute some, which are moulded
with the best skill and admirably painted, to the Cas-
122. Vase: Grotesques, telli potters ? If so, it is only because of their high
artistic merit and the improbability that artists who
were able to produce such work were employed at any of the unknown
potteries. As specimens of character sculpture, they frequently rank
above the best porcelain figurines of Dresden or Hochst. The best spec
imens appear to be of the eighteenth century.
Naples. — The early works of Naples are little known. M. Jacque
mart has found the name on works of the end of the sixteenth century,
vases painted on one side only, the handles caryatides. On one he reads
Franco. Brand. Napoli. . . . Gesu novo. ; and on another, Paulus Francus
Brandi Pinx. 68, which he thinks means 1568. Others have the mark
b.g. with a crown, and yet others have the same mark, with an added star
or a palm branch. The subjects are incorrectly drawn on a bluish en
amel. Nothing appears to have been produced in Naples after these
vases, if they are indeed Neapolitan, until the eighteenth century, when
two fabrics were in existence, the one of F. Del Vecchio, the other of the
brothers Giustiniani.

ITALY. 179
The Del Vecchio faience is of a variety of forms, and well decorated,
especially in table services. Figures and figurines in white enamelled
ware are admirably moulded, and busts in classic style on pedestals.
Well-painted tiles for wall use were made, and services in cream ware.
The Giustiniani fabrics are of remarkably fine character, some of them
unsurpassed by any European work of their period. Black decorations
introduced on white enamels, in arabesque patterns and in ancient styles,
are remarkably effective. Reproductions of the ancient decorations,
black on red, are less skilful, the glaze over the red pottery but poorly
imitating the thin lustre or varnish of the Greeks. A very beautiful
white bowl on a dish in our collection is decorated with birds in brilliant
colors, contrasting with a deep-brown border in arabesques. The dish has
in the centre an Italian peasant woman, admirably painted in colors.
After the improvements in cream ware made by Wedgwood in Eng
land, large quantities were exported to Italy, and this seems to have led
the Neapolitan works to attempt to produce these favorite wares, which
they did with great success. The Del Vecchio and Giustiniani white
potteries, in form, glaze, and decoration, were superior to any other conti
nental wares of this kind, and, from their abundance, seem to have had a
large sale. Cream-color wares from both factories are finely decorated in
colors and gilding.
The royal factory of Capo-di-Monte, in Naples, is said to have sprung
from a pottery, and faience is attributed to it.
Genoa. — Whether the wares of Genoa are to be distinguished from
those of Savona by the mark, a light-house hanging out a signal, is a sub
ject of doubt. Both wares are alike, if these were two fabrics. But cer
tain styles of figure -painting in blue camaieu, where the work is done
in a free sketchy rather than finished manner, are characteristic of one
artist or one factory. The products are decorated in
blue, as are those of Savona.
Savona. — This place, or its environs, has been the
locality of an extensive manufacture of pottery from a
remote time. In the seventeenth and eighteenth cen
turies great quantities of ware were made decorated in
blue, usually pale and cold, and although much of it is =='
ordinary, occasional pieces are of artistic merit. Laree
, • j- i t • i 123. Pitcher: Gro-
vases, pharmacy jars, dishes, and services were made. tesques (Rome.)
River -gods are common decorations. The mark is
usually the shield of arms of the town, accompanied sometimes by letters
which may be artists' initials. A dish in our collection with sea-gods and

180 MODERN POTTERY.

dolphins, is signed B. A. ; others have B. C. and various initials. G. S. is
supposed to be the signature of Girolamo Salomon e, who also used the two
triangles crossed which form what is called Solomon's Knot. Jaques Bo-
relly, or Boselli, signs work at Savona in the latter part of the last century.
III.-SPAIN.
Under Hispano-Moresque pottery, the entrance of enamelled wares
into the manufactures of Spain has been described, and the history of
that fabric traced as it passed into its decadence. Spain, after the Moorish
works had become matters of history, produced other faience decorated
in styles more like the French or other European makers, and also pre
served in various localities much of the Saracen influence which is visible
to the present day on Spanish wares.
Talavera was a seat of potteries in 1760 which, Baretti says, gave
employment to hundreds of people. The manufacture continued to the
end of the century ; but little is known of its characteristics. Some is
described as having a light-green tinge in the glaze, with designs in bold
outline slightly colored, somewhat resembling the wares of Genoa and
Savona, but less artistic. Others were like Delft.
Brongniart regarded Talavera as the true centre of Spanish pottery,
and it is said that the word talavera is in Spain synonymous with earth
enware, as delft was used in England with the same meaning, and china
with us for porcelain. M. Jacquemart describes the wares as having a
good white enamel, and the decorations and forms as of great variety and
excellence. He says well-painted ornaments, and also reliefs, give beauty
to the fabrics ; and masks, scrolls, delicate flowers, landscape and figure
paintings, are found.
Alcora. — Laborde ("Voyage en Espagne") describes an important
pottery here. A cup belonging to Baron Davillier, with a decoration
representing The Family of Darius, is signed Alcora Espana. Soliva.
M. Jacquemart states that this artist worked in France and Spain, and
doubtless some of his works classed as French should be restored to Al
cora. A vase with handles, white enamel, decorated with birds and
flowers coarsely painted, is supposed to be of Alcora. Other pieces with
marks given in the Table are so assigned.
Alcoy. — Laborde also speaks of potteries here, but nothing is known
of their products.
Manises. — We have spoken of this locality in treating of Hispano-
Moresque wares. Its works retained Saracenic character for a long

SPAIN— PORTUGAL. 181

period, and the lustre wares were last made here by the innkeeper else
where mentioned. The gilded wares of Manises were much esteemed, so
that it was said popes and cardinals ordered them, and the gilding was
highly extolled. These were lustred wares, the remains of the Moorish
style. Seville. — M. Jacquemart assigns to this place certain wares in the
style of Savona, but with brown and orange -yellow the predominant
colors, figures, wreaths of flowers, and ruins painted in fair style, marked
S with a star ; also a helmet-shaped piece in Moustiers style in blue, with
the same mark over an L. Specimens of later work were exhibited in
Paris in 1865, painted with dances, bulls, the arms of the Cathedral of
Seville, and other subjects.
Valencia. — Besides the Hispano-Moresque wares, this place has pro
duced faience in other styles, especially tiles, decorated in a variety of
fashions. The Saracen use of tiles for wall decorations has continued in
Spain, and paintings on single tiles, or on large surfaces of numerous tiles,
are common in Spanish buildings.

IV.-PORTUGAL.
All that we know of the Portuguese works in pottery can be said in
few words. Lisbon has produced faience, vases, and table services of
white decorated with arabesques and flowers in colors. The royal man
ufactory at Rato has made a great variety of wares, in highly decora
tive styles — dishes with figures, animals, and vegetables in relief; vases
in quaint and odd as well as in ordinary forms ; wares in Rouen and
other known styles ; decorations in flower, landscape, arabesque, and fig
ure paintings. Marks given in the Table are composed of the letters
F R, T B, and A S. Caldas produced black wares with relief deco
rations, and others in violet, yellow, and green. Bulls are among the fig
ure pieces.
Coimbra makes black wares ; Porto, wares of all kinds. The history
of the art in Portugal is unknown.

182 MODERN POTTERY.

V.-FFvANCE.
While Italy and Germany were making rapid advance in the use of
pottery for artistic purposes, in the fifteenth century, France remained
content with the rude wares of the Middle Ages. Doubtless some varia
tion, if not progress, was made in these, but the art has no history in
France until after the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Italian
potters began to arrive. None of the French wares previous to this time,
few indeed in the sixteenth century, are recognized as the work of any lo
cality. In 1520 two potters, Boneau and Papon, worked at Sadirac, near
Bordeaux, and made "potherie de verderie bonne et marchande" such
as chaufettes, plates, ecuelles, and other works ; but the ware is unknown.
Before 1502 Jerome Solobrin came from Italy, perhaps from Forli, where
the name is known as of a potter, and established himself at Amboise. In
the time of Henry III., Jehan Francisque, from Pesaro ; Julian Gambin,
of Faenza; and Sebastian Griffo from Genoa, were moulders of majolica
at Lyons. In 1588, Jehan Ferro, from Montferrat, made white wares at
Nantes. Jacques and Loy's Ridolfo, of Caffagiuolo, established a pottery
at Machecoul. But although these Italians brought Italian styles with
them, and made similar wares to those they had known at home, they
were not popular, or, at best, were popular for a brief period, and made
little impression on the art in France.
The French, after the art had become naturalized, adopted many orig
inal styles, made copies indeed, but retained their own styles, and, in fact,
founded a ceramic art in many respects new, fresh, natural, and national,
as if no previous works in painted pottery had been known. The major
portion of the products of the large factories at Rouen, Moustiers, and
elsewhere, although including much that was Persian and Chinese in
style, were eminently French in decoration.
Before commencing an examination of the continuous art of France,
however, it is necessary to describe an exceptional class of pottery, which
appeared and disappeared, leaving no trace of influence, standing in the
history of ceramic art in singular lonesomeness, without predecessor, com
panion, or follower, but well fitted and abundantly able, from its own
beauty, to stand alone among the splendid products of all time.
Only a few years ago, attention Avas first directed to specimens of pot
tery, which, although well known, had not attracted the curiosity of col
lectors. Isolated pieces here and there in collections were variously

FRANCE.

183

classed as work of Florence, brought into France by Catharine de' Medici,
as work of Girolamo Delia Robbia, who came from Italy to France, and
as work of a pupil of Benvenuto Cellini. It was ob
served that interlaced crescents were found anions:
the ornaments, that the letter H was common, and
appeared also combined with what was by some
supposed to be a doubled C, and by others a doubled
D. Thus arose the idea that the wares were of the
time of Henri IL, and that the monogram referred
to Diane de Poictiers, and the name attached to
it, by which it is widely known — Faience de Henri
Deux, or Faience de Diane de Poictiers.
The interest of amateurs in this remarkable pot
tery became the greater when pieces were brought
together, and it was discovered that they possessed
three qualifications always certain to create interest :
they were old, they were beautiful, and they were
rare. The prices of the few specimens coming into
sales were greatly increased, until at the present
time this ware is estimated at enormous rates.
Fifty-three specimens in all are now known, of 1 24. Faience of Oiron. Height
-,.-,.,. • -n • • -n 1 inches. (Preaux Coll.)
which twenty-six are m 1 ranee, twenty-six m Eng
land, and one in Russia. These are severally estimated at values varying
from one hundred and fifty to fifteen hundred pounds.
M. Benjamin Fillon, in 1862, impressed from various circumstances
that Thouars was the place for investigation into the history of this ware,
especially because .many specimens had been found near that centre, vis
ited the place, and very soon determined the history, which, when pub
lished by him, was received with various sentiments as his facts sustained
or overthrew favorite theories.
The story of the faience d' Oiron is one of the most interesting of
the episodes of art history. Helene de Hangest-Genlis was widow of
Artur Gouffier, formerly tutor (gouverneur) of Francis I. (who died at
fifty-three years of age, in 1547), and also Grand Master of France. We
are told that this lady was accomplished, that there is preserved from her
hand a collection of crayon drawings of her contemporaries for each of
¦which Francis himself was pleased to compose a verse, and wrote some of
them with his own hand. The old Chateau of Oiron, near Thouars, was
her residence in the country — the ancient seat of the Lords of Gouffier —
on a great plain, where the wild geese in winter were seen circling, as

184

MODERN POTTERY.

they do before alighting ; whence came the name Oi-rond. At the cha
teau, in the summers after 1524, this lady seems to have occupied herself
with books and art. With books, for it appears that she had a librarian
and secretary, one Jehan Bernart; and with art, for she employed a potter,
one Francois Charpentier. These two, Bernart and Charpentier, seem to /
have been the joint managers of the little pottery, which was worked ex
clusively for the pleasure and at the expense of the lady. In 1529 she
conveyed to them a house and orchard where were the furnace and work
shops, as a reward for their services ; but it
does not appear that they ceased in any way
to work for her, or made any pottery for
sale. In 1537 she died, leaving her son,
Claude Gouffier, heir of the estate, and he
carried on the work, probably, until 1568.
After this there may have been some one
at Oiron or Thouars who thought it well to
make pottery, and who produced coarse ar
ticles, not like the Gouffier products, which
had ceased to appear with the lives of the
mother and son. The entire fabric was the
enjoyment of a lady of wealth, refinement,
and cultivation, succeeded by a son whose
tastes were perhaps not so pure and good,
but who nevertheless must have been a lover
of art for the sake of the art. Their prod
ucts were probably few, made at irregular
intervals, as a lady amateur might paint or
otherwise amuse herself with art, and the
beautiful creations of the little pottery were
distributed as presents among friends who cared for such things.
The arms of various houses, probably friends of the Gouffier family,
to whom the pieces were presented, are found on specimens, as well as the
arms of the king and of the dauphin. Gilles de Laval, whose arms are on
one piece, is said to have been a friend and companion of Artur Gouffier.
The letter PI occurring so frequently is the initial of Hangest. The mon
ogram of H combined with the double C is supposed to be the union of
the two names of mother and son, Helene and Claude.
The Oiron wares are made of fine pipe-clay. They belong to the class
known in France as Faience fine. They were not made on the model of
any pre-existing ware. In forms, the Lady Helene seems to have taken

125. Faience of Oiron. Height
inches. (Preaux Coll.)

FRANCE.

185

her ideas occasionally from silver and other metal vases, but not servilely
copying. There was a change after her death, when her son made articles
of more complicated forms, less beautiful because less simple, but wonder
fully fine in their elaboration. The decorations were in as novel style as
the pottery ; for instead of paint, they were inlaid work. The lines of
the designs were engraved out of the soft paste, and filled in with colored
clay, evenly tooled, and polished down to a perfect surface. These de
signs were beautiful interlacings of ribbons or narrow bands, arabesques,
letters, crescents, diamond squares, and other simple but rich forms.
Later, reliefs were added — masks, shields, lizards, frogs, shells — which may
possibly have been suggested by, or may have suggested, the work of Pal
issy, which, as we shall see, was contemporary. It has been noticed that
the patterns of interlacing lines resemble the beautiful work on the bind
ings of books of the period, especially those of Grolier and Maioli, so
prized by collectors. But it is more likely that the lady, who possessed a
library, found her inspiration where the engrav
ers of dies for bookbinders found it — in the ex
quisite ornamental work, initial letters, head and
tail pieces, and border enclosures with which the
wood-engravers of the period, and that just pre
ceding it, had ornamented the books of Germany,
Switzerland, and France. This mine of patterns
had enriched Italian pottery, as we have seen.
The ornaments on the bindings of books in the
sixteenth century were, in many cases, from dies
which seem to have been engraved by well-
known artists, who, on the hog-skin bindings es
pecially, reproduced in embossed work designs
with which we are familiar in their engravings.
The interlaced styles of ornamentation found
on Grolier and other bindings had previously
been common in wood-cuts, and exquisite work
of this kind was especially characteristic of books
published in France just at the period of the Oi
ron faience. If the library of the Lady of Han-
gest did not contain the works of the German,
Swiss, and Italian publishers of the previous half-
century, it was undoubtedly rich in the luxuri
ously ornamented books of the Lyons and Paris presses, and probably re
ceived constant additions of newly issued volumes which then appeared

126. Faience of Oiron. Height
14-J inches. (Magniac Coll.)

1S6 MODERN POTTERY.

in great number from year to year. One of the pieces of faience has
on it the pelican mark of Jean de Marnef , a bookseller ; and another, M.
Jacquemart tells us, has the head of an old woman copied from a cut in
a book. We regret that he does not name the book. When she opened
her Book of Hours in the morning, every page was full of the same
spirit of ornamentation which characterizes her work. Such a volume as
the Orosius of Verard was full of suggestion. Giorgio Andreoli may
have found in the grand initial S in that book the originals of some of his
lustred decorations a candeliere. An ordinary volume like the "Cicero"
of Petit & Badius, printed in 1.531, and coming fresh to her in the coun
try, would have furnished ample motive to the pencil of Helene of Han-
gest. So, too, on the armor of her husband or her relatives she may have
seen abundant illustration of arabesque engraving and inlaying with gold,
and thus taken ideas of the Persians, traces of which are visible in the
faience. An eminent authority, with the keen eye of a French lover of art,
finds in her work " une note triste, qui lui est dictee par son veuvage."
So much mystery has enveloped her and her artistic employments, that her
art life must be created by some imagination, guided by the few materials
left. But what more is needed ? She was an accomplished woman, who
used the pencil and possessed a library in an age of noble books for
wealthy purchasers. To any one familiar with these it is not difficult to
imagine the lady's enjoyment as she followed the prevailing taste of the
time, and sketched this and that interlacing of lines, this and that graceful
idea of a foliated curve ; this combination of mosaic pattern, or that free
and easy use of lines in which Diirer had sometimes indulged his fancy.
One is not forbidden to imagine her looking at the armor of brave men
of her family. And when she fell on a pattern which she liked, she laid
it aside for use, or perhaps took the ivory - surfaced vase or cup in her
hands (they were nearly all small pieces) and traced the pattern on it, and
then, with delicate tools, engraved and filled it in with color. There
could not be a pleasanter bit of fancy work for a lady, nor one whose
exquisite results would afford more satisfaction ; and the more that, un
like embroidery or other needle-work, the result was lasting.
The prevailing color used in the decoration was a dark yellow, which,
with the cream white of the clay, gives the tone to the pieces, sometimes
darkened by tlie use of brown, and varied with black, blue, pink, green,
and violet. Some of the ornamentation is black on white, or white on
black. A thin glaze covered all, not so glaring as to hurt the soft tone.
It is supposed that the simpler forms are those which were made under

FRANCE. 187

the direction of the lady. They are the more beautiful, but in that re
spect tastes may reasonably differ. No two pieces are known which are
precisely alike.
The pavement of the Chateau of Oiron is described by M. Fillon. It
is of square tiles, each of which bears a letter, monogram, or shield. The
letters are colored in violet, and form the legend Hie terminus hceret.
These tiles seem to be of the same fabric with the finer wares.
Will any more specimens of the faience of Oiron be found ? This is
the question occurring to many collectors and lovers of art. The story
was current a year ago of a Paris dealer who found a piece in an out-of-
the-way inn near Thouars, bought it for a song, and went in hot haste to
Paris, where he, on the same evening, offered it to a distinguished col
lector for twenty-five thousand francs. The collector proposed to keep
it for examination, and if genuine to accept it. The dealer refused, say
ing, " No ; if you decline it as not surely genuine, its reputation will be
destroyed. Take it now or never." The collector decided to decline the
risk, and it was sold before midnight to another collector for the sum de
manded, and adds one to the number of known pieces. So runs the story.
" Si non e vero," etc. It is true that an additional specimen has been
recently found. We see no reason why many more should not turn up.
There is no greater error than that which is so frequently made of sup
posing that Europe has been thoroughly searched for valuable works of
old art, and that all are now known and catalogued.
This ware has been described before entering on the general history
of ceramic art in France because of its exceptional character. It stands
alone. It was never copied until in our own time, at great labor and ex
pense, by skilful English potters. Its ornamentation, beautiful beyond
praise, was unknown to the potter artists of France, and gave no hints to
any of them. The pieces reposed in private houses, unseen, regarded as
old crockery of small account, perhaps now and then attracting the eye of
a lover of art, who would look and wonder what this was. One and an
other beautiful thought of the Lady of Hangest vanished from among the
possessions of the world when a vase or a cup was shattered by a careless
servant, unregretted, until in these later times men have come to think
that there are no greater treasures of the history of the human race than
the beautiful creations of mind, moulded in clay, of which our bodies were
made, and burned in fire to make them outlast the successive generations
of dying men.
We turn from the old Chateau of Oiron, and its lady, to a very differ
ent person, and another art story.

188 MODERN POTTERY.

The life of Bernard Palissy has been, so frequently written that it is
known to readers of all classes of literature. Very much that has been
written about him is imagination, unfounded on fact. This account has
no concern with any portion of his history except that which relates to his
artistic life. He was in this a type of the French ceramic art, original
from the beginning, achieving the most brilliant results in a constant suc
cession of original ideas. Born of poor parents in 1506-10, or there
abouts, at La Chapelle Biron, in PeVigord, as some say, near Saintes as
others think, he learned to read, and grew up an artisan in glass, making,
cutting, and staining it. He was a hard student while he worked, and
thus became somewhat familiar with geometry as well as with more or
less historical literature, especially such as was of value in his work as a
glass-stainer and maker of windows for churches. While a young man,
he travelled in the South and East of France, the Low Countries, Flan
ders, and parts of Germany, acquiring at the same time knowledge in
natural history, geology, and chemistry, and opening his mind to broader
views of science. He returned to France in 1539, established himself at
Saintes, married, and settled down to work as a glass-painter and land-sur
veyor. And here one day his destiny overtook him, handed to him in a
faience cup. " Twenty-five years ago," he says, " there was shown to me
a cup of earth, rounded and enamelled, of such beauty that thenceforth I
entered into discussion with my own thoughts, recalling many proposi
tions that some had made me, joking me when I was painting images.
And, seeing that people began to abandon them in the country where I
was living, and also that the glass work was not in much request, I came
to thinking that if I had discovered how to make enamels I could make
earthen vessels and other ware of beautiful sort, for God had given me to
understand something of portraiture. And from that time, without re
gard to the fact that I had no knowledge of argillaceous earths, I devoted
myself to searching for the process of enamelling, like one who gropes in
darkness." Brongniart thinks the cup that brought his destiny to Palissy was of
Nuremberg ware, and M. Fillon thought it was Oiron ware, but afterward
revised his opinion, and conceives it to have been a white enamelled cup
from Ferrara. M. Delange, in his magnificent work on the wares of
Palissy, insists that it was a cup of the Oiron faience which so aroused
his imagination ; but this was not enamelled, and was no more likely to
suggest the thought of enamel as a desirable discovery than any of the
common green glazed wares of the potters, and he, a glass-maker, would
hardly have described an Oiron cup as "enamelled." There is little on
which to found any opinion.

FRANCE. 189

Antoine de Pons went to Ferrara in 1533, and married there, return
ing to Saintes in 1539, where he became the protector of Palissy. It is
suggested that among his bride's presents might have been some Italian
majolica, then prized if beautiful. M. Jacquemart hints that it may have
been a cup from a Spanish vessel loaded with pottery, Valencia ware
and cups of Venice, brought into La Rochelle in 1543, when Francis I.
was there, from which the king gave some to many ladies. It is not
probable that Palissy knew where the cup came from. It may even have
been Chinese, rare but not unknown in those days. It was the enamel
which interested him, and it does not appear to have occurred to him that
it was possible to go to the place of manufacture and ascertain how it was
done. Had he never heard, he who had travelled far, and was wise for
his day, of the Saracen works, which were abundant in the Mediterranean
ports, or of the splendors of Italian ware, made in a score of well-known
factories ? There is something marvellous in the fact that such a man,
with experience and education, having seen a beautiful object and desir
ing to learn the art of making the like, should devote years of life and la
bor to a blind " groping in the dark," sacrifice his little property, sacrifice
his family and their happiness, when he could have learned all he desired
by extending his travels and asking the men who could tell him. Possi
bly he had heard of Girolamo Delia Robbia, who had come to Paris in
1528 with the Delia Robbia " secrets," as they were called, and had thus
received the idea that the art was a mystery known to few and kept pro
foundly dark by those few.
Whatever be the reason, the man was seized with that mania, as it has
often been called in precisely similar cases, of inventing something. It
was not a painted and glazed pottery which he sought to make. His
knowledge of glass, and the existence of glazed wares in France, indicate '
that this would have been a very easy matter for him. He says that he
sought the art of making enamels. It is possible, and probable, espe
cially if the cup which he had seen was true porcelain of China or Persia,
that he supposed, as did all learned men of that day, that the material was
a composition of some sort wholly distinct from " argillaceous earths,"
and this composition his experienced eye recognized as different from
glass and from glazed pottery. Did he at that time know even the word
" email ?" Or are we to read what he wrote twenty-five years later as if
he had said, " I thought if I had discovered what I now know to be en
amels, I could," etc.? His proposal to his own thought was something
wherewith to make " des vaisseaux de terre et autre chose de belle ordon-
nance, parceque Dieu m'avoit donne d'entendre quel que chose de la por-

190 MODERN POTTERY.

traiture." Of course it was a vitrifiable substance which he thought to
discover, wherewith he could not only beautify pottery, but make other
things. The art of painting with enamel colors on metal was at this very
time in perfection in France. Nardon Penicaud, a glass-painter like Pal
issy, had fifty years previously done such work at Limoges, and Leonard
Limosin, the contemporary of Palissy, was producing his superb pieces
from 1532 onward. It is interesting, however unprofitable, to study, or to
guess at the motives operating on the mind of such a man as Palissy. He
stands among artists in a singularly solitary position, enveloped in much
obscurity, seeking with blind groping an art secret, founding and build
ing up a department of art destined to immortalize his name, disdaining
through pride, or neglecting through ignorance, to ask help from any
man, and in the time of success preferring to produce a style of work
wholly original, new, and unlike what the world had ever seen.
This is not the place to discuss the questions relating to the religious
life of Palissy, which have afforded material for many books, containing
some truth and some fiction. Adopting Calvinism when a young man,
in the troublous times which ensued he was taken under the protection
of the Constable Anne de Montmorency, who, when his own influence
was not strong enough to save him, obtained for him from Catharine de
Medici, queen of Henry II. , the honorary appointment of Inventeur des
rustiques figulines du roy. This, while he was still at Saintes, lifted him
out of the jurisdiction of local magistrates by attaching him to the court.
It does not appear with certainty at what time he began his experi
ments. As we have seen in his own account, he says " twenty-five years
ago," and this account seems to have been written about 1575-80. But
there is some confusion of dates. Perhaps the phrase " twenty-five years
ago " may have been used without accuracy, as a general expression, or he
may have written this portion of his memoir at an earlier date than other
portions, which refer to events in 1575. For it appears that in 1543 he
was employed as a surveyor by the authorities to map the lands bordering
on the salt marshes of Saintonge, whereby he replenished his exhausted
funds, and had means to resume experiments which he had temporarily
suspended. If this be correct, the cup which inspired him could not have
been from the Spanish vessel which was brought into La Rochelle in 1543.
It is only certain that after his return to France in 1539, and his mar
riage, he continued for some years his industrious life, as artist in glass,
with interruptions for work as land-surveyor, until the desire to discover
enamel overtook him. M. Delange thinks this was about 1550. This was
the time of the great glory of majolica in Italy, where many workshops

FRANCE. 191

were making enamelled pottery, and before Palissy had discovered the art
in France the decadence had gone far in the Italian duchies.
He says he passed fifteen years in the search. With the highest re
spect for artistic pursuits, and all the admiration of our own time for ar
tistic results, we nevertheless owe far more hearty sympathy to the wife
and family of Palissy than is commonly expended on him during this pe
riod. He deserved thoroughly wmatever of misery he personally endured.
No reasonable blame can be attached to a wife who regards herself as ill-
used by a husband who leaves her and her children to starve while he
omits to provide for them, neglecting his trade and proper means of live
lihood to pursue a fancy. The success of the pursuit has no bearing on
the propriety of it. The achievements of fine art are glorious, but the
misery of a wife and children is in no way compensated by the glory.
Very much of sentiment has been wasted on this portion of the career of
Palissy, in books designed to teach morality, which had better have been
left unwritten. The many graves of his little children in this time, six at
least of whom his wife mourned, if he did not, are more eloquent than the
labors of their father, who neglected them for the pursuit of his favorite
art project. In all frankness, no sensible woman, at least, can study the
life of Palissy by the few lights he himself throws on it, without believing
that the ordinary glamour of "artistic perseverance," "noble determina
tion," " fixed purpose to succeed," which biographers have thrown around
it, is a false glitter. Let us not magnify art above humanity. It is higher
civilization to care for the perfection of domestic happiness than to build
triumphal arches. Many a shiftless man, calling himself an inventor in
pursuit of success, with starving wife and children at home, justifies himself
by the example of Palissy, lauded so highly by his biographers, when he
ought to be earning bread by doing what labor he already knows how to
do. Art demands sacrifices, but neither art nor common sense demands or
permits that any man shall sacrifice anything that is not his own to give.
Let ns draw true, and not deceptive, lessons from the history of art and
the struggles of artists. The result of Palissy's labors was magnificent
success. In the sequence they were of pecuniary benefit to France and to
Europe. In our day the reproductions of his works, which have had wider
sale of late years, have given employment to thousands of laborers, and
have introduced his art ideas into innumerable homes. But God forbid
that all this should be in any manner a justification of the cost at which
he achieved success — the cost of an injured wife, a broken family, a row
of little graves.
With all his learning, Palissy had never studied Aristotle, and the

192 MODERN POTTERY.

"Novum Organon " of Bacon was not then written. The methods of in
ductive reasoning and experiment do not seem to have been known to
him. He had no enamel from pottery to analyze, and could not have an
alyzed it if he had it. So it appears that he experimented very much, in
the same way that Tschirnhaus and Bo'ttcher experimented for the uni
versal solvent and for porcelain a century and a half later, by mixing
pastes of all sorts of substances, daubing them on bits of pottery, and bak
ing them in potters' furnaces which existed at Saintes. This style of ex
periment leaves discovery more to chance than to skill. But we must not
form a decided opinion of his processes with our limited information.
He and France could boast that, unlike Italy, he had no foreign instruc
tion, and that the art, so far as Palissy practised it, he discovered for him
self. In their other ceramic works, the potters of France used the art of
a | enamel as they learned it from
yjj the Italians, who in turn had re-
rf^--^S^^^^B^i ceived it in the old line of succes-
/<V .j^ ~''<$t-J?m£[Wf^ s'lon through Assyria from ancient
V%!» Jiy^liJ 'ijBrat Egypt. But Palissy ware is sui
js%-t\ $'WiM&+!iS!B&i±. generis, without ancestry, born of
Q 1 ' K 31 i=g his brain.
ss^D ,1 &j pHtajjia |\ -^n experiment that he baked
f^Ji^^^i^^^'^'^'i^&WHm m ^ne furnace °f a glass-maker,
' ' - 'lip x instead of a potter, was a success,
A'-'r^-fi •># '--S.-jf'^. \l'rr/A\^^MM£^UA and gave him courage. A trial
/' il( i,, " a -Wis. ' -~ piece melted in four hours, and
/ fiP?/Y 7* f^$Ok m- = came out white and brilliant, so
\pf- , A ^ jecm "^= --" ^I:lt ^ie sa-vs' '"-^Ue me causa une
||^^^HW^r^^^|^\^BiM sSrtJJLy i ioye telle que ie pensois estre de-
Wil' \-T^.y^\ /'f" *" E If venu nouvelle creature." But the
V^fcJJS™!^;: ' --; '¦:¦ «P^^^^^w end was n°t ye*- He does not
JpT i- jJplBli WM seem to have known even now of
w4»^ftH^H^^B^K^^P what the successful mixture con-
"jj '^ijJJ! iS^0'' ipl|lilil|gfij| sisted. He built with his own
' lg| M WmB?L ~3gsf hands an oven like that of the
'l^^fcto-^^^^^^^^y glass-makers, mixing mortar, car-
mmmmmm^^Stim^m rving brick, spent a month in
121. Vase by Palissy. Ground blue, yellow orna- g^ lnatei-ials f or the enamel
ments. (Louvre.) ° p '
made his earthen vessels, and cov
ered them with his paste, lighted his fires, and piled on fuel, day after
day, for six days and six nights; but the miserable mixture would not

FRANCE. 193

melt. He suspected a defect, mixed other material, which he thrust into
the hot furnace, and sought fuel to increase the fire ; but it was exhausted,
as were his pecuniary resources and his credit. The props of trees in his
garden went into the flame first ; whatever of wood was movable followed ;
and, having burned his furniture, he tore up the floor of his house, and this
vanished last of all in smoke with his vanished hopes ; for the experiment
was a failure. Small blame to his wife, who now began to think it time
for him to look after his family affairs, and utterly discouraged his en
amel mania. He complains bitterly of his own agony, and his wet shirt,
which had not been dry for a month, so constant and hot had been his
work. But he tried again, employed a potter to help him, fed him on credit
at a tavern, discharged him at the end of six months, with his clothes for
his only pay, finished a new furnace himself, and kindled the fires again
under his prepared materials. All the dignity and importance attending
his final success fail to take away the ridiculous aspect of his new trou
bles. He had mixed the mortar for his furnace with coarse, unsifted
sand, and pebbles will not stand fire. Himself appreciated the ridiculous
ness of the scene when, in after-life, he described it. But there was no
fun in it then. The pebbles split and exploded ; and from within the
furnace came noises of every kind, from the smallest crack to the roar of
thunder. Outside, the poor would-be potter listened in horror to the mys
terious sounds ; and behind him, friends and family, hearing the confu
sion among the vases, doubtless more than ever believed the man mad.
But out of this horrible furnace came the first glimmer of success.
The enamels on vases and medallions were perfect, but the splintered
stones had flown into the melted enamel and adhered, marring their
otherwise perfect beauty. Creditors who saw the furnace opened, wait
ing for pay in goods if the result should be successful, were willing to ac
cept the best of the pieces at low valuations ; but Palissy was now a suc
cessful artist, in his own judgment, and broke the unlucky batch of work
to fragments. " They would have been a discredit, and lowering of my
honor," he said. " They would have bought bread for your family," said
his sensible wife, and gave him a well-deserved lecture. " Instead of con
soling me," he says, " they only gave me maledictions." Whereat, as
many a man has done under like circumstances, he sulked, went into his
house, and lay down in melancholy despair ; for, as he confessed, he had
neither money, credit, nor any means of support for-his family
But his courage revived, he raised some means, and tried again He
had remedied the pebble trouble, or the first firing had burned it all out
13

194

MODERN POTTERY.

of the mortar. But the ashes now soiled the enamels. He invented
seggars (boxes of hard pottery, fusible only at higher temperature than
the objects they contain), and thus remedied this difficulty ; and, gradually
overcoming the successive troubles of unequal heat, and imperfectly or
unequally fused enamel, at last produced merchandisable objects.
It does not appear that he succeeded in making any perfect articles in
white enamel — the object of his long search — although the pieces which
had been spoiled by the pebbles were probably white. Perhaps sound
good sense taught him now to be content with a moderate success. He
made small objects, decorated with reliefs, and covered with mingled col
ors, brown, blue, and white, mottled or splashed over the surface, com-

128. Palissy Reptile Dish. (Soltykoff Coll.)
bining with each other, but distinct, as in some stones, and therefore com
monly called his jaspered wares. These he disposed of, realizing now the
means of support and of continuing his experiments, which led to the
perfection of his work, exemplified in the " rnstiques figurines," which
brought him fame and position. These are dishes and objects of various
form, on which, in high-relief, shells, lizards, snakes, frogs, fish, eels, craw
fish, and other natural objects are placed among leaves, or on rough
grounds, the whole enamelled in colors — deep blue, yellow, green, and
brown. The choice of such objects seems to have been characteristic of
Palissy, who was a student of natural history. He moulded the objects
from nature, and they are remarkably accurate. His shells are known
fossil shells, say those who have studied the geology of France ; and

FRANCE. 195

among them are many which he had no need to go into rocks to find, as
they are common sea and land shells.
He went from Saintes to La Rochelle, remained there awhile, and
thence removed to Paris, where he enjoyed at once the patronage of the
court. If he indeed produced all the works attributed to him from this
time, a great change must have taken place in his tastes. Doubt well
exists as to the correctness of classing with his own modelling a great
variety of specimens of Palissy ware — that is, made by him, or by those
taught by him or his productions — but decorated with reliefs in figures
from mythological story, and from history sacred and profane. These
include a large number of admirable works, in which the ornaments are
in the usual Palissy colors, while the flesh is, in general, in gray tones.
Some assign these to one Bartholomew Prieur. Pieces which are repro
ductions of the pewter work of Francis Briot are also attributed to Pal
issy. The variety of forms in the ware is great. Vases, ewers, and
dishes of many shapes, are all characterized by the same relief decoration
and the same general coloring.
Reproductions of this work are of course within the ability of any
skilful potter of modern times. The articles can be moulded, and the
colors exactly imitated. This has been done to such an extent that the
world is full of the imitations, many of which are equal to the originals,
and it is therefore extremely difficult to distinguish the genuine from the
false. Nothing but a good genealogy to the piece is a satisfactory guar
antee that it came from the workshop of Palissy. That shop in Paris, pro
vided by the queen, Catharine de Medici, is said to have been on ground
now occupied by the Gardens of the Tuileries, or where the remains of a
furnace and broken pottery were found, on the river side of the Louvre.
Among the subjects in relief on pieces attributed to Palissy, some of
the most noteworthy are the Rape of Proserpine, the Story of Leda,
Vertumna and Pomona, Flora (called La Belle Jardiniere), Diana, Jupiter
and Calisto, the Brazen Serpent, Charity (a plaque whereon, in an oval
frame of shells, the mother and children are in bold relief, but bad
modelling) ; the Baptism of Christ, the Woman of Samaria, a portrait of
Palissy, The Seasons on four plaques. Certain figurines, some of which
are colored with a deep red and brown, are attributed to him, but these
are much doubted. A figurine in the Louvre Museum known as la
Nourrice (a woman holding a baby wrapped up in the style of babies
in old German pictures) has on the foot a mark which also appears on
some other figures. This specimen and mark have been attributed to
Palissy, but are now assigned to Avon, near Fontainebleau. A modern

196 MODERN POTTERY.

French potter at Tours, of great skill, has made admirable reproductions
of Palissy, signed with his name, Avisseau.
We now proceed to a rapid review of the various potteries of France,
among which the most important were those of Rouen, Moustiers, and
Nevers ; but it will be convenient to examine them in alphabetical order.
Avon. — In 1608 a pottery existed at Avon, near Fontainebleau, where
figurines were made, some of which have been erroneously classed as by
Palissy. Herouard, physician to the Dauphin, Louis XIII., describes a
figure une petite Nourrice given by the little Duke of Orleans, son of
Henry IV., to the Duchess de Montpensier when she visited him at Fon
tainebleau ; and also many animals — squirrels, dogs, foxes, oxen, cows — an
gels playing on bagpipes and flutes, various other figurines, all arranged
on a table by the young dauphin, as playthings, a quite large dog in the
middle, a friar at one end, and a dolphin at the other. The figure of
The Nurse, now in the Sevres Museum, has a mark which is attributed to
Avon. Aprey. — Founded in 1740- '50. Ollivier was manager, and after
ward proprietor. This pottery produced beautiful work, in elegant forms,
copied from metal work, with rocaille reliefs and admirable paintings, es
pecially of birds, in bright colors, and flowers,, for which an artist — Jarry
— is celebrated.
Avignon. — Certain brown wares of pottery, with ornaments in relief,
are attributed to Avignon. Some are perforated. Modern wares of
Swiss manufacture, in brownish-black glaze, and decoration in flowers, are
sold by dealers as old Avignon ware. In this neighborhood several pot
teries existed — at Apt, Goult, and La Tour d'Aigues. The yellow glazed
wares of Apt, with reliefs, are spoken of as in excellent taste. M. De
Doni, Seigneur de Goult, established, about 1740, a pottery in his chateau,
and employed the best workmen. This fabric continued till 1805. The
decoration was in Moustiers style. The works at La Tour d'Aigues
were in operation in 1773.
Beauvais. — As far back as the fourteenth century, pottery was made
at Beauvais which was held in esteem, and the wares are mentioned in
the thirteenth century. Rabelais, in the early part of the sixteenth cen
tury, speaks of a "goubelet de Beauvoys," and of the blue potteries of Se-
vignies, near Beauvais. In 1520, Francis I. and his queen were passing
through Beauvais, when "vases of Savignies" were offered to the queen.
Doubtful specimens of these wares exist, which resemble early German
wares. Bellevue, near Toul.— Founded in 1758, aud sold, in 1771, to Bayard

FRANCE. 197

& Boyer, who carried on the works under the title " Royal Manufactory
of Bellevue." They employed good artists, among whom was Cyffle. A
document has been found, giving a list of objects made here, with prices.
This includes many groups and single figures of persons and animals, table
wares of various kinds, and ornamental pieces, large pieces in undeco-
rated pottery for gardens, pipe -clay plates, vessels, inkstands, and other
articles, painted with corn-flowers, and otherwise; religious objects, can
delabra, fountains, coffee and tea pots, and a great variety of other articles.
Bordeaux. — Potteries existed here from 1714, and in 1783 six were
in operation. The earliest was that of Jaques Hustin. One piece only
is known bearing his name. Raymond and Etienne Monseau were deco
rators. Little is known of the Bordeaux products.
Bourg-la-Reine. — In 1773, it is said, Jacques and Jullien, already run
ning potteries at Mennecy and Sceaux, inscribed in the police registry
their mark B R, for Bourg-la-Reine, and D V, for Mennecy - Villeroy.
Nothing is known of their pottery. Fine modern faience is made here,
and largely exported to America.
Chaumont - sur - Loire. — Jean Baptiste Nini produces medallions in
terra-cotta. Clermont (Puy-de-D6me). — Ancient glazed ware, with net-work dec
oration, like Avignon, glazed to resemble tortoise-shell, is attributed to this
place. In the beginning of the last century fine enamelled wares were
made, at first imitating Moustiers, and afterward -Rouen and other fac
tories. Courcelles. — G. Forterie, a surgeon, made pottery. A puzzle jug is
signed Forterie pere ancien chirurgien d Courcelles, 1789. Probably
Forterie fils was also a potter.
Creil. — About 1790, M. St.-Cricq established a pottery, and made ta
ble wares and other articles of pottery and stone -ware. Subsequently
the English firm, Clark, Shaw, & Co., who were at Montereau and Men
necy, took this factory also, and produced queen's-ware, in English style,
decorated with prints. The word Creil is the mark, impressed, some
times with a small cross above it. Specimens have the full name of
Stone, Coqueeel Le Gros, or their initials, printed within a circle
formed by the words Brevet d'invention, etc., etc.
Desvres. — Old wares are known, probably prior to 1764. Duprc
Poulaine made wares, with Chinese subjects, flowers, and birds, the re
verses brown, and signed D. P., or with the name of the place.
Dunkerque. — Louis Saladin attempted to establish a pottery here in
1749; but the potters of Lille succeeded, after a year's work, in driving

198 MODERN POTTERY.

him away. One Duisburg was associated with him, and this name is
found on a piece resembling Delft.
Lheraule. — An old pottery of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen
turies. Coarse wares, brown and maroon, with ornaments in yellow, red,
and white ; religious objects, images, etc.
Limoges. — In 1757, the Sieur Massie founded a pottery here, but only
exceptional and no genuinely characteristic specimens are known. The
place has been more celebrated for porcelains until in quite modern times,
when decorated potteries are produced in great variety and quantity.
Luneville. — The faience of Luneville is highly admired for the deli
cacy of paintings and the beauty of the gold. It was made during the
last century, but little is known of it. In 1778 the pottery was bought
by Keller & Guerin, who signed K. & G., according to Mr. Chaffers.
Figures of dogs, life size, were made for door -step ornaments, which,
facing each other, gave origin to the French saying, " Se regarder en
chiens de faience."
Lille. — In 1696, Jacques Febvrier, a potter, and Jean Bossu, a decora
tor, worked here, having come, on the invitation of the authorities, to es
tablish a pottery. Their signatures in full are found on specimens — port
able altars — in which Rouen influence is visible. Febvrier died in 1729 ;
and the work was continued by his widow, Marie Barbe Vandepopeliere,
and her son-in-law, Francois Bonssemart. These claimed that their fabric
was the most important in France, so recognized, and desired to have it
declared a royal manufactory. About 1778 one Petit took the factory.
Another factory was established by Barthelemi Dorez and his nephew, Pe-
lissier, about 1712, which passed (1750-55) into the hands of one Hereng,
and, in 1786, into those of Hubert Francois Lefebvre.
Another factory was established in 1740 by one Wamps, who made
tiles like Delft, and was succeeded in 1752 by Jacques Masquelier, who
produced wares in Rouen style. Most of the works of Lille were more or
less like those of Rouen. The Febvrier fabric included plates with wav
ing borders, rocaille designs, insects, decorated in bright iron-red, pale blue,
lilac, yellow, green, and mingled blue and yellow. Baskets and masses of
fruits and flowers occur. Many pieces are decorated in blue only. The
faiences of the Dorez factory are regarded as among the most beautiful of
the work of Lille. The letter D, with an accompanying number, is sup
posed to be the mark, and the fabrics are more in the French and less in
Dutch style than those of Febvrier. Other works were established at
Lille by Heringle in 1758, and by an Englishman — William Clarke — in
1773. The latter went to Montereau. One Chanon made brown wares

FRANCE. 199

of hard pottery for stoves and table services, with tortoise-shell glaze,
called terre de Saint Esprit, in the styles of England and of Languedoc.
Lyons. — Francesco of Pesaro established a pottery at Lyons about
1530. Gambyn and Tardessir, from Faenza, worked at the art about 1547 ;
and Griffo, from Genoa, in 1555. Little is known of their products, and
it is not till 1733 that we find Joseph Combe and Jacques Marie Ravier
receiving a charter for making faience. They were not successful, and
their grant passed to a woman — Francoise Blateran — who carried on a
pottery for some years. In 1776, one Patras was proprietor of a pottery,
and it has been said produced porcelain. Specimens of pottery are, with
great doubt, assigned to these various manufacturers.
Maeans. — Between 1740 and 1745, Jean Pierre Roussencq made pot
tery not unlike Rouen, and afterward in Saxon styles.
Marseilles. — Before 1700 a pottery produced wares resembling
Moustiers, with subjects after Tempesta. A dish of this kind is signed
A Clerissy a Saint- Jean-du-Dezert, 1697, a Marseille : the subject, a lion-
hunt, with border in Oriental style. From this time, with the exception
of one potter's name, Jean Delaresse, nothing is known of the work in
Marseilles till the eighteenth century. Specimens are probably classed as
of Moustiers. In 1750 there were ten potteries here, which produced so
much that we are told they exported, in 1766, to the French- American isl
ands wares to the value of one hundred and five thousand livres. The
makers were the widow Perrin, Joseph Gaspard Robert, and Honore" Savy.
The latter (Savy) possessed a peculiar green, but it was closely imitated by
others. The mark, a fleur-de-lis, attributed to him is doubted. Robert
made wares decorated with flowers, fish, and shells, in color and in relief,
with insects, occasionally with marine views and other subjects, well
painted. The widow Perrin made very fine pottery, decorated in va
rious styles, like those just described, and on various grounds. A mark,
B in blue, is attributed to a potter, Antoine Bonnefoy, and F to one
Fauchier. Meillonas. — Here a lady, Madame de Marron, Baronne de Meillonas,
established a pottery in her chateau. She painted herself, and employed
artists. A signature of one of these is known, Pidoux, 1765, a Miliona.
The works of this lady, who presented many of them to her native city
(Dijon), are prized in Burgundy. Pieces painted by her for her grand
mother, now in a private collection, are marked with a monogram, A R.
Graceful wreaths tied with ribbons and well-painted landscapes character
ize her productions.
Monteeeau. — In 1775, Clark, Shaw, & Co., Englishmen, established

200

MODERN POTTERY.

here a manufactory of queen's - ware, or cream - ware, like the English.
The firm afterward united with that at Creil.
Moustiers. — This factory was unknown to modern collectors until
M. Davillier had his attention
called to it by a specimen,
which led him to examine and
develop the history. In 1686,
Pierre Clarissy was a potter
here. The dish which fell
into the hands of M. Davillier
was of his fabric. It is oval,
decorated with a bear -hunt
after Tempesta. The border
is in arabesques, griffins, etc.,
with cartouches, in which are
a deer, a wolf, and dogs. The
dish is signed by Gaspard
Viry, the decorator. This is
a type of the earliest known
129. Moustiers Dish. Polychrome decoration. Diame- glass of Moustiers ware lar^e
ter 13i inches. (Reynolds Coll.) . . ' s>
pieces, sometimes over two
feet in diameter, with designs from the engravings of Tempesta, whose
works were in favor in the South of France. They are executed in rich
blue, outlined sometimes in violet. Another class following these is dis
tinguished by delicate borders and ornaments in the style of the Berains,
whose exquisite work for ornamental purposes of all kinds are familiar
to students of the beautiful old French work, and of Boulle, equally cele
brated. The pieces of this class are characterized by delicious arabesque
patterns, founded on the ancient Roman, but disposed with great freedom
and luxury over the field — griffins, grotesques, cupids, birds, figures,
flowers, and insects are in, and form part of, the arabesque patterns, or are
scattered here and there. This was a favorite style for a long period.
About 1745, Joseph Olery began to make decorated pottery here. His
marks distinguish most of his products, the most common being in part
the letter O, through which passes an &. M. Jacquemart, however, is of
opinion that the number of pieces signed with marks in which this mon
ogram occurs is so large, and of such different times, that they cannot all
be assigned to Olery, in which case the mark is unexplained. He dec
orated in polychrome, using brown, yellow, green, and violet, in rich
wreaths, flowers, and fruit, medallions with birds, and small pictures,

FRANCE.

201

mythological and other subjects. Profane story and sacred history are
mingled on his works. Grotesque figures, in one or in two colors, some
times in a peculiar green touched with brown, are scattered over the sur
face of pieces with the Olery mark. In 1789 there were eleven potteries
in Moustiers. Several potteries were established in places near to Moustiers. Before
1740 there was one at Varages ; in 1734, one at Clermont -Ferrand ;
in 1759, one at Montpellier (Herault). There was also one in the last
century at Tavernes. The factory at Clermont-Ferrand appears to
have produced work decorated in the style of the Berains, in imitation
of Moustiers. Montpellier produced coarse imitations of Moustiers and of Mar
seilles. Nancy. — Nicolas Lelong founded a pottery in 1774, but the products
were unimportant. In modern times very beautiful faience is made here,
which is largely imported in America.
Narbonne. — M. Davillier thinks there was a pottery here, conducted
by Moors, in the sixteenth century, which produced lustred wares.
Nevers has been from the sixteenth century an important seat of
pottery manufacture. Dominique Conrade, an Italian, with his two
brothers, established works at Nevers in 1578, and were the only potters
here until 1632, when Bartholomew Bourcier founded another factory.
In 1652 two more were started,
known as the Ecce Homo and the
Autruche. Pierre Custode was the
owner of the last named, "the Os
trich" works. In the eighteenth
century a number of additional pot
teries were established. It has been
supposed that, after the arrival of
the Conrades, several potters in the
neighborhood had founded work
shops. The Conrades professed to have
secrets in the art. They used stan
niferous enamel. M. Jacquemart
regards their early work as feeble,
and dates the commencement of the fine art in Nevers from the applica
tion of French hands to their productions.
He divides the products of Nevers into styles as follows :

180. Faience Patriotique of Nevers. (T.-P. Coll.)

202

MODERN POTTERY.

1. Franco-Urbino, with mythological subjects, and ornaments from the
antique and Renaissance : influence before the Conrades.
2. Style Italo- Chinese; Chinese or Italian subjects on Italian forms;
blue color alone, heightened with manganese, resembling Savona ware :
influence of the Conrades.
3. Italo -Nivernais: mythological and ordinary subjects; Italian and
Oriental ornaments mixed ; wreaths of flowers of the kind used in the
enamel art ; influence of that art and of cloths. Following these, pieces
with colored grounds, chiefly blue, designs in white, pale yellow, and deep
yellow, in style of Persian stuffs and of enamel work.
4. Franco -Nivernais: imitation of Rouen decoration; degeneracy of
Italian art, and of the decoration in Persian flowers on blue grounds ; the
fabric commercial, and artistically uninteresting.
It is not possible to assign Nevers wares to their different manufact
urers, except where marked, and marks are rare. Blue and yellow are
the more common colors used in polychromatic decoration, with lines of
white. Outlines of figures are in a dull violet. Red and a peculiar green
are found. Goats' heads, leaf-shaped spouts, dragon handles, fruits, and
other objects are used in the relief ornaments. Subjects from mythology,
history, and poetry are among the paintings. The decorations in Persian
style are sometimes very beautiful, especially those in white and yellow
on lapis-lazuli grounds. More rare are those in white or blue on yellow
grounds. An interesting, but not very artistic, class of Nevers pottery was pro
duced in great quantity during the latter part of the last century, spec
imens of which are called Fai
ences Patriotiques. It includes
articles, chiefly plates and dishes,
on which are painted political sub
jects, mostly connected with the
French Revolution. The ware is
generally coarse, and the painting
equally coarse ; usually a small
picture, with or without a motto
attached, flags, trophies, carica
tures, historical pieces. The illus
trations (130, 131) from specimens
in onr collection exhibit the gen
eral character of this faience.
Niderviller. — In 1738 there

131. Faience Patriotique of Nevers. (T.-P. Coll.)

FRANCE. 203

were thirty-five furnaces here. Its products in faience, as in porcelain, are
important, of great variety, and often beautiful. Jean Louis, Baron de
Beyerle, founded the factory in 1754. The best modellers and artists
were employed, and the best work was produced. In 1759, Francois
Anstette was controller of the works, Baptiste Malnat was director, Mi
chael Martin, Pierre Anstette, and Joseph Seeger were painters. Besides
these, there was a long catalogue of journeymen painters, modellers, and
sculptors. About 1781, Count Custine, well known to readers of American his
tory, bought the estate and lordship of Baron de Beyerle, and continued
the works. His mark, an interlaced double C, sometimes surmounted by a
coronet, must be distinguished from that of Kronenburg or Ludwigsburg,
which was usually, but not always, surmounted by a crown. The work
under Count Custine was very fine. A remarkable class of work was
decorated to resemble veined woods, the decoration a card of white paper,
upon which was a picture in black. The corner of the card was some
times folded down, and the effect often deceptive to the eye. The artist's
name was occasionally signed under the picture on the card, as on an en
graving. We have a dinner service of the ware, with Beyerle's mark,
decorated with a single large flower, a rose, tulip, carnation, or other
flower, in the middle of each piece, and smaller flowers scattered on the
borders. Fine faience, enamelled wares, and porcelain were all made at
the same time at this factory.
Orleans. — There was a factory here in 1753, the charter of which pre
scribed the mark (an 0), with a crown in blue. Jean Louis and Bernard
Huet were figure -modellers. Many figures, large and small, were pro
duced. The factory at a later period made porcelain.
Paris. — Less is known than might be expected of the manufacture of
faience in Paris. In 1664, a charter was given to Claude Reverend, who
claimed that, by labor and travel, he had acquired secrets in the making
of faience and counterfeit porcelain as fine, and finer than that from the
East Indies, and that no one in France could equal him in the art. The
charter was a good one, but great doubt exists as to whether it was acted
on. The potteries of Reverend are known, but some authorities believe
that they are imported wares, made elsewhere, and that the charter was
used only to cover such importations. M. Jacquemart is clear that Reve
rend worked at Paris. He says : " The faiences of Reverend are now well
known. Their make is excellent, thin, with white enamel, painted in col
ored enamels, clean, and often excessively pure. They can, as the charter
says, rival those of Holland. It must be confessed they are all but coun-

204 MODERN POTTERY.

terfeits in the larger number of instances, and Reverend sought so care
fully to deceive consumers that his mark seems to have been chosen only
to imitate certain Dutch signatures."
This extract, indicates the difficulties which attend the selection of
specimens, and the question whether he made any pottery at Paris. The
mark consists of the letters A R in monogram. Another mark, L V, in
monogram is on work almost identical. The styles of all the work are
so thoroughly like Delft that no characteristic can be named by which to
separate it.
Other potters may have worked in Paris, but none are known till
1720, Francois Herbert ; in 1730, one Genest ; in 1750, Jean Binet.
None of their works are known. Digne made faience about 1750, in
Rouen styles, including pharmacy jars, emblazoned with arms, for the
Duchess of Orleans. Several unimportant potteries were established later.
It is probable that all the faience made in Paris was imitation of other
French factories, especially of Rouen, and that the products are con
founded with those of which they were copies.
Poitiers. — Figurines in pipe-clay are known, one of which is signed
A. Morreine Poitiers, Yltt.
Pont de Vaux. — Leonard Racle (Voltaire's architect) founded works
here for large pieces of monumental character, and white faience gilded.
Quimper. — Pottery in imitation of Rouen was made at a factory estab
lished in 1690. Wares are attributed to Quimper, with gray enamel, hav
ing large scrolls on black-blue grounds ; also earthenware with yellow en-
gobe and red.
Rennes. — A mortuary tablet in pottery, made at Rennes, records a
death in 1653, and indicates the existence of a pottery there. In 1748,
Jean Forasassi, a Florentine, began to make faience. Another factory
was established shortly after. A group of white enamelled ware is known,
representing Louis XV., Hygeia, and Brittany, signed Bourgouin, 1764.
A jug of glazed ware is signed Fait d Pennes Rue Hue, 1769. The works
of the Rue Hue factory are fine, sometimes in Moustiers style. White
vases, with large flowers in blue, or in blue and lemon color, common in
Brittany, are supposed to be early work of Rennes.
From 1760 to 1785, plates, marriage-cups, stoves, religious figures, and
groups were made.
Renac. — A mark R is attributed to this place, on a plate with bou
quets in the style of Rennes, but a coarser faience.
Rioz. — M. Jacquemart records the fact that a shoemaker here made poor
pottery by way of illustrating the proverbial " ne sutor ultra crepidam."

FRANCE.

205

La Rochelle. — About 1673 a pottery was established here, and early
in the next century Jacques Bornier founded another, which stopped in
1735. Jean Bricqueville revived the work in 1743. A plate signed I B
is attributed to him. The later works were in the style of Strasbourg,
with exaggerated colors. Roses elongated to deformity characterize the
products. Rouen. — The potteries of Rouen are more important than any others
of France. While the Lady of Oiron and her son were making their ex
quisite wares, and Palissy was groping in the dark after the secret of
enamel, and Girolamo Delia Robbia was using it in decorating houses and
grottoes in Paris, one Masseot Abaquesne, living in Rouen, was making
enamelled pottery, the few relics of which now existing lead to the con
viction that it possessed considerable beauty. The old chateau of Ecouen,
the seat of the Montmorency family, built in the early part of the six
teenth century, had a remarkable pavement, which was long discussed by
antiquarians ; by some assign
ed to Italian makers, by others
to Palissy. It was at length,
however, ascertained that this
was the work of Abaquesne,
at Rouen. A queer old doc
ument exists, which in long
legal phraseology discharges

the constable (Montmorency)
from a claim on account of
tiles of enamelled pottery
which he and his wife Marion,
and his son Laurens, who seem
to have been jointly interested
in the business, had made for
the constable. Another docu
ment, published by M. Gosse-
lin, shows that Abaquesne
made apothecaries' pots of enamelled ware. In the Hotel de Ville at
Havre he decorated a "salle faiencde" in 1535. He was still at work
making tiles in 1557, and widow and son continued work after his death.
Thus early begins the history of Rouen pottery ; but there is a long hiatus
in the history from this time. The Due d'Aumale has, or had, two pict
ures formed of these tiles of Abaquesne. The groups Avere each five feet
three inches by six feet four inches, consisting of two hundred and thirty-

132. Rouen Dish. Diameter 22 inches. (Reynolds Coll.)

206

MODERN POTTERY.

eight tiles. The one set have a representation of Marcus Curtins, the
other of Mutius Scsevola. One set has the mark A Pouen, 1542. A
tile from the Ch&teau d'Ecouen, in our collection, is richly colored, with
sheaves of wheat and fleurs-de-lis, deep blue and yellow, with touches of
brown. In 1640, Nicolas Poirel received a charter for making faience at Rouen,
which he afterward transferred to Edme or Esmon Poterat, then a potter
at Rouen, to whom another charter was granted in 1673. From this time
decorated wares were made. The early wares were painted chiefly in
blue, and much in the same styles with those made at Delft, in Holland,
and it is practically impossi
ble in many cases to deter
mine at which place a spec
imen was produced. The
early wares imitated the
Chinese, which they were
designed to rival. A single
dated specimen is known
of 1640, but no other until
1699. The latter, a bowl,
is signed Brument. The
styles of Rouen pottery be
came in time peculiar, so
that much of the ware is
unmistakable. The poly-
' chrome decorations in-
133. Faience a la Corne. (Rouen.) duded & remarkable amion
of blue and red, with more or less yellow, and comparatively slight use
of other colors. The prevailing blue tint is striking, and, once seen, not
easily forgotten.
Certain forms of Rouen decoration are known as Lambrequin, Lace,
Rayonnant, and A la corne, from their prevalent characters. The distinc
tions are not always complete, one style running into another, or one
piece uniting more than one style. Nor is it clear that those using these
terms have any well-defined notion of what constitutes the difference.
Faience a la corne is that which has the cornucopia prominent in the dec
oration. The style rayonnant is technically that which is marked by a
division of a circular piece into sections by rays of decoration proceeding
from the central to the border ornamentation. Lace and lambrequin
patterns are to be understood from their names, the lambrequin being,

FRANCE. 207

in fact, lace patterns arranged in separate groups, looking somewhat as if
they could be cut out separately as pendants of a lambrequin.
Among the Rouen styles are dark blue on pale bine ; black arabesques
on yellow-ochre grounds ; white scrolls on blue grounds, with red touches ;
baskets of red, green, yellow, and white flowers, supported on green and
yellow scrolls ; flowers and bouquets among heavy scroll patterns, looking
like work in iron. Vases are sometimes decorated with pictures, in which
the draperies are red and yellow, the peculiar yellowish red of Rouen pre
dominating in the other ornamentation, which is of tulips and various
large flowers. Plates have the entire field covered with pictures in pale
blue, with slight touches of green, yellow, and red, while the borders are
dark blue, with flowers in white, green, and red. A striking decoration is
in flowers grouped in Chinese style, colored red and white, with leaves in
dark blue on ground nearly black. The general aspect of Rouen faience
is more odd and striking than beautiful.
It is said that in 171 3, when Louis XIV. sent his plate to be coined
for the expenses of the war, he ordered a service of Rouen ware to sup
ply its place. A soup-tureen, in the form of a turkey, said to be of this
service, was sold at the Bohn sale in London, March, 1877, for two
pounds ten shillings.
There are many marks of potters or artists found on Rouen wares,
but few are assignable to their owners. Confusion exists between some
of these and some of the Delft marks.
Saintes. — In the time of Palissy there were potteries near here, and
he employed their ovens in his experiments. M. Fillon describes a drink-
ing-flask, decorated with roses and tulips, on which is PP a V image N. D.
d Saintes, 1680. In 1788 four potteries were at work, and in 1791 two
others. Nothing is known of their products. At Brizambourg, near
Saintes, Enoch Dupas was a potter in 1600, making pottery with stamped
or impressed work, and in marbled colors, with green bottoms. At La
Chapelle- des -Pots, near Saintes, which was the place where Palissy
found his assistance from potters, blue and marbled wares were made.
St. Amand. — This fabric was founded before 1740 by Pierre Joseph
Fauquez, also a potter at Tournay. He was succeeded by his son, who
was again succeeded by a son in 1773. The work is characterized by a
bluish glaze, on which, among other colors, a white enamel is applied.
Rouen styles were imitated. On a fountain is a dolphin in relief, the
scales heightened with blue, while the sides have ornaments in white.
Pieces were made in Strasbourg style, with bouquets and birds, and in the
same style intermingling with the white - enamel ornaments. Lace pat-

208 MODERN POTTERY.

terns are used in the white around wreaths of flowers, with medallions,
in which are colored designs. White flowers alternate with colored.
Charming decoration was done by a painter — Alexandre Gaudry — in ani
mals, pastoral subjects, scenes from Lafontaine's fables, and other groups.
Flowers were painted by Jean Baptiste Desmuraille, tulips, roses, and
pinks predominating in bouquets. Violet, golden red, and a rich green
were his best colors. A red or brown line, sometimes gilded, encloses the
pieces, and scalloped borders are colored blue, red, and green.
St. Cloud. — A fine plate, decorated with blue arabesques, bears the
mark known as that of Trou on porcelain. In 1690 there was a pottery
here, probably that of Chicanneau, who discovered the art of making soft-
paste porcelain in 1695.
Certain pieces, heavy, coarse, with imitations of Rouen in dark blue
outlined with black, are attributed to some unknown factory at St. Cloud.
St. Paul. — Pottery of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. De
signs made with patterns pricked in paper. Mark S. Paul impressed.
Sainte Foy. — A pilgrim's bottle is known, with figures in costume
of Louis XV., signed Fait par moi larozefils d Sainte Foy.
Samadet. — Pottery made from about 1732, of excellent character.
The enamel was fine and white. Birds and flowers were well painted.
Fruits are mingled with flowers and foliage. Pieces have bouquets, with
the look of Persian stuffs ; iron-red poppies, with drooping leaves, yellow
or lilac flowers, leaves varying from yellow to green and with the two
colors mingled. The manufacture continued till modern times.
Sarreguemines. — Established 1770, by Paul Utzchneider. Wares in
imitation of stones, granite, jasper, etc. Raised figures in white on blue
and other grounds. Red stone -ware. The factory continues, and now
makes beautiful faience of all kinds for commerce, much of which comes
to America. Sceaux. — In 1748 an architect, De Bey, having possession of pottery
works, called to his aid Jacques Chapelle, a potter, and subsequently these
brought into association with them three others — Delanee, Minard, and De
Ch&teauneuf. This firm collapsed in 1749, and nothing appears of their
work. In 1750, De Bey and Chapelle began to make " Japanese faience,"
enamelled pottery of good paste, imitating in decoration the Oriental
porcelains. They now tried to make porcelain, but the Vincennes (after
ward Sevres) royal works sought to stop them. Litigation ensued, in
which they were successful, and the works went on, making, in the end,
both pottery and porcelain. The pottery was very fine, decorated with
mouldings and reliefs, with fine white enamel, bouquets, emblems, and

FRANCE. 209

those pretty groups of Cupids in clouds which are also seen on Sceaux
porcelain ; wreaths of laurel and arabesques in gold and color character
ized the ornamentation. In 1763, Jullien, a decorator in the works, took
a lease of them from Chapelle, and formed a partnership with Charles
Symphorien Jacques, a sculptor and modeller. These two also conducted
the works at Mennecy - Villeroy. In 1772, Richard Glot, a sculptor,
bought the pottery, and all the secrets, arts, etc., of Chapelle. Groups,
figures, and graceful products increased, the porcelain fabric being now in
full progress. Glot used for his mark an anchor, in allusion to the Due
de Penthievre, High Admiral of France, his protector. At one time he
added to it the letters S. P. ; at another, the word Sceaux. His faience
is beautiful; sometimes with figures of children moulded on lids of
pieces, and many varieties of color decoration, flowers, scattered bouquets,
corn-flowers, and subjects well painted. A class of Glot's work is in a
yellow paste, resembling pipe-clay, on which the decorations appear dull.
Sevres. — The royal porcelain factory has not been credited with any
works in faience. Nevertheless, it is probable that such work has been
made there, at least in modern times. After the late war with Germany,
several large faience urns, designed for decoration of terraces or gardens,
of which we have a specimen, were bought in Paris and brought to Amer
ica. These are fine enamelled work, marbled in rich colors outside, and
white within, bearing the usual factory mark of porcelain, the date in an
oval, in large size. Were they possibly exceptional work ordered for
imperial use before the war, and diverted from their original destination ?
Other potteries seem to have existed at Sevres. About 1785 one
Lambert produced work of fine forms.
Sinceny. — Pottery works were here from 1737. Many of the prod
ucts are undistinguishable from those of Rouen. After a time the Stras
bourg styles were copied closely. The name of Pelleve, an artist, is on a
jardiniere. Strasbourg. — We retain the old classification of Strasbourg as French.
Charles Francis Hannong established a pipe factory here in 1709. Prior
to this it is probable that pottery had been made in the styles of Nurem
berg, but we know none of it. Hannong rapidly advanced from the mak
ing of pipes to the production of faience and porcelain. Jean Henri
Wackenfeld, one of the workmen who had been employed in porcelain-
making in Germany, an art then jealously guarded as a secret, and who
had fled to Strasbourg with what knowledge he possessed, was employed
by Hannong in 1721, and the two united their knowledge of earthen
wares in the improvement of the Strasbourg products. New works were
14

210 MODERN POTTERY.

established at Haguenau, near Strasbourg. Charles Hannong gave up
the management to his sons, Paul Antoine and Balthazar, and died in
1729. In 1737, Balthazar took the Haguenau, and Paul the Strasbourg
works. The latter made good faience, decorated especially with flowers
and insects, and in 1744 added a fine gilding which he had discovered,
the first specimens of which he presented to Louis XV. on his passage
through Strasbourg. The royal manufactory at Sevres in 1754 inter
rupted his manufacture of porcelain, and as he was forbidden to continue
it, his works were suspended, and he left Strasbourg. His son, Pierre An
toine, revived the pottery in 1760. He offered to sell to Sevres the secret
of hard-paste porcelain, but that bargain failed, and he and his brother Jo
seph Adam continued to make pottery till 1760, when the restrictions on
porcelain-making in France were so far removed that decoration in one
color was permitted to any makers, and they again made porcelain. But
debt overwhelmed him, and he was compelled to leave France, dying in
Germany. The potteries of Strasbourg were closed in 1780.
The faience of Strasbourg is not of the highest class. The paste is
coarse, the enamel is pure, with ornaments, relief work, and painting in
good style of flowers and subjects. Ornamental as well as useful wares
were produced. The flower paintings resemble those of Marseilles, but
the latter can be distinguished by a slight relief, detected by passing the
finger over the surface.
The Haguenau works continued under various management to nearly
the close of the century, their products resembling those of Strasbourg.
Thouars. — Oiron, near this point, was the seat of the faience d'Oiron,
and potteries here and in the neighborhood were numerous — at Rigne
(1771), at Chef-Boutonne (1778), at Fontenay (blue and marbled wares,
1558-'81), at Ile-d' Elle (1636 under Rolland, and 1735-'42 under Pierre
Girard). Tours. — Works were here in the last century, of Thomas Sailly and of
M. Epron. In the museum at Tours is a pair of sphinxes signed Dupont,
1797, a workman of M. Epron.
Valenciennes. — About 1735, Francois Louis Dorez came from Lille
and established work here. His initials L. D. in monogram may possibly
mark his work. In 1772, G. J. Becar founded a pottery, but seems to
have been unsuccessful. Small images in pipe-clay are assigned to him.
Vincennes. — It is supposed that pottery was made here at about the
time of the establishment of the porcelain works (afterward of Sevres),
by those who were experimenting on the production of porcelain. A
piece is known with the interlaced double L on the bottom.

GERMANY.

211

Other faience factories were established in France at various places,
among which are the following, whose works are not important, unless of
exceptional artistic character :

Aire, 1730.
Angouleme, 1784.
Arbois, 1746.
Auxerre, 1798.
BoiSETTE-LE-ROI, 1733.
Boulogne, 1788.
Cambrai, 1540-1646.
Chatillon, 1766.
Dangtt, 1753.
Digoin, 1788.
Dijon, 1791.
Douai, 1782.

Epernay, 1761.
Goincourt, 1795.
Langres, 1788.
Le Croissic, 1627.
Les Islettes, 1737.
Ligron ; eighteenth century.
Macon, 1791.
Malicorne, 1700.
Marignac, 1737.
Mathaut, 1749.
Meldn, 1791.
Meudon, 1726.

Montigny, 1739.
Nantes, 1588-1751.
Nimes, 1702.
Ognes, 1748.
PONTAILIER, 1600(?).
Premieres, 1783.
Rambervillers, 1780(?).
St. Clement, 1750.
St. Omer, 1750.
Thionville, 1756.
Vaucouleurs, 1738.
Villers Cotterets, 1737.

The student who seeks further information on French potteries will
consult M. Jacquemart's " Histoire de la Cdramique," and the " Guide de
l'Amateur" of M. Demmin, as well as other works on special fabrics,
which are named in the preface.

VI.-GERMANY.
We have now to examine a history of the beginning of which, un
fortunately, very little is known. If the
authorities correctly describe the ancient
tiles found in Germany as enamelled,
then long before the art of enamelling
pottery was introduced into the South of
Europe it had been practised in the
Northern regions. Unglazed, glazed, and
enamelled potteries were made in Ger
many certainly as early as the thirteenth
century, and probably long before that.
The making of unglazed pottery is, as we
well know, an art common to ail peoples,
civilized and savage. We have no need
to ask its origin among any race. Glazed
potteries were made in various parts of
Europe in early and late Roman times, and there is nothing to cause sur
prise in finding it continuously produced in Germany. But the use of
stanniferous enamel has in almost, if not quite all, cases been transmitted

134. Nuremberg Stove Tile : St. Mark.
Dark green. (T.-P. Coll.)

212

MODERN POTTERY.

from country to country and age to age. We do not know certainly that
the Chinese derived it from the West, but we have reason to believe
it. How, then, did the Germans in the north country acquire it? Was
it indeed an original invention with them, derived by the accidental use
of tin at some period ? Is there some lost line of the art, yet to be traced
from Europe, along the track of the Aryo-Germanic immigrations, which
will take us back to the manufactures of Central Asia in ancient days?
Did it come from the Rhodians who made the tiles for St. Sophia ? Or
did some roving Saracens wander northward with the art, and introduce
it among the German races, teaching them how to add beauty of color
and surface to their unglazed potteries ?
These questions can only afford subject for conjecture until more is
known of the historical remains of the art. It is not impossible that a
separate line of history may be established from the Byzantine arts in the
time of Justinian to and through the North of Europe. It is specially
interesting to us, since through Germany, rather than the South of Eu
rope, the art as practised in England must trace its origin.
A notion prevailed for a long time that a potter at Schelstadt, in Al-
satia, invented glazed pottery. But this notion was perhaps due to a
statement in an old writer that the
potter who first introduced glazed ware
into Alsatia died at Schelstadt in 1283.
Germany abounds in ancient pot
tery wares, covered with lead glaze,
which are of the centuries prior to the
thirteenth. Stoves made of enamelled
tiles are numerous, and of very old
fabric. These tiles were usually dec
orated with relief subjects, many of
them highly characteristic works of
old art. Ancient brick churches were
erected with various external architec
tural ornaments in pottery, which still
defy time. Among these numerous re
mains of early art, it is desirable to
know more exactly than we are yet in
formed what are the oldest specimens
of stanniferous enamel. M. Demmin
has thrown much light on the subject, but we need much more.
The Convent of St. Paul at Leipsic, was built 1207. In the buildino-

135. German Stove Tile. (Barron Coll.)

GERMANY. 213

was a frieze of tiles, having relief subjects representing heads of Christ
and the apostles. At the demolition of the convent these were scattered
or destroyed. M. Demmin secured one, on which is a head of Christ.
This tile, he says, is covered with stanniferous enamel, and colored green
shading into black.
At Breslau, in Silesia, the Kreuzkirche was founded by Duke Henry
IV., in 1288. The monument of Duke Henry in this church, made of
pottery, green and red, described as enamelled, is one of the most impor
tant early ceramic works in Europe. It consists of a sarcophagus, on
which the life-size effigy of the duke reposes. The sarcophagus is sur
rounded by twenty-one full-length figures in relief, with winged-cherub
heads between them. The figure of the duke is well executed. He lies
on his back with folded hands, his shield on his side, his head supported
by a pillow. The entire character of the work leaves no reasonable ques
tion that it was executed about 1300 a.d.
At Brandenburg, in the Church of St. Katharine, built 1401, the
church itself a fine specimen of old brick-work, at the end of the tran
septs are large screens of pottery, glazed or enamelled dark green, made
in open-work, and statuettes of the same material in niches.
At Lubeck, the old Rathhaus, on the market - place, a curious brick
building, erected in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, has alternate
courses of red unglazed and green glazed or enamelled bricks.
Throughout Germany such remains of the art abound. It is not prob
able that the enamelled tiles of the convent at Leipsic were the first of
their kind. The art had probably been practised before 1200 in all parts
of Germany, and has continued in use, without interruption, down to the
present time.
The Hirschvogels of Nuremberg are the earliest artist -potters of
whom we have any knowledge, but they were probably preceded by a
long line of able workmen.
Nuremberg. — Veit Hirschvogel was born in 1441, and lived till 1525.
He had three sons, who were potters after him. He was a glass-painter,
sculptor, and artist in pottery. He lived in a time when Nuremberg was
a mother of arts. The fifteenth century witnessed a remarkable advance
in science and art in the old town, unparalleled in the history of any
other city of Europe. The first paper-mill in Germany had been started
in Nuremberg in 1390 ; and Koburger established his twenty-four print
ing-presses there within a century later. Johann Miiller, Regiomontanus
made Nuremberg his home in 1471, and his great genius made the place a
scientific centre, as he established his observatory, and issued his learned

214 MODERN POTTERY.

works from the Nuremberg press. Peter Hele invented at Nuremberg,
in 1500, "Nuremberg eggs," the first watches. The goldsmiths of Nu
remberg had world-wide reputation for exquisite work. Adam Kraft, the
mighty workman in iron, born in 1430, enriched the Church of St. Lau
rence with his grand Hauslein for the reception of the Host ; and Peter
Visscher, born 1455, and his five sons, made their city renowned for like
work in metal. Veit Stoss, sculptor, painter, and wood-carver, grew blind ,
over his wonderful productions. Then, towards the close of the fifteenth
century, came Albert Diirer to the old town, to give new birth to all the
arts, and wield such a power on the whole art world as no other one man
ever wielded in all the ages. Thus the useful and ornamental arts were
advancing with gigantic strides in Nuremberg.
When we look at the rise and growth of the ceramic art in a city like
Urbino, in Italy, in the midst of a general revival of arts which made that
city the Athens of Italy, and turn to the North to look at a precisely sim
ilar condition of affairs in Nuremberg, we cannot fail to be struck with
the fact that at the same date the same progress should suddenly com
mence, in the South under the fostering care of noble patrons, in the
North simply under the impulse which the popular love of art began to
give it. Raphael, born in Urbino in 1483, was enabled to reform and
elevate the entire art standard of Italy, because the wealthy and noble of
Italy were his patrons. Diirer, the first of modern men to make an en
graving relate a story or illustrate an epic, working for the masses in Ger
many, and supported by the small contributions of the mechanic and arti
san who bought his works, more than by the rich who also bought them,
infused into the German mind a thorough knowledge and love of the
same elevated art standard. The art fostered by patronage in Italy pro
duced the beautiful, but did not lead Italians to unite the beautiful with
the useful ; whereas in Germany, the peopie, high and low, sustaining
their great teachers, accepted from them lessons which they at once util
ized, and Germany from that time forward led Europe in the union of the
useful with the ornamental in art.
Maestro Giorgio, in Gubbio, made vases and costly dishes to adorn the
homes of the wealthy ; and in fifty years the art of Giorgio, never practi
cally useful, had died,, and Italy ceased to make majolica. The art had no
educational effect on the people of Italy. Veit Hirschvogel and his sons,
in Nuremberg, made stoves as well as vases ; and their art went into the
home-life of all classes in Germany ; survived the generations of men ;
furnished, from the Low Countries, the demand of all Northern Europe,
including England, with abundant beauty of decoration for domestic use;

GERMANY. 215

had inestimable influence in the education of the entire German people ;
blazed out in the splendor of the invention of true porcelain at Dresden ;
and shines to-day in the magnificent products of hundreds of German and
English factories, the legitimate descendants of the Nuremberg pottery.
In the Berlin Museum is a jug by Veit Hirschvogel, of 1470, some
what resembling Italian majolica, but brighter in colors and finer in en
amel. It has relief decorations — the Crucifixion, and Faith, Hope, and
Charity. The Dresden Museum has a jug, green, with relief subjects,
dated 1473. The South Kensington Museum has a cruche of the fifteenth
century, with reliefs of Adam and Eve, enamelled with blue, yellow, green,
white, and manganese. The stained -glass work of Veit Hirschvogel is
among the treasures of Nuremberg.
His son Augustine succeeded him as a potter, being also a painter
and engraver. He was born in 1488, and lived till 1560. He went to
Italy, married in Venice, and returning to Nuremberg, brought with him
probably some of the ancient classical forms which he reproduced in great
perfection. His works were ornamented in reliefs, modelled by hand, and
finely enamelled.
The great pottery stoves in use in Germany, made of tiles, afforded op
portunity for some of the best displays of the art of Hirschvogel and other
German potters. In the chateau of Salzburg is preserved a superb spec
imen of the old German stove which is much admired, dating probably
from the fifteenth century. We have heard the story told there which
we find in all the books, that at some time some one from England offered
an enormous price for it, the French version placing it at thirty thousand
francs, and the Germans making it considerably larger.
Some of these stove tiles, which are often twenty-seven inches by
twenty-five, are decorated with admirable reliefs of Scripture scenes and
other subjects. They are usually enamelled in dark green, occasionally
mingled with yellow or brown. Three in our collection, rescued from the
wreck of an ancient stove in Nuremberg, have relief subjects, surrounded
by frames of foliage and cherubs. On one is St. Mark (111. 134) ; on an
other, Spring, represented by a boy with fruit and flowers ; on the third,
Mercury. In the Sevres Museum are two slabs of brilliant enamel colors
on which are relief figures in white. One figure has the hair gilded.
Veit Hirschvogel, the younger, was also a potter. He was born 1471,
died 1553.
The art thus founded, or, rather, brought to perfection from previous
ruder work in Nuremberg, continued in the hands of various potters there
down to recent times ; but the works of the different makers of faience

216 MODERN POTTERY.

are only distinguishable when marked. George Leibolt is named as a
potter and modeller about 1650, making unglazed wares, which he signed
G L, and with the same letters in monogram.
Abraham Helmhack is said to have been a painter of glass and pottery
celebrated for his red colors, who died in 1724.
In 1712, a factory was founded at Nuremberg by Christoph Marx
and Johann Conrad Romeli. G. Solomon Kees succeeded Marx in 1731.
George Frederick Kordenbusch (born 1731, died 1802) was afterward a
proprietor, and Andreas Kordenbusch was a painter of faience. Johann
Tobias Eglert was a potter in 1791, succeeded by Johann Heinrich Strunz,
the last of the Nuremberg potters.
A bell in the Sevres Museum, decorated in blue camaieu, has the name
of Stroebel, painter, and Christoph Marx, Johann Jacob Meyer, des H.
Reich. Stadt. Nurnberg, 1724. Other artists' signatures are G. F. Greber,
Gluer, Tauber, and Possinger.
Some fifty years ago C. W. Fleisehmann established at Nuremberg a
factory for making all kinds of objects in papier-mache, and produced
some in terra-cotta and in enamelled ware, reproductions chiefly of old
works. This factory continues now. The mark is circular — Fleisch-
mann's Fabrik, Nurnberg.
Baireuth was a seat of old potteries. In the sixteenth century it
began to produce faience. The pieces are well made, the pottery light,
and the decoration chiefly in blue. The museum at Sevres has a speci
men signed Bayreuthe, and several marks are attributed to this fabric.
Villingen, in the Black Forest, is famous because here, in the early
part of the sixteenth century, lived and worked Hans Kraut, who had no
superior as a ceramic artist. His great work was a tomb in the Church
of the Knights of St. John at Villingen, erected' in 1536 to the memory
of Wolfgang de Miismiinster, a commander of the order. It represented,
in relief views, the siege of Rhodes, which had occurred a few years pre
viously. This monument has been destroyed, but a large plaque from it
remains, showing a naval combat, and the inscription to the memory of
the knight.
The stoves which Hans Kraut produced are of great celebrity. Roof
tiles from his pottery have outlasted the storms of three centuries, and are
in perfect condition and glaze. Before the old potter died, in 1590, his
skill in art had won him, among the people, the reputation of sorcery.
He was refused burial in consecrated ground ; and his body was interred
outside the city, the grave marked by a stone on which was engraved a
potter's wheel.

GERMANY. 217

The manufacture of pottery has continued in Villingen down to mod
ern times.
Strehla has a pulpit which is of pottery, enamelled or glazed, it is not
certain which. This curious work includes a life-size figure of Moses,
who supports the pulpit with his right arm, while the left hand holds the
tables of the law. Above the door Delilah is represented cutting the
hair of Samson, and, below, Samson carries off the gates of Gaza. At the
foot of the pulpit the four evangelists, in high-relief, are surrounded with
green foliage. Eight plaques have subjects in relief, and Latin inscrip
tions referring to them — the Creation, Abraham, the Nativity, the Cruci
fixion, etc. An inscription in German records that this work was made
by Michael Melchior Tatzen, potter and sculptor, in 1565.
In Augsburg, Adam Vogt made stoves, enamelled in black, some of
which are extant, bearing his name and the date 1620. In excavations
at the Carmelite convent large numbers of fragments of figures, knights,
workmen, and religious subjects, in a variety of costumes, made of pot
tery (terra-cotta), well modelled, were found, and are supposed to be of the
middle of the fifteenth century.
At Oberdorf, Hans Seltzmann was mayor in 1514. He has left a
glazed or enamelled stove in the Schloss at Fuessen, in Bavaria, on which
is recorded the fact that he made it in 1514.
Stoves and other wTorks in faience were made at Memmingen in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The general wares were decorated in
blue, with wide borders, sometimes with family arms. Later work was in
polychrome flowers in the style of Strasbourg.
Bunzlau, in Silesia, is celebrated for old stone-wares, and in more re
cent times for coffee and chocolate pots of fine glaze, white within and
brown or mottled without. In the town -hall is a gigantic coffee-pot,
nearly fifteen feet high, work of the last century.
Harburg is more celebrated for the exquisite painting on glass of Jo
hann Schaper, 1620-70, than for his painting on faience, although the lat
ter is prized. His work on glass is in black, exceedingly delicate in fin
ish, the most minute details of landscape and figure being executed with
all the perfection of an etching on copper. His faience mugs are painted
in somewhat similar style, usually in brown on the white enamel, the
lights scratched in.
At Schaffhausen stoves of great beauty were made in the sixteenth
century, some of which were decorated with reliefs by, or from the de
signs of, Tobias Stimmer (born 1534), a well-known wood-engraver, whose
wood -cuts of Bible and other subjects abound in books of his period.

218 MODERN POTTERY.

Other works in faience were made here in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, which are odd and sometimes beautiful. These have commonly
dark-chocolate, almost black, enamelled grounds, on which paintings, sub
jects, flowers, etc., are executed in bright but thick colors, and sometimes
inscriptions in patois. In the museum at Sigmaringen is a large plate
representing a scene in the Passion, signed Gerrit Evers Schaphuysen,
1695. On another, in the same museum, is this rhyme :
Eenen Waegen met paerden
Ist eyn costelyk Dink op arden
Maer better een wrouw vol vit moet
Dat wat de man seget dat doet.
This is signed Paulus Hammelkerz, and dated 1743.
Gennep. — German Luxembourg produced gigantic dishes in pottery,
with stanriiferous enamel, decorated in colors — yellow, reddish brown, and
green. M. Schwaab at the Hague has four of these, twenty-four inches in
diameter, the designs and ornaments in champ-leve style in engobe. One,
representing the sacrifice of Abraham, is dated 1712 ; another, with the
Holy Family, has the name Antonius Bernardus von Vehlen, 1770, 24
August, Gennep. In the Nadar collection (sold 1866) was one decorated
with a comic subject, and the name Albert Murs, 1724. In the museum
at Sigmaringen is one with the name Peter Menten, 1738. In our col
lection are two — one twenty-six inches in diameter, the other twenty-two.
The larger, dated Ano 1713, has a representation of the Crucifixion, with
the instruments of the Passion, and large flowers. On the other, a full-
length figure of St. Joseph, holding the infant Jesus, stands in an arched
frame, above which is the crowned eagle of the Holy Roman Empire.
On the border is a wreath of scrolls and flowers. Under the figure is
Johannes Murs Johanno Murs. I. H. S. S. Joseph. Anno 1752.
Dishes of this kind were frequently made in the German potteries
as presents on the occurrence of marriages, births, or other family inci
dents, and the names on them are not likely to be those of makers of
the ware.
Matthias Rosa in Anspach is the signature on a table service, deco
rated in blue, in the Rouen style.
At Creussen fine pottery of various kinds, and especially stone-wares,
were made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Mr. Chaffers
cautions purchasers against apostle mugs and other articles, originally un-
colored, but painted in oil-colors by dealers, for fraudulent purposes.
At Schreitzheim, in Wurtemberg, fine wares were made by genera
tions of the Wintergurst family, from 1620 to this century. Dishes in

GERMANY. 219

the forms of animals, vegetables, and other eatables are characteristic, but
these were also made at Delft and other places. The marks of this fac
tory are uncertain. An S, with a dot in the upper curve, has been as
signed to it ; more doubtful, a B, and a mark including the stag's horns,
fleur-de-lis, and crossed batons, which may be of this or some other Wur
temberg pottery.
A cup and saucer of glazed brown ware, ornamented with silvered re
lief, is signed G. Manjack fecit Proskau, and dated 1817.
At Goggingen, Bavaria, about 1750, a potter began to make enamel
led wares, decorated chiefly in blue, with flowers, arabesques, and figures.
The mark is the name in full, the initials of an artist, H. S., appearing on
a specimen. At Hubertsberg, Saxony, Count Marcolini, the Dresden director, es
tablished in 1784 a manufacture of salt-glazed pottery, like the English,
and also copied Wedgwood's ware.
A pottery at Schramberg, Wurtemberg, reproduced Wedgwood's
queen's-ware in plain white, basket, and other patterns, and also decorated
with prints. The mark is the name impressed.
At Hochst, Mayence, pottery was made in 1720 by Geltz. The por
celain products soon became important. Its figurines, in pottery and
pipe-clay, are delicious work. Melchior, the modeller, has never been sur
passed in modern times in the grace and perfection of his figurines. Va
rious objects, frames, horns, birds, medallions, etc., were produced, all of
the most admirable character. The mark was the wheel of the arms of
Mayence, accompanied sometimes by the initials of artists. Zeschinger
occasionally signed at full length. The factory was broken up by the
French, and ceased in 1794. The moulds passed into the hands of Dahl,
who at a later period revived the work, and signed with the letter D
under the wheel.
Meissen. — See the history of the Royal Saxon porcelain works under
Dresden, of which the first products in brown and red ware, by Bottcher,
were pottery.
Ludwigsburg, otherwise Kronenburg. — A mark of this factory on
porcelain is two interlaced letters C under a crown. The crown is some
times omitted, and in that case the mark is precisely that of Count Cus-
tine's fabric at Niderviller. We believe that considerable faience thus
marked should be restored to Ludwigsburg. M. Jacquemart describes a
piece,, violet-marbled ground with a medallion, the eagle of Germany, the
crossed C's, and date 1726, which was before the time of Custine.
At Arnstadt, Gotha, pottery was made about 1750. F. G. Fiegel was

220 MODERN POTTERY.

a decorator in 1775, his name appearing on a jug. A mark, two pipes
crossed with three dots, has been attributed to this factory by Marryat.
Marburg had an ancient pottery of the sixteenth century, and work
has been continued to modern times.
A porcelain factory at Frankenthal, founded by Paul Hannong when
compelled to leave Strasbourg in 1754, made faience also. His son, Jo
seph Adam, succeeded him in 1759. In 1761 the crown took the works.
The Hannong marks of Strasbourg ware were used here on pottery.
At Teinitz, in Bohemia, well-decorated faience was made by Welby
about 1800, who signed his name in a wreath.
At Stralsund, Pomerania, from 1738 to 1788, very beautiful faience
was made by a potter named Giese, with colored relief ornaments, and
good paintings of flowers.
At Wurzburg, in 1726, two persons made in unglazed pottery an im
mense number of imitations of shells, vegetables, and animals, even bees
and flies, so admirably done as to deceive some of the learned. The fraud
was aided by their ingenuity in burying them, where they caused them to
be discovered by Louis Hueber, who regarded them as rare fossils, and
published an account of them at Wurzburg in 1726, with twenty -two
pages of engravings of one hundred and eleven specimens.
At Ulm, Wurtemberg, Rummel, a potter in 1780-1800, made statu
ettes representing the inhabitants of all conditions in proper costume.
They are esteemed as artistic works. Many which were portraits from
life are possessed by families.
VII.-SWITZERLAND.
In Switzerland, as in Germany, much of the oldest enamelled pottery is
in stoves. The indications are that the art was derived from Germany,
and possibly at first practised by German potters. Fragments of Swiss
stoves were found in the ruins of the castle of Sogren, destroyed in 1499.
Stove tiles in the Library collection at Zurich seem to be of the thirteenth
or fourteenth century. These were found in excavations in the city. M.
Demmin says Caspar Meyer was a potter at Zurich, born 1522, died 1593 ;
father of the painter and engraver Dietrich Meyer, whose portraits of il
lustrious Switzers are well known. M. Demmin has a specimen which he
attributes to him, a dish on a foot, enamelled and painted in polychrome ;
the subject, Joseph sold by his brothers, the figures in Swiss costumes, giv
ing a droll aspect to the scene. The piece is dated 1592, and signed W.
At Winterthur, from an early time stoves were made of the best art

SWITZERLAND.— BELGIUM.

221

character. Mr. Lubke, who has published a treatise on these stoves, de
scribes a number of them, and gives the signatures of makers found on
them. These are :

H. E. A. M. I. T. 1647.
Hans Heinrich Graaf zu Winterthur, 1668.
A monogram of H E, supposed to be Elias Ehr-
hardt.
L. P., 1620.
1636. D. P. (probably David Pfau).
Hans Heinrich Pfau.
H. B. (Hans Brennwald [?])

1655, H. H. A.
David Pfau and Abraham Pfau on one stove.
H. P.
Ottmar Vogler Haffner in Elgg, 1726.
D. S. (David Sulzer).
Hans Jacob Da . . ker Hafner Ao, 1724.
Johannes Reiner, Maler, 1729.
Hoffman pinsit 1757.

The Pfau family were extensive workers, their names appearing on
many stoves. The relief subjects in these tiles are largely taken from the
engravings in the emblem books, so popular in the seventeenth century,
and also from the engravings of Tobias Stimmer, Dietrich Meyer, and his
son Conrad.
The ancient records of Winterthur preserve a long catalogue of pot
ters, from 1641 down to 1758, including many names not found on ex
tant work. The last of the Pfau family, David Pfau, died in 1850. Other
works in pottery came from these various makers, but are probably classi
fied with the products of other countries.
At Freiburg, NeucMtel, Luzerne, Basle, Lausanne, and elsewhere in
Switzerland, stoves were made, and doubtless other works in pottery.

VIII.-BELG-ITJM.
In 1696 there was a fabric of pottery at Tournay which was regarded
as important. Nothing is now known of its products. Before 1741 it is
supposed that Pierre Joseph Fauquez had a pottery here, which he left on
his death that year to his son, Pierre Francois Joseph. After the peace
of Aix-la-Chapelle the works passed into the hands of one Peterynck.
The products are not distinguished from those of Delft.
At Luxembourg the brothers Boch established a factory in 1767, which
has continued to the present time. Its work, in various kinds of faience,
as well as porcelain, has been of the best class.
At Tervueren, near Brussels, works were commenced about 1720. A
vase, with flowers in relief and the arms of Charles of Lorraine, Governor
of the Netherlands and protector of this factory, has a mark, C C C, under
which are the letters C. P.

222 MODERN POTTERY.

IX.-HOLLAND.
Delft, the town in Holland which has given to the English language
the word delft, synonymous with domestic pottery, as china is synony
mous with porcelain, was for long time the most important seat of pot
teries in Europe. From a remote period it is probable that the excellence
of the clay had made this a place for the manufacture of earthenwares.
When the Dutch East India Company brought Chinese porcelains into
Europe, the first great impulse was given to the potter's art. Men began
to admire the newly imported wares, and to accept them as substitutes for
the old pewter and wooden dishes from which they had eaten. The first
porcelains brought to Europe were the blue and white. Pontanus, in his
" History of Amsterdam " (1611), tells us that in the importations to Am
sterdam no other color appeared on porcelain, and he seems to have sup
posed no other was produced in China. The Delft potters, aroused by
the new demand for household pottery in Chinese style, at once began
to produce imitations of it, in their best styles — styles which rapidly im
proved until without exaggeration they could claim to make wares which
in lightness, enamel, and beauty — in fact, in all external respects — equalled
the imported porcelain, and was so cheap as to be within the reach of
moderate purses.
All kinds of Orieutal wares which came to Holland were imitated, and
when, later, polychrome decorations were brought out, these were copied
and imitated with great fidelity. Coarser and more common wares were
made, but the enamel was equally good, and the decorations, if less care
ful, were yet in good color and effective. Every form of faience was
produced. Bottles in innumerable shapes, vases, services of table ware,
plaques for decoration, tiles for chimney-pieces, even violins and other
strange products in pottery, were made. The glaze was in general of a
bluish tint, and sand was mixed with the clay to give strength and hard
ness to thin articles. The Delft wares went into commerce, and were
sent not only through Europe, but to the East and West Indies. Before
the end of the seventeenth century thirty distinct potteries were at work
in Delft. Potters went from here to England and taught the art.
Services were made in the forms of animals and vegetables with great
skill. It was a favorite custom with wealthy Germans to have a room
expressly set apart for the show of faience. This room represented both
kitchen and dining-hall ; a tile stove, walls covered with tiles, shelves full
of dishes, a table set out for dinner with a service of every possible article.

HOLLAND.

223

For such rooms these delft services, with dishes in the forms of their con
tents before cooking, were well calculated.
When tea and coffee came to be used in Europe in the latter part of
the seventeenth century, tea and coffee pots, and cups and saucers such as
we now use, were for the first time made. Whether the teapot is a Euro
pean invention of that period, for "drawing tea" in the European fashion,
or had been made before that in China, does not appear. Teapots of Eu
ropean fabric, said to be as old as 1620, are of course not so old.
Delft wares in the shape of fruits, fish, etc., are known with dates as
early as 1540. Inscriptions are known on many specimens, one dated
1547. Eminent artists decorated Delft pottery. Ter Himpelen painted
fairs and marine subjects, about 1650. Peit Viseer was noted for colors,
1750. Van Dommelaar, 1580, painted Chinese landscapes, dragons, but
terflies, etc., in gold, red, and yellow. Ter Fehn, 1590, was a modeller,
producing statuettes. Jan Asselyn painted landscapes, generally in blue,
about 1640. Abraham Verboom,
1680, painted landscapes. Jan
Steen, 1650, painted figures, a plaque
being known with his portrait. Jan
Van der Meer, 1632, was also a paint
er of Delft wares.
The story is told that a Delft
manufacturer had four daughters,
about to marry four ceramic paint
ers on the same day. His workmen
made four violins of pottery, and at
the marriage feast, the artists and
workmen of Delft being assembled,
the four grooms played on the four
violins, while others played on va- 136' Delft Plate- Blue Oration. (T.-P. Coll.)
rious instruments made of the same ware. These four violins were pre
served in the families. Whether this be or be not true, four such violins
are now known in collections in Europe. Champfleury (an author, and a
collector of ceramic art) has written a story, " Le Violon de Faience."
In a wine-shop in the village of Lekkerkerk is one of the most cele
brated works of Delft, a painting of a famous giant of the eighteenth cen
tury on pottery, eight feet high.
America abounds in specimens of Delft, many of quite early times.
Our Dutch ancestors in New York, on Long Island, and on the banks of
the Hudson, ornamented their chimneys in the seventeenth century with

224 MODERN POTTERY.

Delft tiles, on which usually Scripture subjects were painted with more
or less skill. Many of these old fireplaces remain in position, but many
more were broken up when the old houses were removed to make way
for modern structures. English potters afterward produced tiles in imi
tation of the Delft ware, and numerous old houses in this country, espe
cially in New England, were decorated with these. It is generally im
possible to distinguish the English from the Dutch.
The French factories at Rouen made wares in close imitation of Delft,
and Delft in turn imitated the Rouen, so that many specimens exist
which may with equal probability be assigned to either of these factories,
or for the same reason to Belgian and Flandrian factories, or even to the
English potters, who produced table and other wares precisely resembling
the Delft. Such specimens the judicious collector will not trouble him
self to assign to any one factory, but regard as illustrations of styles of
art which were popular and common to the several localities in the seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries.
The potters of Delft were accustomed to use names, and probably
sign-boards or emblems, distinguishing their potteries. At the Hotel de
Ville these names and designations were registered, together with the
marks used by the potters on their wares. No records exist prior to
1628. M. Demmin has given an extensive list of marks found at the
City Hall, most of which are from a record of 1764. In some cases the
distinctive sign appears on the pottery. Thus, Dirk Van der Does as
sumed the Rose ; and a rose is sometimes on his work, with his initials.
Justus Brouwer, an extensive manufacturer, designated his pottery as
"the porcelain hatchet," and an axe or hatchet marks its products. The
various marks which are known, as well as those of a large number of
unknown manufacturers, will be found in their place in the accompany
ing Table of Marks.
Wares of a heavy pottery, usually decorated in blue, sometimes in
other colors, were made at Amsterdam from 1780 to 1785, under the man
agement of a man named Hartog, who was also known as Hartog Van
Laun, and his associate, named Brandeis.
At Overtoom, in 1754, a factory belonging to Van Haeren and Van
Palland made good enamelled wares, table services, vases, groups, birds,
and other pieces. It ceased in 1764. Specimens are rare. No mark is
known. The materials were bought and transferred to Weesp, where
they were used in founding a porcelain factory.
At Houda, Gaberil Vengobechea made faience plates, coarsely painted,
signed with his name in full.

o VijLL-EN— DENMARK. 225

X.-SWEDEN.
The manufacture of faience was not introduced into Sweden till the
eighteenth century. At Kunersberg, Helsingburg, Gothenburg, and per
haps other localities, potteries have existed ; but we know little of any ex
cept the two principal factories, at or near Stockholm, of Rorstrand and
Marieburg. At Rorstrand the manufacture was established about 1727 by a com
pany. The early fabrics were in the styles of Delft, or with reliefs and
flowers, in violet, yellow, and other colors. Rorstrand is a suburb of
Stockholm, and some pieces are marked with the name of that city.
In 1750 the Marieberg factory was founded, nominally by Count Carl
Scheffer, but doubtless by the Queen Louisa Ulrika, possibly moved by
the prevailing royal taste of the times, especially that of her brother,
Frederick of Prussia, who robbed Dresden to enrich the Berlin factory.
Both pottery and porcelain were made, and the work was often of high
class. The faience was painted by good artists. The jugs, teapots, and
other objects were ornamented with rustic or twig handles and flowers in
relief. The grounds were sometimes of a nankin color. In 1759, Dr.
Ehrenreich became proprietor, and continued the works till 1780, when
they were closed.
At Gustafsberg, near Gothenburg, about 1820, Godenius, a potter, es
tablished works and made pottery services, decorated in blue and gold.
He also produced very beautiful Parian wares. The mark is Gustafs
berg, with an anchor, and is printed on Parian ware in a scroll pattern.
XL-DENMARK.
Pottery was made at Copenhagen in the early part of the last cen
tury, but the history of the factory is not known. It is probable that the
porcelain factory also produced faience.
Kiel. — The potteries of Kiel are celebrated for their beauty. Fine
paste, delicate moulding, and excellent painting characterize them. .Sub
ject paintings are well executed, with a finish that gives them a decided
charm. On a large bowl in mitre form, painted with two subjects, of a
party drinking from a bowl of the same form, the lid decorated with
lemons and fruit, is a signature of the director, Buchwald, and the artist,
Abr. Leihamer. Specimens are described, painted in bright green, with
touches of black and of gold. 15

226 MODERN POTTERY.

XII.-RUSSIA.
We may look with interest to future investigations into the history
of the potteries of Russia. At present little more is known than the fact
that stoves made of enamelled tiles abound in Russia, and are of early
date, and that ancient tiles without glaze, having ornaments in relief, are
preserved in a museum at Moscow. Many of the old churches of Moscow
have, in their external architecture, painted bricks, glazed or enamelled
green and yellow, which date probably from the seventeenth century.
About 1700, Peter the Great brought Delft potters to Russia ; but al
though they doubtless made stoves and other wares, the art does not seem
to have prospered to any great extent. Beausobre, an author cited by M.
Demmin, states, in 1773, that faience was made in good taste at St. Peters
burg at that time, and also mentions a pottery at Revel. An English
writer, also cited by M. Demmin, in 1779 describes a great number of
" china " pharmacy pots in a drug-shop at Moscow, which he had seen,
and which were enamelled with the arms of the czar. He probably used
the word " china " carelessly, and these may have been the work of the
Delft potters of Peter the Great.
In Tooke's " View of the Russian Empire " (London, 1799), we are
told that black earthenware pans were common in Russia, but glazed
wares rare. Pottery was then made at Constantinova, Arat, and Vas-
sillieva. Cream-colored wares and other potteries have been made at and near
Kiev.

XIII.-GERMAN GRES CERAME.
Stone-wares form one of the most extensive departments of ceramic
art, especially in table wares for ordinary use.
The stone - wares of Germany are of peculiar interest from their an
tiquity and beauty. A large number of the factories already mentioned
as producers of faience also made stone-wares of the two classes, common
and fine. Every one knows common stone-ware. Gray or brown jugs,
drinking-mugs, crocks, pitchers, and other coarse potteries used for ordinary
domestic purposes, are the most familiar illustrations. But common stone
ware, if made by the hands of an artist, rises into the realms of beauty,
and may rival works in more costly material. Fine stone-ware differs
from the common only in the superior composition, quality, and fineness

GERMAN GRES CMRAME.

227

of the paste of which it is formed. In either case it is made of clay and
sand, baked densely, glazed usually with salt, stands fire, and even strikes
fire on steel.
The name Gres de Flandres, formerly applied to white stone-wares,
is erroneous. None was made in

Flanders. A great deal was made
at Cologne, Coblentz, Neuwied, and
elsewhere on the Rhine. Stone
wares in general were made at these
places, and also at Ratisbon, Bai-
reuth, Grenzhausen, Kreussen, Bunz-
lau — in short, throughout Germany
and in Holland. The forms were
many — jugs, mugs, and dishes in va
rious patterns. The ornamentation
is either in relief or engraved, re
liefs of different merit and charac
ter. A very common form was the
jug which, from the bearded head of
a man on the neck opposite to the
handle, is called the Graybeard. To
this, in England, in the reign of
James I., was given the name Bel-
larmine, in ridicule, it is said, of
Cardinal Bellarmine ; but the con-

137. German Fine Stone -ware Jug. (Huvvet-
ter Coll.)

nection is not exactly clear, unless possibly the cardinal was very fat
and had a large beard. These graybeards varied in size. We have
one which is fifteen inches high. This is the largest size. They were
made as small as six inches high, to hold a pint. The ornamentation,
besides the bearded face, varied greatly. Arms were often impressed
on the side. Rows of medallions, bands with inscriptions, mottoes, va
rious relief decorations, are found. These were largely imported into
England. But the graybeard was perhaps the least ornamental form of
the decorated stone-wares. Cans or mugs were made covered with or
namentation in relief, or impressed so as to produce relief, in arabesques,
sometimes enclosing figures, in beautiful bead and scroll work ; apostle
mugs, a low, large mug, with the apostles in niches surrounding it ; flat
circular bottles ; jugs in rings, and in double rings, one at right angles
with the other; in short, an endless variety of forms, all more or less
beautifully ornamented on the surface. Sometimes the surfaces were

228

MODERN POTTERY.

ornamented with colored enamels, producing an odd but very effective
result. The costumes on these, and the dates occurring on some, show
that they were chiefly of the seventeenth century.
Among the most beautiful are those of fine stone
ware, cream-colored, the surfaces covered with en
graved or relief work. The modern reproductions
of the stone-ware of the seventeenth century are
now so common that most persons are familiar with
the great variety of forms, colors, and decorations
which in the seventeenth century were prized by
the wealthy as well as by the poor frequenters of
ale-houses in Germany and England.
To nothing more properly than to these mugs
and jugs of gres cerame can be attributed the
wonderful art education of the German popula
tion. In our own time, to our shame be it spoken,
in America, the artisans to whom we apply for
home decoration are in vast majority Germans.
There is no race of men who so much contribute
to the artistic tastes of the world as the German
For our ornamental furniture, for our wall-painting, for our

138

Ores Cannette.
ryat Coll.)

(Mar-

races.

upholstery, for our decorations of almost every kind, we depend largely
on German workmen. Their ability and taste are due to the fact that
the German workman and his ancestors for generations have been accus
tomed to artistic work in their most common utensils of ordinary life,
and in nothing more than in their pottery. The utilitarian says that
beer is just as well drunk out of a plain mug as an ornamental mug;
but the German of the seventeenth century thought it pleasanter and
more profitable to drink his beer from a mug whereon there were les
sons of beauty in art, and the result has been that his descendants are
the art purveyors of the world. If Italy in the fifteenth century pro
duced works in majolica which the wealthy collector of our day is will
ing to possess at fabulous prices, it must be remembered, however, that
that splendid art had no beneficial effect, produced no results on suc
ceeding times. The high prices paid for old German stone-ware jugs
are more justifiable, at least in this that they were the educators, di
rectly and indirectly, of generations of men in the seventeenth, eigh
teenth, and nineteenth centuries, and that to them, in some degree, we
owe the practical union of beauty and utility of our own country and
period.

GERMAN GRES CERAME.

229

If we could pause here and there in the dry history of an art to dwell
on the stories which are connected with it, we should swell the work to
many volumes. It is said that Jacqueline of Hainault, daughter of Wil
liam IV. of Holland, young, brave, and beautiful, Duchess of Brabant
by marriage, after successive contests with John of Bavaria, her husband
of Brabant, and Philip of Burgundy,
when she had retired, a prisoner, to
the Castle of Teylingen, in 1436,
amused herself by making stone-ware
mugs, which she threw into the cas
tle moat, saying that hereafter they
would be found and thought relics of
antiquity. Whatever of truth there
be in the tradition, it is certain many
cans or mugs have been found in the
moat, plain stone-ware mugs, without
decoration ; but it is also true that 139- AP0St,e Mu& (Marr?at c°a)
these were made in various parts of Holland, and that it wras an old
custom at feasts to use such mugs, one for each guest, which were never
used again. They are, however, called Jacoba-kanetjes, and a treatise on
the " Vrouw Jacob's kanetjes" was published at Arnheim in 1757. Even
in France they are called Jacquelines ; and in Flanders they call by this
name all stone-ware bottles with large bulbs, and also those which we call
Tobys, if in form of a seated woman.
Stone- ware was made early in the sixteenth century at Ratisbon, where
the mark of Jerome Hoppfer (an inferior engraver on copper) appears as
a designer, and perhaps maker, of moulds. David, Jerome, and Lambert
Hoppfer were three brothers, all artists, none remarkably successful, if
we are to judge from their works ; and all alike used for a mark between
their initials a little hop-vine, which some mistake for a candle. The
best work for future ages which Jerome did was on pottery. The apostle
mugs came, mostly, from Creussen. Mention has been made of a com
mon style of fraud, in some modern dealers, who paint in oil-colors and
sell Creussen apostle mugs which were made in plain stone-ware.
At the Huyvetter sale a gres ce"rame jug was sold for one hundred
pounds. This was a rare and extraordinary piece. A white jug in the
Bernal sale brought forty -four pounds ten shillings; a blue -and -white
jug thirty-seven pounds ; other stone-ware specimens of less importance,
from two to nineteen pounds.
The modern reproductions of ancient stone-ware which abound, and

230 MODERN POTTERY.

the superb works of modern factories in original designs, are not within
the scope of this volume. The varieties of stone-ware from time to time
produced in England by makers of pottery and porcelain are of much
interest. Many of these were made by potters who went from the Low
Countries to England, and it is not always possible to determine whether
a stone-ware jug is of English or Continental fabric. The potteries at
Fulham, making these wares, began the history of artistic work in Eng
land. The Elers brothers, coming from the Continent to Staffordshire,
brought with them the method of making the admirable scroll and other
relief decorations of the Gres, and introduced the style on their red wares
at Bradwell. These wares of the Elerses evidently impressed the mind of
Josiah Wedgwood, and, it is quite likely, led him to direct his attention
almost exclusively to the production of relief ornaments, and thus the
German cans had illustrious progeny in the superb works of Etruria.
Nor did their influence cease here. The common classes of stone-ware in
England were improved under the impulse given to manufacture by the
Elerses, were brought to great perfection in Wedgwood's day, new pastes
were from time to time invented, and at length the stone-wares of Eng
land became (what they still remain) the rival of porcelain in utility and
beauty.

PART III.
PORCELAIN

I.-CHINA.

Neither tradition nor history gives any critical account of the origin
of the making of enamelled pottery or porcelain by the nations on the
Pacific. The Chinese authorities state that pottery was invented in the
reign of Hoang-ti, who, according to Chinese chronology, ascended the
throne 2698 b.c. Ancient Chinese chronology is no more accurately de
termined than the Egyptian. This date, however, is not far from what
might be expected, if, as is probable, the first descendants of Noah who
reached the Pacific Coast made pottery. It has always been among the
first of the useful arts, practised by men in all conditions of comparative
civilization. This is about the date of the arrival of the first settlers in
Egypt. The invention of porcelain is dated by the Chinese authorities in a pe
riod extending from 185 b.c. to 87 a.d. But again there is uncertainty,
for it does not appear that the Chinese have ever distinguished porcelain
as translucent pottery. On the contrary, the word yao in Chinese ap
plies equally to porcelain (in our acceptation of that word) and to enam
elled metals, and possibly to other articles covered with enamels fixed by
fire. Hence this statement of the date of the discovery of porcelain must
be accepted with doubt. It may be the date of the introduction of en
amel on pottery. The earliest " porcelain " is described as of coarse heavy
paste, and may have been the same general class of ware made by the Per
sians. The Chinese had established extensive commercial relations with
the Arabian coasts at an early date. Their ships crowded the Indian
Ocean, and it is stated by one author that as many as four hundred Chi
nese trading vessels were at one time in the Persian Gulf, loaded with per
fumes, spices, gold, copper, and porcelain. An Arabian manuscript of one
Suleiman, a merchant, describes the Arabian vessels as trading with China
in the ninth century. At the same time the intercourse overland between

232

PORCELAIN.

Eastern Iran and Mongolian China was probably constant. It is well
known that at a comparatively late period the Chinese derived from the
Arabs the blue of cobalt,
previously unknown to
them, and also the art
of enamelling on metals.
These debts to Saracen
art point to a possibility
that at an earlier period
they had learned from
the West how to make
translucid pottery. They
have never been distin
guished as inventors, but
always as imitators. For
the present, however, the
invention of translucid
pottery is credited to
China. It is of course possi
ble that the tribes who
went eastward after the
Deluge discovered the
art of enamelling pot
tery. But it is more
probable that they de
rived it through Central
Asia from the enamels
of Assyria and Babylo
nia. No specimens of
very ancient enamelled
potteries of China are
known, even among the
antiquarians and collectors in that country, who have for some centuries
been numerous and enthusiastic. We have older examples of Saracen
work, by several hundred years, than of Chinese. Until, therefore, fur
ther discoveries of old Chinese art lead to a different conclusion, it may
be regarded as probable that the Chinese learned this art from the nations
of Central Asia, to whom it had descended, through Assyria and Babylo
nia, from Egypt.

140. Chinese Vase, decorated with lacquer and flowers, in color.
(Jacquemart.)

CHINA. 233

The enamelled potteries of China give place in interest to the porce
lains. The porcelain paste in effect seems to have largely taken the place
of pottery in China, and has been used for some centuries for all classes of
ware, common and fine, cheap and expensive. The pastes vary in purity,
and are, in coarse jars and wares for rough uses, almost opaque, while in
the delicate classes they are like gems in translucidity. So, too, many of
the most gorgeous colors of the Chinese are placed on bodies of heavy and
dirty paste. The massive bricks and ornamental architecture of the cele
brated tower of Licouli were porcelain.
The manufacture of porcelain has been for several centuries carried on
in various districts of China by private makers, while also the Government
has conducted the royal factories at King-te-tchin. Chinese gentlemen
have long taken great interest in the art, and private collections are nu
merous. Books are published on the subject, for the information of all
who desire to study the history.
The oldest known Chinese work treating of ceramic art was first is
sued in 1325, entitled " Feou-liang Hien-tchi," a description of the district
of Feou-liang, in which King-te-tchin is situated. M. Stanislas Julien
says that this work passed through twenty -one editions. He found in
the Imperial Library at Paris an edition of 1823. It was doubtless re
vised and extended from time to time, as quotations from it refer to mod
ern European commerce. This author commences his history at a point
in the Wou-te period of the Thang Dynasty, about 621 a.d., when, he
states, for the first time the Government directed its attention and laws
to this industry.
Another Chinese work on the subject is entitled " Thao-Choue," or
Dissertations on Porcelain. It was written by Tchou-thong-tch'ouen be
tween 1736 and 1795, and is divided into six books, discussing the present
state of the art and the special products of various periods.
A third Chinese work, entitled " King-te-tchin Thao-lou," or Porcelain
History of King-te-tchin, was published in 1815 by Tching-thing-kouei.
This work contains most of the important matters in those previously
named, and cites various other authorities not known to Europeans. It is
a methodical account of porcelains, in chronological order, commencing
with the vases of Ngeou-youei, the eastern part of Ngeou, in the third
century of our era, and continuing the critical history of Chinese products
by periods down to the nineteenth century, with elaborate accounts of
the processes of manufacture. This work M. Julien has translated into
French, and from it and its accompanying papers and notes the body
of our present knowledge of the history of Chinese ceramic art is derived.

234

PORCELAIN.

None of the works give any facts concerning the origin of enamelled
pottery or porcelain. The essential to hard -paste porcelain — the only
kind known to the Chinese — is the clay to
which they gave the name Kaolin, from the
mountain with similar name, near King-te-
tchin, where it abounded. The fact that this
earth, in combination with a peculiar stone
—pe-tun-tse, felspar — under a great heat pro
duces a translucent object, was a discovery
of unknown date by an unknown person.
We have no specimens of the earliest Chi
nese work, either in pottery or porcelain ;
nothing, indeed, which can be depended
upon as genuine of an older date than the
fourteenth, or possibly the fifteenth, century
of our era, except, perhaps, the small bottles
found in Egypt and elsewhere, to be here
after described. Pieces are frequently found
which bear dates as early as the King-te pe
riod, 1004-1007; but no reliance is placed
on their genuineness.
It is important, at the outset of our ex
amination, that the student of Chinese ce
ramic art be informed distinctly that during
the last century, and down to its very close,
the Chinese factories have reproduced in
perfection the rarest works of the old pe
riods. The following information, which we
take from M. Julien's translation of the work of Tching-thing-kouei,
being section 119 of the fourth book, is very clear on this point :

141. Chinese Vase. Height 20 inches.
Marryat. (Fortune Coll.)

119. KHIEN-LONG-NIEN-TH ANG-YAO.
(Porcelains of Thang-kong made in the period Kliien-long — 1736-'95.)
These are porcelains of the imperial factory, made under the direction of
Thang-ing, an officer attached to the Department of Interior Affairs (that is, affairs
of the imperial palace). Thang-kong established himself in the manufacture in the
sixth year of Yong-tching (1727). At this time there was an adjunct director
named Nien, who enjoyed a great reputation. At the commencement of the reign
of Khien-long (1736) he was charged with the control of bridge tolls in the district

CHINA. 235
of Hoai. In the eighth year (1743) he was sent to Khieou-kiang to oversee the
operations of the customs. These two together directed the porcelain works.
Thang-kong knew thoroughly the nature of earths or clays, and the different kinds
of fire. He introduced great care in the choice of materials, so that the vases which
were made under his care were all "d'une finesse, d'un eclat et d'une purete par-
faits." He knew how, besides, to imitate all the most celebrated antique porcelains,
and never failed to give them the same degree of elegance and of beauty. He imi
tated also all the most celebrated kinds of enamels, and reproduced them with rare
skill. Nothing was wanting to the perfection of his porcelains. Nor is this all : he
introduced newly in the work a multitude of ingenious processes ; to wit, 1. (En
amel) violet of Europe; 2. (Enamel) blue, called Fa-tsing; 3. Vases with grounds of
burnished silver ; 4. Black-enamelled grounds ; 5. The shining black of Europe ;
6. The manner of painting with enamel, Fa-lang-hoa-fa ; 7. Black grounds with the
enamel of Europe ; 8. White flowers on a black ground ; 9. Designs in gold on
black ground; 10. The sky-blue porcelains (bleu-de-ciel) ; 11. The enamel which
changes in the firing.
These vases were made with a white and fat clay. There were of them both
thick and thin, but all of a gleaming tone (d'un ton luisant). At this epoch the
products of the imperial manufactory had attained the greatest perfection.
In addition to this, Chinese authorities unite in stating that all the
more ancient works were exactly reproduced during the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1647). We know that the modern manufacturers in China and
in Japan reproduce with considerable skill the works and the marks of all
former periods. The history of King-te-tchin abounds in descriptions
of the reproductions of old styles in every successive period. It is quite
plain that a collection of Chinese porcelain cannot be satisfactorily ar
ranged by dates.
The collector may well dismiss from his mind all anxiety on this sub
ject, contenting himself with the choice of specimens which illustrate the
variety and beauty of color for which the Chinese porcelain has its great
renown. To pay a large price for a specimen because bearing an old
mark, or guaranteed by the opinion of an expert to be old, is highly ab
surd, if another specimen, equally good in color, without mark or guaran
tee, can be purchased at a cheaper rate. The more experienced judges of
Oriental porcelain freely acknowledge, in numerous colors and kinds, the
impossibility of determining periods of manufacture, and it may well be
doubted whether there is any person in China, Europe, or America who,
upon examining specimens of certain exquisite colors, can decide whether
they are of the Ming Dynasty, or of the eighteenth century.
Since, then, it is often impossible to classify Chinese works by periods,

236

PORCELAIN.

or to make collections illustrate the history of a progressing and changing
art in the far East, collectors are left to divide their specimens accord-
ins: to colors and stvles of decoration, and such aid as the marks found on
them (frequently forged) may supply.
The oldest Chinese porcelain was probably either pure white, sea-
green, a blackish blue, or white and blue. Decoration in various shades
of blue has always been a favorite style in China, as among the Saracens
and in Europe.
Blue has always been the transmission color in the art of enamel.
The favorite Egyptian color was blue. The few enamelled wares of the
Greek fabric, learned from Egypt, were blue. The same color prevailed
in Assyrian, Persian, and all Saracen decoration. The Spaniards gave the
name azulejo to all wall tiles from the common blue color. When the
Florentine laboratory invented the Medicean porcelain, it was decorated
in blue. When France discovered the art, blue was the chief color used,
and the king afterward reserved all other colors to the sole use of the
royal factory. When hard-paste porcelain was invented at Dresden, blue
was the decoration color for years. Was the color delivered from nation
to nation with the art, in old times as in modern ?
Many collectors of Chinese and Japanese wares confine themselves
exclusively to fabrics decorated in blue. Such collections are of great
beauty, and are apt to contain specimens of high antiquity. The first al
lusion to porcelain in Chinese literature speaks of it as green. We do not
know precisely what this color was, or whether the word translated green
means any shade of that color known to us. It is, however, supposed that
the color was what we now call green celadon.
A very remarkable class of small porcelain vases, or bottles, found
in considerable number in Egypt, has attracted
attention because of the idea, which for a long
time prevailed, that they were found in ancient
tombs, and therefore indicated the great antiq
uity of porcelain manufacture in Chiua. Rosel-
lini reported the finding of one in an Egyptian
tomb whose date was little later than 1800 b.c.
Since that time many have been found in the
possession of Arabs in Egypt, who profess to
have discovered them in tombs. Several have
been found where no doubt can exist of their
great age. Mr. Layard found one (111. 146) in the mound at Arban, but
in a position giving no clue to its exact period. General Cesnola found

142. Chinese Bottle found in
Egypt.

CHINA.

237

143. Chinese Bottle found in
Egypt.

two buried in the loose earth while excavating at Idalium, but not in a
tomb. We have three in our collection, obtained in Egypt from Arabs
— two at Thebes and one in Cairo. The New
York Historical Society has in the Abbott col
lection seventeen, obtained by Dr. Abbott at
various times in Egypt, but no record exists of
their place of discovery. Specimens are in sev
eral European collections.
The discoveries by Mr. Layard and General
Cesnola are evidence of considerable antiquity.
But, aside from other considerations, the char
acter of the porcelain in some, if not in all, of
these indicates antiquity, and they may be re
garded as relics of that abundant trade existing between the Arabs and
the Chinese in the eighth and ninth centuries.
These bottles are not of uniform shape or style of decoration.
Twelve in the Abbott collection and two in our own are each about two
inches high, shaped as shown in the illustrations (142-146). The mate
rial is a heavy paste, roughened on the surface with coarse granulations.
Some are red, others yellow. The flat sides are always plain white, a few
flowers on one in red or black, or both colors, and a legend on the opposite
side in black or red. These vary a trifle in size. One, in the Abbott col
lection, is smaller than the others, a flat oval without handles, pure white,
with flowers in red, and no legend.
A rare form and description is that of one in our collection, obtained
at Thebes, and two in the Abbott collection. The shape is a flattened am
phora, with handles extending from the neck to
the body ; the paste coarse, like the others ; the
enamel a pale-green celadon, with sprigs of flow
ers slightly embossed in white — a very ancient
Chinese style. One in the Abbott collection is
similar in size and shape, the enamel dark starch-
blue, and another is of the same color, but a half-
inch smaller.
All these objects have characteristics of the
most ancient porcelains described in the Chi
nese works. None are reported as discovered
anywhere except in countries inhabited by Saracen races. They have
probably contained perfumes, of which the Arabs have always been ready
purchasers.

144. Chinese Bottle found in
Egypt.

238

PORCELAIN.

145. Chinese Bot
tle found in
Egypt.

M. Julien has discussed these curious specimens with much erudition,
and abundantly established the impossibility of their age being so great
as the error of Rosellini attributed to them. He describes
the various styles of writing used by the Chinese, and
shows that the inscriptions are in a character which was
invented by a eunuch of the palace under the Emperor
Youen-ti (48-33 b.c), and which, by reason of its abridged
and rapid form, came quickly into general use. Mr. Med-
hurst, the distinguished English interpreter, long resident
in China, examined the inscriptions on some specimens,
and believed them extracts from known authors. One, he
says, is from a poet who lived between 713 and 741 a.d.,
and is translated " The radiant moon gleams in the midst of the pines ;"
another, from a poet of about the same date, " The flowers are opening,
and behold a new year."
Considering the very commonplace character of such sentences, and
the peculiar form in which they appear, in two or three Chinese charac
ters, there may be some reasonable doubt whether these remarks are orig
inal with the poets to whom they are attributed. In fact, some one else
may have said the same things.
It has been stated that precisely similar bottles, with similar legends
in the same old character, are now made in China. This may be correct ;
but we have been unable to verify it, or to procure from
China any specimens. The fact would, however, not mili
tate against the theory of the great age of the specimens
found in excavations by Mr. Layard, General Cesnola, and
others, since the Chinese have always reproduced their an
cient fabrics in such constant succession that identity of
form and decoration has been well preserved. It is remark
able, however, that no single example has been described as
brought to Europe or America by the great East India com
panies or the merchant traders of the past two centuries, or
by travellers, among the immense variety of wares which
have been introduced, and that specimens are not abundant in collections.
Mr. Layard, in his account of the Nestorian Church at Zerin, said to be
the oldest church of the Nestorians, describes a remarkable collection of por
celains which it is greatly to be regretted he could not examine carefully.

146. Chinese
Bottle discov
ered at Arban.

Among the objects which first attracted my attention were numerous Chinese
bowls and jars of elegant form and richly colored, but black with the dust of

CHINA.

239

ages. They were suspended, like the other relics, by cords from the roof. I was
assured that they had been there from time out of mind, and had been brought
from the distant empire of Cathay by those early missionaries of the Chaldean
Church who bore the tidings of the Gospel to the shores of the Yellow Sea. If
such were really the case, some of them might date so far back as the sixth or sev
enth century, when the Nestorian Church flourished in China and its missions were
spread over the whole of Central Asia. The villagers would not, in the absence of
their bishop, allow me to move any of these sacred relics. The sister of the Patri
arch, they said, had endeavored to wash one some years before, and it had been broken.
Hung with the china vases was the strangest collection of objects that could well be
imagined. Innumerable bells, of all forms and sizes, many probably Chinese, * * *
porcelain birds and animals, * * * all brought at various periods by adventurous in
habitants of the village who had wandered into distant lands, and had returned to
their homes with some evidence of their travels to place in their native church.
If these objects are indeed Chinese, and not Persian porcelains or pot
tery, they are an interesting illustration of the travels of Chinese fabrics
many centuries ago, and are probably among the earliest works of that
people which have been preserved from destruction.
From the date of the invention of porcelain in China, according to
Chinese authorities, the progress made in the art seems to have been slow.
Under the Tsin Dynasty (265-419
a.d.) the porcelain was blue in color,
and was held in great esteem. About
583 a.d., potters in the district now
including King-te-chin were ordered
to make porcelain for the use of the
emperor, and to bring it to the capi
tal. This command raised porcelain
into the rank of the higher arts in
China. Under the Soui Dynasty
(581-618) we read of green porcelain
which was made to take the place
of some species of glass which is
unknown, and the art now spread
throughout the empire. The work
of one Thao-yu is celebrated as re
ceiving the name "artificial jade,"
which we may conjecture to have
been in pure green celadon, which resembles closely some of the prized
shades of jade. The Chinese have always been fond of comparing por-

147. Chinese Vase. Dark-blue ground, with
white flowers. (Avery Coll.)

240

PORCELAIN.

celain with jade, and it has doubtless been the ambition of potters to jus
tify this comparison which led them to the production of some of the
most remarkable colors. The porcelains of Ho-tchong-thson (621 a.d.)
celebrated under the name Ho-yao, or porcelains of Ho, were renowned for
the purity of their white, again called brilliant as jade. M. Julien (who is
our constant authority) finds no potter of distinction from the seventh to
the tenth century. The porcelains of Tch'ai (the Emperor Chi-tsong)
made from the year 954 are celebrated, especially from the often-repeated
story that when asked for an order for porcelain by a potter, he replied,
" Let the porcelain for the palace use hereafter be blue as the sky that one
sees through a break in the clouds after rain."
Among the various exquisite shades of blue on
Chinese porcelains, collectors have differed, and
are quite at liberty to differ, in pointing out the
special shade resulting from this order. The
Chinese, however, had a shade which they called
Yu-kouo-thien-tsing, "blue of the sky after
rain," which they used in obedience to the com
mand. The resulting works were, say the au
thors, " blue as the sky, brilliant as a mirror,
thin as paper, sonorous as a Khing, polished and
gleaming, and were distinguished as much by the
delicacy of the veins, or of the crackle, as by the
beauty of the color." In after-times these speci
mens were not to be found, and whoever could
procure fragments of them used them as orna-
148. Sea - green Crackle Vase. .
Height i7i inches. Marryat. ments ot ceremonial head-dresses, or, stringing
(Fortune Coll.) them on a thread of silk, wore them as a necklace.
Two brothers at this time, the elder Sing-i, the younger Sing-eul,
were celebrated porcelain-makers, the elder being the more distinguished.
His porcelains went down to fame as Ko-yao, "porcelains of the elder
brother." These were of fine quality, thin, blue, both pale and deep ; the
enamel, elegantly crackled, had the appearance of eggs of fish. But the
most highly esteemed were his vases of rice color or pale blue, whose
enamel was perfect. The younger brother also produced work for fame,
and his pieces were also blue, both pale and deep. The pale blue was
always more highly valued by the Chinese, and of this maker pale-blue
vases whose enamel was, as it were, studded with drops of rose-color, are
specially noted.
No sketch of Chinese potter-artists can be complete without mention

CHINA.

241

of Chu-ong (the venerable Chu, or old Chu) and his daughter Chu-kiao
(the pretty Chu), who lived in the Song Dynasty (960-1126), and were per
haps the most renowned of all. The father excelled in curious objects —
birds, beasts, etc. ; while the daughter, who excelled her father, produced
exquisite works of all kinds in all colors. Her vases always sold for more
than their weight in silver, which would not indeed now be esteemed a
high price for ceramic art of the best class, but was doubtless then re
garded as an extravagant rate. But tastes differ in China as elsewhere,
and the author of one of the Chinese works on porcelain condemns the
products of Chu and his daughter as coarse and not worth admiring.
In all these early annals of the art we find constant mention of repro
ductions of the ancient work. In the Youen Dynasty, Pong-kium-pao was
a potter so celebrated for his reproductions of the ancient vases of Ting
(618-907), that they were known by the name of " new vases of Ting."
All the works of all these wonderful artists of China, concerning
whose jade-like products the Chinese writers are eloquent, have disap
peared. While it is possible and probable that specimens exist, and may
even be in our Western cabinets, they cannot be identified. We have
specimens made during the Ming Dynasty, when all previous works were
abundantly copied and reproduced. This dynasty
lasted from 1368 to 1649 a.d. Its porcelain prod
ucts were brilliant, and good specimens are of high
value. In the fifteenth century we first begin to hear
of porcelains ornamented with pictures of animals,
landscapes, polychrome flower, and other decora
tion. Lo, a potter (1426-35), excelled in painting
combats of crickets ; and two sisters — Sieou the
greater, and Sieou the younger — engraved similar
cricket-fights in the paste. In 1465-87, Kao-than-
jin decorated jars with hens, chickens, and peony
flowers. In the Tching-te period (1506-22), a governor
of Yun-nan obtained for the first time from the
Mohammedans the blue of cobalt, and its effect 1*9- Chinese Vase. Blue
was immediately visible in the porcelains. This
new color received the name Hoei-tsing, or Iloei-
hoei-tsing, which we are told means "blue of the Moslems of the bar
barous Western countries." It was so costly when first obtained that an
ounce was worth two ounces of gold. The emperor having ascertained
16

1 4S? <•-,";: 0

JU

dragon decoration. (Ave
ry Coll.)

242 PORCELAIN.

that it would stand the firing, ordered its use in the royal factory. The
workmen stole the precious pigment and sold it to outside manufacturers.
" Its color," says the Chinese authority, " was of an antique tone and great
beauty. Hence, among the porcelains with blue flowers of the Tching-te
period there are many greatly prized." It is not known what had been
previously used for blue, but it was probably an inferior form of cobalt.
Tsoui-hong was a distinguished maker in the Kia-tsing and Long-
khing periods, extending from 1522 to 1572. He imitated old work. His
wares were sought with great avidity by his contemporaries.
Tcheou-tan-ts'ouen (1567-1619) was a potter of Tchang-nan, and one
of the most renowned in Chinese history, his works commanding enor
mous prices. He specially delighted in the reproduction of the rarest
specimens of old times, and his imitations deceived the most skilful Chi
nese lovers of the art. Of him the story is told that he one day called on
a distinguished officer, and asked permission to see a rare tripod vase of
white porcelain of Ting, which was an ornament of his cabinet. He
held it a short time, took an impression of the crackle with a piece of
paper concealed in his hand, and measured its size with hand and eye ;
then hastened home. Six months after, he called on the officer, bringing
a fac-simile of the old vase, which on comparison showed no shade of dif
ference. The cover of the one perfectly fitted the other. The officer
was astonished, bought the imitation at three hundred francs, and placed
it by the side of the original, making a pair.
At this same period lived Ou, " the hermit Ou who lives in solitude,"
as he signed himself. His name was Hao-chi-khieou, and he was origi
nally a poet, writer, and painter. He retired to a solitary life, where he
made exquisite porcelain which he signed with his self-given title. He
made cups of egg-shell ware, red and white, and pale blue vases, in imi
tation of the old wares of " the elder brother " and others.
From 1662 to 1722, the imperial factory, under the direction of Thang-
in-siouen, made excellent porcelains, thin, brilliant, of various colors, the
most celebrated of which were the serpent-skin green, the yellow of the
eel, the azure, and the yellow-spotted. From 1722 to 1735 the products
were equally fine, many being produced in " egg-color, which was brilliant
as silver," blue, and other colors. As we have before seen, the period
following (1735 to 1795) was the most brilliant in the history of the im
perial factory, when, according to Chinese authorities, the work attained
its greatest perfection. In the present century Chinese ceramic art has
greatly declined, until within a few years, when indications of a revival
are abundant. Is this due to the fact that Western nations demand

CHINA. 243

higher art? And is not this demand due to the taste for collecting the
finer works of old time ?
Let us now examine some of the varieties of Chinese porcelain.
Old White. — The white unpainted porcelain has been esteemed in
general very old. It is now reproduced with great skill. It was made
in early times, and constantly during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1661). The
white wares of Hiu-tcheou, during that period, are highly praised, and
white statuettes of Buddha have since that time been a speciality of the
factories of Te-hoa. Small white "altar -cups" of the Emperor Chin-
tsong (1573-1619) are named as of great beauty, as also shallow white
cups of the same period, which were sold aud became " the fashion."
A Chinese author says, " The potters who devote themselves specially
to making vases called Pe-ting (white), such as coupes, cups, bowls, plates,
etc., make, besides, a multitude of small objects of virtu, fine and common.
In all the manufactories there is no potter who does not make them."
And yet few readers of this have ever seen a vase, cup, or plate of pure
white Chinese porcelain without color decoration. Specimens are rare,
and good old examples of beautiful paste and fabric are highly prized.
Two quite distinct varieties of old white porcelain are known. The
one has a brilliant glassy surface, is exceedingly pure in paste and tone,
sometimes ornamented with delicate tracery of fern or other leaves in a
white of slightly different shade, occasionally with the Greek meander
pattern. The other variety is usually more creamy in color; pieces are
ornamented with raised work, are perforated, sometimes engraved. The
old white is rarely found except in small articles — statues of gods, sacred
animals, birds, kylins, the dog Fo, and cups or vases beautifully orna
mented in high-relief. The paste and enamel of both varieties are ex
ceedingly fine, and specimens are rare. The modern imitations have not
hitherto reached the brilliant purity of the older specimens.
Celadon. — This name applies specially to articles covered with a deli
cate sea-green enamel, which varies in purity. It is also given to articles
whose ground is of this color, with ornamentation in other shades, and to
a variety also called starch blue. The sea-green is by some supposed to
be the oldest color decoration of the Chinese. This and also the starch-
blue occur on the bottles found in Egypt. Specimens are ornamented
with geometric lines, figures and flowers in relief, and with designs made
by engraving the paste and filling in with paste of a lighter or deeper
tone. Tlie latter is celadon fleure. Panels on vases have sometimes hu
man figures and other ornamentation in blue, or in relief of blue and
white. Modern celadon is abundant, but seldom so delicate in tone as the

244

PORCELAIN.

older work. Very old specimens are found, of which the body is coarse,
heavy paste, resembling hard pottery. Some of the bottles found in
Egypt are of this class.
Crackle. — This decoration, consisting simply in subjecting the surface
enamel to a process which cracks it more or less according to will, is a
puzzle to the taste of Western nations. The Chinese have admired it for
a thousand years. We find that in their accounts of the ancient porcelain,
fragments of which were prized as jewels, they speak of the delicacy of
the crackle as a distinguishing feature.
It is in vain to dispute about tastes.
If the polished Greek, possessing glass,
preferred to drink at feasts from the
heavy black kylix of earthenware, surely
the Chinese have right to their admira
tion of the cracked surface of porcelain.
Possibly the taste originated in the old
look which it gave to a new article.
They have made crackled ware in all
times down to the present ; and in
very large objects the crackle has some
effect. To an ancient gray vase (111.
150) in our collection, which is 22
inches high, and 16 J inches in largest
diameter, the crackled surface gives a
certain cyclopean effect.
The process of making this surface
has been managed by the Chinese with
They made the cracks more or less numerous,

150. Gray Crackle Vase. Height 22 inches.
(T.-P. Coll.)

wonderful dexterity
larger or smaller, on all the surface, or left nucracked medallions and
portions at will. The crackle is produced, according to Pere D'Entre-
colles, by the use of a surface paste, in which steatite forms a component
part, and the hot piece being plunged into cold water, this surface paste
at once cracks. Color is then rubbed in. In other cases the vase, fixed
in a frame, is heated at particular spots and suddenly cooled, producing
local crackle. This explanation does not suffice to explain the dexterity
with which the operators seem to have determined at will the size, style,
and extent of the cracks. We have found in several broken specimens
that each vase has a core of paste different from the surface paste, and
through which the cracks do not extend.
The most minute variety is called truite, from its fancied resemblance

CHINA.

245

to a trout's skin. The final glaze usually covers the cracks ; but on large
objects the glaze sinks into them, and they are perceptible to the finger
nail. Blue. — This color was used by the Chinese from a very early period,
and the taste of the West agrees with that of the East in admiring it,
whether used as a ground-color covering the entire surface, or contrasting
with the white on which
it is laid. Chinese ar
tists employed it for
their most elaborate pict
ures, and a great varie
ty of subjects are illus
trated on old pieces.
Various shades of blue
are found ; but it is ques
tionable whether any
specimens can be veri
fied as of the oldest va- 151- CuP of Saorifice- (Avery Co11-)
rieties, made before the introduction of pure cobalt at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, although many are supposed to be of that class. The
varieties of blue porcelain may be thus stated: 1. The common blue of
Nankin wares ; 2. A soft clouded blue, supposed to be the " blue of the
sky after rain ;" 3. The turquoise ; 4. The lapis lazuli ; 5. The blue fouet-
te- ; 6. The souffle. Varying shades add numerous varieties to these. The
turquoise is very rich, and old specimens have always commanded enor
mous prices. This color has in all times and countries attracted admira
tion, and has never, in any instance, been more exquisitely produced than
by the inventors of enamel, the ancient Egyptians. But the Chinese ex
cel all nations in the variety of the shades. A rare color is a shade which
when placed by a blue object appears distinctly green, and when con
trasted with a green 'object seems certainly blue.
It is of course impossible to define in words the shades of color which
are specially prized by collectors. But no eye, if only half educated, will
fail to select, among the varieties of Chinese blues, those which are pecul
iarly charming. None, however, were produced in China finer than the
colors of modern Europe. Some of the old Staffordshire crockery of 1810
to 1825 was superb in blue, equalling or surpassing the Chinese tints of
the same class. .
Blue - and - white porcelains, familiar to every one in table wares, are
justly prized when fine in color. Nothing is more delicious in nature or

246

PORCELAIN.

in art than this combination. No other class of the Chinese has so great
a variety of picture decoration. It is in every form and style. Flowers,
figures, groups, dragons, monsters, appear in vast variety. The quality of
the blue color varies, and the value of specimens varies with it. A rich
clear blue on a pure white ground is always fine. Sometimes a pale
yellow or Nankin color is introduced, usually on fine pieces, producing
an odd effect, but not adding beauty. The modern imitations of the old
blue and white are fully equal to them in color ; but the modern style of
drawing is different, and in general affords means of determining its age.
But it is quite impossible to separate the un
marked works of different periods before 1800
a.d. Many specimens classed as Chinese are
probably of Persian fabric, and many others
are decorated in Persian styles for that mar
ket. The first importations of Chinese porcelain
into Holland were decorated in blue only, and
it would seem probable that for some time no
others were brought to Europe. Pontanus
("Rerum et Urbis Amstelodamensium Histo-
ria," Amsterdam, 1611) describes the very large
porcelain importations of the Dutch East India
Company. In a discussion of the question
whether these porcelains were the vasa mur-
rhina of Pliny, he quotes the description of
this author, and admits a certain resemblance,
i:r.: Chinese Vase. ^Blue and e*»pt in the matter of colors, wherein Pliny
white. Height 22 inches. (T.- describes the marvellous beauty and variety of
p- Co11) tints which characterized the myrrhine, " and,"
says Pontanus, " what Pliny calls colors are not seen on the porcelains of
our time, which, so far as I know, have only blue mingled with white."
The other blues, which cover the ground, vary in shades and in meth
ods of application. The turquoise is applied chiefly to smaller objects —
vases, birds, figures, dogs, kylins, fish, etc. Engraved fern-leaves, meander,
and geometric patterns are found on this as on other colors. The lapis
lazuli is often relieved by gold and arabesque patterns. The fouette
rarely covers entire pieces in the old work, but leaves medallions or spaces
for other decoration.
Polychrome. — M. Jacquemart has suggested a division of the poly
chrome decorations of Oriental porcelains into three classes : (1) Chrysan-

CHINA. 247
themo-pceonienne ; (2) Green ; and (3) Pose ; giving the names on account
of the predominance of the chrysanthemum and peony in the first, and of
the respective colors in the second and third. This classification, however,.
is practically useful for only a comparatively small number of specimens.
A very large portion of the. most beautiful polychrome wares cannot be
placed under either head. There are many pieces, however, which possess
these characteristics. A large variety of beautiful wares is marked by the
predominance of a soft lead-colored blue, united with iron-red and gold.
Teapots and services are found in these colors, as well as vases, and the
combination of color is one of the least glaring and most charming in
Chinese decoration. The rose color, varying to carmine, is generally used
as a thick enamel. It is rarely found as a ground-color on pieces which
are not laboriously decorated, and few varieties command as high prices.
The subject paintings — scenes from Oriental life, history, and drama,
found on pieces which are backed with rose color — are generally very
carefully painted, and grounds of exquisite arabesque ornamentation in
colors surround them. The ruby, the deepest of the rose colors, is very
rare. In solid colors, some of the deep reds have been highly esteemed.
The liver colors, of different shades, are curious, and reproduced in quan
tity at the present time. Some of the old shades, however, seem to defy
imitation, especially one in which there is an iridescence or a lustre of ex
ceeding power. Specimens are of the highest rarity. One in the col
lection of S. L. M. Barlow, Esq. — a vase which has a well-known pedigree
in China — is perhaps without a rival.
The list of reproductions at King-te-tchin, hereafter to be given, will
furnish the reader with a very complete catalogue of other noted colors.
The Chrysanthemo - pceonienne pieces have more or less rich flower
decoration on white grounds. For we cannot include in this class those on
blue and other grounds, some of which are among the rarest and most
brilliant of porcelains. Nor can we class here but a few of the specimens
decorated with landscapes, birds, insects, figures, and groups, an infinite
variety of designs, with more or less intermingling of flowers. Some un
common old specimens have game-cocks standing among branches of brill
iant flowers, and these birds are painted with more freedom of touch than
most Chinese works. The marvel of Chinese decorations is often the ab
sence of all semblance of reality in colors of objects, while the combined
effect is delightful. A small service in our collection illustrates this.
Each piece, large or small, has the same decoration. A large duck is in
deep chocolate brown, his feathers gold. He stands on a rock, which is

248 PORCELAIN.

brilliant and pure rose-color. By him stands a vase of soft turquoise blue,
holding flowers of deep claret, pale rose, lemon yellow, brown and gold,
with leaves of green. The rock and the vase are supported on a large
acanthus-leaf of bleu-de-roi, veined with green and black. Such decora
tions cannot be classed by any predominating color.
The green predominates in pieces which are decorated with religious,
historical, hunting, and other subjects, but these are intermingled with
the same decorations and colors found on other wares.
The yellow wares of China have an inexplicable reputation in Western
countries, growing, perhaps, out of a statement made by some early trav
ellers that the exportation of the " imperial-yellow " porcelain was forbid
den. There are several varieties of the yellow, from a pale straw-color to
a deep, dirty orange. They are decorated variously, by engraved lines
only, and by colored reliefs and paintings. They are not so rare as some
of the blues and other colors, and are reproduced at the present time by
the Japanese in great perfection. Even some of the old varieties are
condemned by the taste of the Chinese. A frequent phrase occurs in the
Chinese books, "enamel of secret colors," defined as colors reserved for
the royal use. It nowhere appears what they were, and they probably
varied from time to time, the reservation being only temporary.
We have spoken thus far of color decoration chiefly. It remains to
add that the Chinese made beautiful reticulated work, in vases and table
wares ; they made the " grains-of-rice " work in which small holes through
the paste of the bowl or cup were filled with the translucent enamel.
They decorated vases with lacquer in gorgeous colors, leaving porcelain
surfaces brilliantly painted, or with lacquer inlaid with shell in patterns.
They made imitations of bamboo-work in colors ; and figures, groups, drag
ons, dogs, fish, parrots, images of gods and men, decorated in all kinds of
colors. European pictures and Greek mythological pictures were introduced
to the Chinese by the Europeans in the seventeenth and eighteenth cen
turies, and were copied by them in their peculiar style on their wares for
European markets. We have an egg-shell te^-service decorated in ovals
with a picture of Diana and Endymion, which is grotesque. While the
Chinese are called a nation of copyists, they are not close copyists, and
could never reproduce a European picture so as to deceive even an inex
perienced eye.
It is said there was a peculiar porcelain of China called kia-tsing,
which is white until filled with liquid, when decorations, usually fish, were
seen. Pere D'Entrecolles says that in his day (1712) the art of making it

CHINA. 249

was lost, but he describes what he understood to be the process. On the
inside of a thin cup the fish were painted, and when dry a coating of very
thin paste of the porcelain was laid over, and over this an enamel. Then
the outside was ground off as thin as possible without touching the paint,
and enamelled by dipping, and the whole then baked. It is not clear how
this would produce the described effect, nor do we know of any specimens
of this peculiar decoration.
Egg-shell porcelain is among the delicate products of China, now imi
tated in several European factories. It was made by enamelling a vase or
cup on the inside, baking, then grinding down the outer surface until the
paste was practically removed, leaving the inside thin enamel to stand as
the body of the vessel, while another thin enamel was placed on the out
side. It was made first in the Yong-lo period, about 1425, and perfected
about 1465. Good specimens are rare. They were beautiful!}' decorated
in the richest colors.
The porcelain tower of Licouli, near Nankin, no longer exists, having
been destroyed in the Tae-ping rebellion. Tradition says that the first
tower was one of eighty-four thousand towers erected about 833 b.c. It
was destroyed, and rebuilt 371-73 a.d., and again destroyed, to be rebuilt
by an emperor of the Ming Dynasty, 1431 a.d. This last structure was
about 330 feet high, overlaid with enamelled bricks of brilliant colors.
Many superb fragments, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, attest the
splendid blue, red, green, and yellow colors, and the purity of the white.
These massive pieces are of porcelain paste, with ornaments in relief, bold
and richly enamelled.
It has been remarked already that porcelain factories abound in China,
scattered in various districts. The private manufacturers have rivalled the
Government works at all times. King-te-tchin, the city or borough of
King-te, has been since the sixth century a noted seat of potteries, owned
by private potters. Among these the Government works were estab
lished, in the first years of the Ming Dynasty, its furnaces scattered
among the private works. The porcelain industry at King-te-tchin was
without parallel in the world. From the fourteenth century the whole
town has been under a special superintendent and governor appointed
by the Government. Upward of three thousand furnaces were at work
there thirty years ago ; but in the Tae-ping rebellion the city was nearly
destroyed, and we have no late information of its condition. The story is
told of it, as of Chelsea, in England, that in early times merchants crowded
at the opening of the furnaces to rival each other in purchasing. Much
of the porcelain made here was sent in white condition, to be decorated

250 PORCELAIN.

for foreign markets at Nankin and at Canton. The Nankin decorations
are in general superior.
The pottery of China has attracted less attention than the porcelain,
but is no less remarkable. It has always been made for ordinary uses.
Fountains, flower-pots, water-jars, lamps, and various domestic utensils are
made, and many are enamelled in brilliant colors. Pottery teapots are
preferred to porcelain in China. Stone-wares, red, and of other colors,
have been made for ages. Some of these come to us in the form of pickle
and preserve jars, and occasionally these furnish specimens of the rarest
colors in enamel.
Chinese gentlemen are lovers of old porcelains, and pay even higher
prices than the most extravagant of Western collectors. Counterfeits
abound, intended to deceive them. Modern European factories counter
feit their own ancient work and marks, and it is not strange that the same
motives impel the Chinese to the same frauds. Even in 1712, Pere D'En-
trecolles says that his friend the Mandarin of King-te-tchin made counter
feits of the old celadons for presents to his friends. And this was before
the days of the great director Thang, in whose time the royal factories
reached their highest perfection.
Perhaps no more instructive matter can be given to the modern col
lector than is contained in the sixth book of the Chinese work translated
by M. Julien, which gives a catalogue of the ancient porcelains repro
duced at King-te-tchin, and some of the new inventions of Thang. From
this will be seen how great is the difficulty before the collector who de
sires to determine the antiquity of his specimens of Chinese porcelain.
The catalogue begins with reproductions of ancient porcelain vases in
enamels on iron and copper bodies, which are classed with porcelains.
After these come enamels ou porcelain bodies.
5. White enamels, white as flour.
6. Enamel of Kiun, including four kinds newly invented : a, red, color of a pre
cious stone ; b, red, color of the Japan pear blossom ; c, violet, color of egg-plant ;
d, blue, color of a plum ; e, color of a mule's liver ; /, color of a horse's lungs.
The four newly invented colors are : g, a new violet ; h, rice color ; i, sky-blue ;
j, enamel which changes color in firing.
7. Enamel red of two kinds — one lively, one (perhaps) of red jasper.
8. Enamel blue and deep red imitating porcelains of 1426-35, having surfaces
like orange-skin or like little buds of the flower of the tsong tree.
9. Enamel of the imperial porcelain, three kinds : a, yellow of the eel ; b, green
of serpent's skin ; d, spotted or stippled yellow.
11. Enamel blue of the East; two kinds — pale and dark.

CHINA. 251

12. Enamel of the Song, rice color, and pale blue, copied from fragments found
near the ruins of an ancient factory.
13. Enamel green of oil, like ancient vases called Yao pien.
14. Enamel Lou-kiun-yeou (a changeable blue with veins and waves).
1 5. Enamels of Ngeou, red and blue.
16. Enamel stippled blue.
17. Enamel moon-white without crackle, on white body, without veins; it is of
two shades — pale and off-color.
18. Imitations of vases of 1426-35 of four kinds, severally marked on the bot
toms with the signs for three fish, three fruits, three mushrooms, the word " happi
ness" thrice repeated.
19. Enamel blue, shining like a gem — a new invention of four varieties, distin
guished by the four marks in No. 18.
20. Enamel called Fei-tsoui, of three kinds: a, uniform blue; b, stippled blue;
c, blue stippled with gold.
21. Enamel red souffle (the color applied by blowing it through lace on the end
of a tube, scattering small bubbles which burst and leave thousands of minute bub
ble lines). 22. Enamel blue souffle.
23. Imitations of vases of the Yong-lo period; a, those in which the body is re
moved, leaving only the enamel (commonly known as egg-shell) ; b, the white vases
without color of 1403-24 ; c, chased or engraved vases.
24. Reproductions of porcelains of 1506-21, and of 1573-1619.
25. Reproductions of porcelains of 1465-87.
26. Vases with flowers on yellow ground.
27. Enamel "in blue method," discovered by recent experiments; a, like the
"sky-blue after rain ;" b, like the thick red; c, like the deep blue.
28. Vases imitating the European, with figures in relief, chiselled or moulded.
29. Vases pale yellow and pale green, with flowers engraved in the paste.
30. Vases pale violet, with flowers, and with flowers engraved.
31. Vases of all kinds of enamel with engraved flowers.
32. Vases of all enamels with flowers in relief.
33. Imitations of ancient red vases.
34. Yellow vases of Europe.
35. Violet vases of Europe (a new invention).
36. Silvered vases, and gilded vases (a new invention).
37. Vases black as ink, with colored enamel (a new invention).
38. Vases decorated with ink designs, dark or pale, mountains, water, figures,
flowers, plants, birds, quadrupeds (a new invention).
39. Imitations of porcelains of 1426-35, white grounds with paintings, thick
and thin, large and small.
40. Imitations of the blue flowers of the porcelains of 1521-66.

252 PORCELAIN.

41. Imitations of the lightly sketched blue flowers of the Tching-hoa period.
42. Enamel rice color, pale and dark, differing from the old of the Song.
43. Vases with red enamel (Yeou-li-hong) ; either completely covered with the
red, or having, green leaves or red flowers. (This is not paint, but red enamel,
which runs down in thick masses.)
44. Imitations of the enamel feuille-morte ; two kinds — red and yellow.
45. Vases pale yellow, with enamel ornaments (a recent discovery).
46. Imitations of the pale-green porcelains ; two kinds — plain ground, and with
engraved flowers.
47. Vases with enamels in European style, painted with enamel colors, land
scapes, animals, figures.
48. Vases of all enamels with flowers.
49. Imitation of the enamel Ou-kin, or mat black; two kinds — black grounds
with white flowers, and black grounds with light designs in gold (a new invention).
50. Green vases in European taste.
51. Red vases in European taste.
52. Enamelled vases, mat black, in European taste (a new invention).
53. Vases frotte a"or (rubbed with gold).
54. Imitations of the vases "rubbed with gold" of Indo-China.
55. Silver-rubbed vases of Indo-China.
To attempt any description of the styles of decoration used by the
Chinese is a waste of effort. They are innumerable in variety, and there
is no limit to the extent of collections illustrating them. Among their
special characteristics are dragons, kylins, the dog Fo, the spotted deer, and
the fong-hoang. The dragons are various — one of the heavens, one of the
hills, one of the sea. They are represented in a variety of forms and col
ors. The imperial dragon has always five claws, the symbol of the em
peror and higher princes ; while that with four claws is the emblem of
princes of lower rank. The kylin, a nondescript monster with a dragon's
head, is regarded with great favor as a bringer of good-luck, notwithstand
ing his hideous appearance, and is often modelled in porcelain, and enam
elled in rich color. Turquoise kylins were once highly prized. The dog
Fo is the temple guardian of the Buddhists, a favorite figure in porce
lain of all periods, and appears constantly as the knob on covers, and sur
mounting vases. The fong-hoang, represented with long streaming feath
ers, is a bird of good omen, once the symbol of the emperors, and now
that of the empress.
Chinese wares are sometimes marked with dates, sometimes with mot
toes expressive of good wishes, with indications of the rank and quality
of the persons for whose use the wares are intended, with symbolic signs,

CHINA. 253
etc. The method of dating is usually by the name of the dynasty and
reign of the ruling sovereign. It is customary in China to give to each
reign a name, such as " the brilliant," " the excellent," etc. So, also, with
the dynasties. The "Ming" Dynasty means the "illustrious" dynasty.
With the names of the dynasty and the reign sometimes occur two signs
for two words — nien (years or period) che (made). Here, for example, is
one of the marks of a period or reign in the Ming Dynasty.
It commences in reading at the right hand, top, and is read i\Jfc HH 1
downward as the signs are numbered, thus : 1, Ta ; 2,
Ming; 3, Ching; 4, Hwa; 5, Nien; 6, Che; which is, in 5*& fjfl a
English, 1, 2, Great Ming; 3, 4, Ching-hwa; 5, 6, period .
made; and means "made in Ching-hwa period of Great &SjL TJa3
Ming Dynasty." The Emperor Tchun-ti reigned 1465- '
'87, and his reign was called the Ching-hwa period.
Pieces having this mark, if genuine, are of that period. It will be
seen that the third and fourth of these signs are the name of the period.
Accordingly, in the Table of Marks we omit the dynasty signs and those
signifying " period made," and give only the two which name the period.
We may remark here that the porcelains having the " six marks," so called,
of the period above given are more highly esteemed than any others.
Those of the Yung-lo, Seuen-tih, Kea-tsing, and Wan-leih periods of the
Ming Dynasty are also prized. AU these are admirably counterfeited,
with the marks, in modern times. We have some remarkably fine blue-
and-white specimens made (in Japan) within the past year, with the six
marks of the reign of Ching-hwa. Careful examination and comparison
with the marks given in the Table are necessary; for Chinese workmen
were not always skilful writers, and the same mark, written by different
hands, varies greatly, quite as much as ordinary English handwritings.
Another class of Chinese marks are called seal marks. These are in a
character used only for such purposes, and the signs are of similar value
to those in the six marks. The example here given reads, "Made in the
period of Kien-long (1736 -'95) of the Thsing Dynasty.

Mm

In these seal marks various signs are used having the same
value. Potters' names and factory marks rarely occur on
T^gi^U^' Chinese ware. Square marks, resembling seal marks, but
|Q illegible, are common. The six-mark dates were suspended

a

154' by one of the directors in 1667, for the assigned reason that
the emperor's name should not be placed where it would be subject to
the degradation attending the fate of broken porcelain thrown out into
waste heaps.

254

PORCELAIN.

The various symbolic marks abounding on Chinese wares are but little
understood, as we know little of the Chinese civilization. It is supposed
that some forms, occurring also in the decorations of pieces, have special
reference to the class of people for whom the wares were made. " Porce
lain for the magistrates " is an expression in the Chinese books.

Sonorous Stone.

Outail"

A Shell.

Treasures of Writing.

5T5

Tablet of Honor, enclosing
tbe Swastika.

£K

Sacred Axe.

Celosia.

158. Symbolic Marks on Chinese Porcelains.
Some of the symbols of most frequent occurrence in decorations are
here illustrated. The outang is a leaf sung by poets and placed over di
vinities. Writing instruments are supposed to indicate that wares are in
tended for the learned. The sonorous stone, placed at temple-gates and
other public places, is for judicial officers. The sacred axe is for soldiers.
The celosia, or cock's -comb, is an emblem of longevity. The tablet of
honor is an imperial gift to an officer. This symbol includes the swas
tika (the "sign of life"), the Asiatic symbol of old Phenician times.
Many other symbolic marks will be found in the Table.
Painted enamel cups, and cloisonne enamel vases, and other objects
come to us in abundance from China. The art of making these wares
enamelled on metal was learned by the Chinese from the Mohammedans
of Western Asia in comparatively modern times. Our Chinese authority,
writing in 1815 (M. Julien, page 35), divides them into three classes, all of
which he includes under Yao (porcelain), and he describes all as foreign
art. The first is Ta-chi-yao, porcelain of the Arabs, with copper body, on
which are enamels in all colors. " I know not," he says, " at what epoch
they were first made." The second class is Fo-lang-kien-yao, porcelain
of Fo-lang (countries of Europe). They are also called porcelain of the
kingdom of devils. These are very small pieces, enamelled in colors on
copper, and were imitated in China by workmen who came from the

COREA.

255

province of Yun-nan, and established themselves. in the capital. Yun-nan
was the province whose governor obtained cobalt from the Arabs, and
introduced it to China. Probably this class of enamels, said to be chiefly
in cups for wine, resembling European enamels, is represented by the
great numbers of small bowls and cups with covers, decorated with paint
ed enamel in brilliant color, coming to us from China. Since this author
wrote, the art has been applied to many other objects, large and small.
He next speaks of a class of enamels on copper which are called Yang-
tse-yao, or simply porcelain with enamel. " The making of these," he
says, "commenced in the kingdom of Kou-li, on the shores of the west
ern sea. No one knows when the art began." The vases are on copper
bodies, very thin, covered with enamel of various colors, and ring like cop
per when struck. In polish, grace, and beauty they are far from equalling
true porcelain. " Now," says this author, writing in 1815, " they make nu
merous imitations of these at Canton." M. Salvetat, in a foot-note, states
that these are unquestionably the cloisonne enamels, and it would appear
from this that the art of making them in China is quite modern. This
Byzantine art has never been lost in the East. It is still practised in
various localities. Scabbards, knife-cases, and various articles ornamented
in rude but brilliant enamels, are common enough among the Persians
and Arabians. The Chinese seem to have taken this art in modern times
from the Mohammedans, and considerably improved its execution. The
results, however curious, are rarely beautiful, although they have been
popular in Europe and America,
and specimens have been sold at
high prices.

II.-COREA.
The manufacture of porcelain
seems to have passed from China to
Japan by way of Corea, and this
country continued to make it until
a century ago, when it is supposed
the industry ceased. Corean porce
lains were sent to Japan, and it is
probable that more or less of them
came to Europe among the early
Dutch importations. It is exceed
ingly difficult for any but experts

156. Corean Water-pot. (Jacquemart.;

256

PORCELAIN.

to separate specimens from those of Japan. The chief characteristic is
the extraordinary purity of the white surface, which is milky, without the
hard gleam of the white Japanese. Few colors were used. The red is
peculiar, soft, and dead, yet very rich and beautiful. We have specimens
in which no colors are used but red and green, the latter equally tender
and fine with the red. Decorations sometimes include Japanese and Chi
nese characteristics on the same piece, and are rarely complicated in pat
tern. The Chinese author Tching-thing-kouei, treating of Corean porce
lains, says they are extremely delicate. He adds that those ornamented
with branches of white flowers are regarded in Corea as not of the highest
value. Cups in gourd form and vases in lion form are thought remark
able. No marks are known. A cup in our collection has on the bottom
an embossed square, but the enamel has filled the design, if any was
there, so that no signs are visible.

III.-JAPAN.
The modem manufactures of Japan in pottery and porcelain have at
tracted more attention and are more
worthy of it than the ancient. To
M. Julien's account of the Chinese
art is annexed a paper by Dr. J.
Hoffman, of Leyden, giving a sketch
of the manufactures of Japan, from
which, as well as from the occasion
al notes of travellers, some informa
tion has been gathered on the sub
ject. But of the history and com
parative antiquity of Japanese por
celains very little is known. Dr.
Hoffman's authority is a Japanese
work on the most celebrated land
and marine products, written by

157. Japanese Plate. (Avery Coll.)

Kimoura Ko-kyo, published at Okasaki in 1799. The fifth volume con
tains an account of porcelain. The chronicles of Japan locate the origin
of porcelain-making at 27 b.c, when Coreans came to Japan and estab
lished works. This was not far distant from the time of the origin in
China, according to Chinese traditions. The art may have passed from
China to Japan through Corea. Such is the general opinion. The early
works of Japan were not equal to those of the Chinese, until the year

JAPAN. 257
1211, when Katosiro Ouyemou, a Japanese potter, went to China, learned
the best methods in use there, and brought them back to Japan. There
after the Japanese fabrics advanced in elegance, until they equalled, and
in many respects surpassed, the Chinese. The principal, and in general
the finest, works seem to have been always those of Imaei, in the prov
ince of Fizen, or Hizen. Imari is the port. The seats of the potteries
lie in the interior on the slopes of the mountain Idsoumiyama, from which
the clay is obtained. These potteries, twenty three or four in number,
have names indicating their locations, such as " The great mountain be
tween the rivers," " The three mountains between the rivers," " Beautiful
upper plain," " Middle plain," " The grotto," " Black fields," etc.
The ware of the province of Satsma, or Satsuma, which has been
brought to America in quantity of late years, is a faience of a yellowish
or dirty buff color, sometimes dingy, a close, hard paste, with fire-cracked
glaze, the decorations in flowers, not brilliant, with touches and lines of
gold. These decorations seem always to indicate attempts to copy Euro
pean art, and are quite different in style from the old Japanese. Speci
mens said to be old present no evidence of age except a greater dinginess
of colors, and their age may be doubted. Many of the products are very
ingenious in form, and odd in effect, but the ware has little to commend
it either in beauty or in national characteristics. The possessor of Satsma
specimens must handle them carefully, as they are fragile, and will not
stand much washing with water and soap, or hard rubbing. The collector
will be guided in selections wholly by his own taste, and not by any stand
ards of excellence. All notions of the superior beauty of this or that speci
men of Satsma ware are purely arbitrary, and the novice is as good a judge
of the ware as the most experienced collector.
The Kaga or Kutani wares, usually decorated in brilliant red, with
figures in black and other colors, are very effective, and by the Japanese
as well as by some European and American collectors are highly esteemed.
This ware is classed as porcelain by some authorities; but specimens are
frequent in a coarse, hard pottery, while others are certainly porcelain.
Okosaki is a seat of noted manufacture, giving to the Japanese the
word mono-saki, which is used to signify porcelain in general. It is spe
cially renowned for egg-shell porcelain, which is now produced with all
the delicacy of the ancient Chinese, but without the old splendor of enamel
decoration. Either here, or elsewhere in Japan, ingenious manufacturers
are now reproducing with great skill the old and rare porcelains of China,
with the old marks. Keds, yellows, blues, greens, in all varieties, old cela
dons and crackles, Ming Dynasty blue and white with the six marks : in
17

258

PORCELAIN.

short, every rare color decoration of the old times is now reproduced in
Japan, and the New York market is amply supplied.
Banko produces dark- brown and also white potteries, usually thin,
without glaze, sometimes hav
ing patterns impressed, and
flowers painted with enamel.
A remarkable variety of Ban
ko ware has patterns of pure
white translucent paste set in
the brown pottery.
Bishu produces lacquered
porcelains. The lac of China
and Japan is the gum of a
tree which is cultivated for
this product.
Awtari makes fine porce
lains of small sizes exquisite
ly decorated. Heradoson makes egg
shell porcelains.
Kioto and Awata produce
a great variety of wares, espe
cially a class somewhat resem
bling Satsma faience, made at
Awata. Kioto was the an
cient capital.
Sir Rutherford Alcock de
scribes beautiful pottery with
raised decorations of fish,
fruits, etc., wdiich he found at
Osaca. We also find men
tion of faience made at Shiba.
Bed stone - wares are
among the most beautiful ce
ramic products of Japan. These are of fine compact paste, the color va
rious dark shades of brick red. The relief ornaments on these wares are
often very finely executed. We have ewers with the surface engraved
in a marvellous imitation of bamboo ; tall, square tea-caddies with birds,
flowers, and symbolic designs in sharp reliefs; tea-pots, round, square.
octagonal, and of other shapes.

158. Japanese " Mandarin " Tase, decorated in gold and
colors. (Jacquemart.)

JAPAN.

259

The old porcelains of Japan are usually whiter and more pure in glaze
than those of China. The Nankin blue and white wares have always
been largely reproduced in Japan. The Chinese and Japanese have for
centuries copied and imitated each other's porcelains, so that it is prac
tically impossible, in many cases, to determine whether specimens are of
one or the other fabric. The Dutch importations of Japanese porcelain,
which were very large, went into the European markets as Oriental ware,
without classification, and a large portion of the specimens in our collec
tions regarded as Chinese are probably from' Japan.
It is generally supposed that the oldest known Japanese porcelains are
of a rather coarse paste, the glaze bluish white, with embossed flowers
colored blue and red. Others regard a thin porcelain, fine and delicate,
white with slight color decorations, as the oldest. The collector, however,
will find it impossible to determine satisfactorily the age of specimens,
even when marked, from the fact that the Japanese reproduce all their
old works with wonderful skill and exactness. Their modern products,
of the last few years, surpass in elegance and
perfection their ancient fabrics, and collectors
will do well to be guided in selections by their
own tastes, without reference to periods of
manufacture. Enamels on metal of China and Japan are
not properly within the scope of this work. A
very beautiful modern product of Japan is cloi
sonne enamel on porcelain and pottery bodies.
The wires which form the cloisons are very
thin, and the enamels, after baking, are pol
ished down, as when on metal bodies. In
selecting specimens a close examination is nec
essary, as defects are often found which have been carefully filled with
wax, or some other substance, and colored. From what has been said of
enamels on metal in China it may be inferred that Japanese works of this
class are comparatively modern.
Japanese plates and some other articles have frequently the small un
glazed spots on the bottom, where the supports held them in the baking,
usually known as support marks. These are not found on Chinese wares.
When the Catholic missionaries were in Japan much porcelain was dec
orated with Christian subjects. The missionaries were expelled in 1641.
It has been said that the introduction of this style of decoration on the
porcelains led to the expulsion and the massacre of the native Christians.

159. Japanese Vase. Relief dee-
orations : oldest style. (T. - P.
Coll.)

260

PORCELAIN.

Marks are more rare on old Japanese porcelain than on Chinese. The
system of dates was similar, and the Table of Marks furnishes these.
Names of factory locations and of potters are common on modern wares.
Our knowledge of the Japanese marks is still very defective. The exten
sive lists collected by Messrs. Hooper and Phillips, and reproduced in the
Table of Marks, are largely from modern wares.

IV.-INDIA.
Among the porcelains which have been brought to Europe and Amer
ica during the long continuance of trade with the nations on the Pacific
and Indian oceans, are many which it is found exceedingly difficult to
classify. In character of

paste they resemble the
Chinese, but in decoration
there is so great a differ
ence, and such marked
peculiarity, that we have
been accustomed to place
them as of some unknown
Asiatic fabric. A bowl
has a soft celadon - green
ground, on which from
the foot rise perpendicu
lar stalks bearing margue
rites in white enamel, with

160. Indian Bowl.

(Jacquemart.)
flowers and leaves in rich color branching with regularity from these per
pendicular stems. On other specimens the style of flower decoration re
sembles that on Persian stuffs. This peculiarity of perpendicular stalks
or rows of flowers and leaves is somewhat characteristic. These specimens
are usually classed as Chinese, and are found more or less in all collections
of Oriental porcelains. M. Jacquemart attributes them with confidence
to India, and maintains the existence of a large class of porcelains, the act
ual fabric of that country, obtained in commerce at Pondicherry. The il
lustration (160) is given by him as a characteristic specimen.
In treating of Persian potteries we have already indicated the neces
sity for more light on the history of ceramic art in Central Asia. In
dia, China, and Persia had early relations with one another in this fabric,
and future discoveries may throw light on the nature of these relations.
Glazed pottery of very ancient character has been found in Northern In-

INDIA.— ITALY. 261

dia, the decorations of which, in blue and other colors, are not Chinese.
Old fragments of architectural work are known, enamelled or glazed, in
brilliant colors, having red marguerites with yellow hearts, meander bor
ders, columns of arabesques with flowers, trilobed leaves in foliage, fan
tastic birds holding reptiles, dragons' heads, a monster head, with fearful
eyes, crowned with a Brahminic mitre.
The date of these is unknown. But at a later period Persian art came
into India, with wall tiles, and faience resembling the Damascus wares.
The history of these potteries is also in obscurity. Brongniart describes
the modern potteries of Chandernagor, Karical, Calcutta, and Pegu, which
are without glaze.
The common phrase " India ware " does not refer to porcelains of Hin-
dostan. It arose from the custom of so calling porcelains brought by the
East India companies to Europe ; and in America, in common usage, this
expression applies to the blue and white porcelains of Canton and Nan
kin, and Japanese products in imitation of them.
V.-ITALY.
Early in the sixteenth century, when stanniferous enamel had come
into general use in Italy, the attention of the potters and their patrons
was directed towards translucent wares, specimens of which were known.
Their superior value, on account of the strength as well as beauty of the
fabric, made it manifest that the discovery of the art of producing them
would be profitable. Their composition was a mystery in Europe, nor was
the material known by any distinctive name, although it was called porce
lain. The finer classes of pottery made in Italy were also called por-
zellana. The Chinese wares had come, in occasional specimens, to Europe,
and were objects of curious art, prized by their possessors, as we know
from Scaliger, who mentions them among the treasures of his old family.
There had been extensive trade between China and the Arabian coasts for
many centuries, and the Persian porcelains were often close copies of the
Chinese. The Saracens had probably introduced specimens to Italy in
the Middle Ages. But they were very rare.
It has been by some supposed that the vasa murrhina of the ancient
Bomans, which Pliny (73 a.d.) described as coming from Asia, were Chi
nese porcelain. But he locates their origin at Caramania, in Persia ; and if
porcelain, they were probably of Persian fabric. It seems, however, more
probable that these were cut from fluor spar, exquisite varieties of which
are found in Persia, and are there carved into bowls and cups of wonder-

262 PORCELAIN.

ful beauty. We have specimens, obtained in Western Asia, whose pecul
iarities of changeable color in different lights are marvellously fine. The
subject has been much discussed, one of the chief points of interest in
connection with it being the fact that Propertius (iv., 5) speaks of " myr-
rhine goblets baked in Parthian furnaces," an expression which, if we
should attribute to the Boman writer a critical knowledge of the subject,
would tend to confirm the theory of the making of porcelain in the heart
of Asia at as early a date as in China. Some enthusiastic writers in the
seventeenth century went so far as to consider the question whether the
drink offered to the dying Lord by the Boman soldiers (Mark xv., 23),
iap.vpviap.ivov oivov, " wine mingled with myrrh," was not in reality wine
in a myrrhine cup, basing the idea on Pliny's unintelligible statement that
the myrrhine cups had a peculiar odor.
But the potters of Italy and their patrons had more interest in the
commercial value of porcelain than in its history. They desired to know
how it was made. Many stories had been told of its composition. Marco
Polo had described the porcelains which he saw in China in the thirteenth
century, and professed to relate, the process of making them. He said the
clay was exposed for thirty or forty years to the weather, thus becom
ing purified, and that those who collected it did so for their children or
grandchildren. This story was varied and enlarged upon by subsequent
writers. Some said the clay, others the vases themselves, were buried in
the ground a hundred years. From this fable a distinguished British lex
icographer was led to assign the derivation of " porcelain " to the French
words pour cent annees. But porzellana in Italian and pourcellaine in
French seem to have been words for a long time applied to other potteries
before they were specifically attached to translucent wares.
The Portuguese traders began to bring the Chinese wares into Europe
in the early part of the sixteenth century ; but before any had come from
them to Italy the Italians were acquainted with specimens received from
Egypt or Asia, and were seeking the knowledge of their composition.
The researches of the Marquis Campori into the history of ceramic
art in Ferrara have resulted in bringing to light much interesting mate
rial concerning the first porcelains of Italy aud of Europe. In an old
book of expenses of the Grand Duke Alphonso I. of Ferrara, while at
Venice in 1504, is an entry of Lre 2.3, paid^er schudelle sette deporcelana
contrefacta e uno bochale a la chatalana. Fifteen years later, in 1519, is
found a letter to the duke from Tebaldi, his ambassador at Venice, which
describes as accompanying it a small plate and scutella (ecuelle ?) of por
celain sent by the master from whom they had been ordered. Tebaldi

ITALY. 263
adds that the master declines to make any more, saying that he does not
wish to throw away his time and his money ; if the duke will furnish the
money, he will give his time ; but he declines to accept the duke's invita
tion to remove to Ferrara, che 'I e troppo al tempo, he is too old. From
these it appears evident that the Venetian master had found the secret,
and had for fifteen years made more or less porcelain. Whether it was
hard or soft paste is not known. It does not appear that the duke agreed
to advance the money, and the old man, the first maker of porcelain in
Europe, died unknown, and the secret perished with him. No certain
specimens of his work are now known. A few unassigned pieces exist,
which are suspected to be either of this fabric or of Ferrara, where we
next hear of the art.
Maestro Camillo, of Urbino, an artist working at Feeeara, was killed
in 1567 by the explosion of a cannon. (This of course was not Camillo
Fontana.) In connection with his brother Battista, he had been engaged
in seeking to make porcelain, and after his death Battista continued and
seems to have perfected the process. An entry in the accounts of 1569
of extra wine for a workman preparing materials per far porcellani, and
the apparent agreement of Italian writers of the period, and of the next
century, leave little doubt of the successful result of the experiments at
Ferrara. It was not till the attention of the Marquis Campori was drawn
to the subject by the discovery of the Medicean porcelain that these im
portant indications of the history of the art were rescued from obscurity.
At the same time or soon after Camillo was experimenting in Fer
rara, the Grand Duke Francis I. of Tuscany had artists employed in a lab
oratory in Florence, seeking the same result. Vasari ascribes the discov
ery here to Bernardo Buontalenti. A few years ago, Dr. Foresi, of Flor
ence, had collected specimens of a peculiar porcelain, heavy, grayish in
color, and decorated in pale blue, on which the mark was a dome over the
letter F. Dr. Foresi's researches into the history of these specimens led
to the discovery that they were the product of Florence, and a specimen
was found bearing another mark, the six balls of the arms of the Medici,
on each of which balls was a letter, thus, F M M E D II, signifying
" Franciscus Medici Magnus Etrurise Dux Secundus." The grand duke's
experiments were progressing from 1575 to 15S7, and in 1581 they were
so far successful that porcelain was made.
The Medicean porcelain is classed as soft paste, because it is not a true
hard-paste or kaolinic porcelain. The composition, however, includes an
Italian clay which is kaolinic, and the presence of this material, as in por
celains of England, makes a resulting ware which Brongniart classed as

264

PORCELAIN.

hybrid or mixed porcelain. Specimens are rare, only about thirty being
known. One of the finest is a large bowl, in the Castellani collection (111. 161),
decorated in blue, and bearing the dome and F mark. The border deco
ration is in Japanese style. An interesting comment was elicited from
Japanese experts, Shioda Mashasi and Ishita Tametake, to whom the bowl

161. Bowl: Medicean porcelain. (Castellani Coll.)
was submitted by Mr. Barnet Phillips, at the Philadelphia Exhibition in
1S76. Mr. Phillips, in a valuable article on this specimen, contributed to
the Art Journal, says :
Mr. Shioda Mashasi, who, according to the testimony of various members of the
Japanese Commission, was considered as most distinguished in his knowledge of
porcelain making and decoration, unhesitatingly declared the peculiar ornamenta
tion on both pieces to be Japanese, and gave the time when such designs were in
vogue in Japan, which belonged, so he stated, " to a style in use towards the middle
and close of the sixteenth century, and which had long ago passed out of fashion,
but which had been brought into vogue by Gorodayu Shonsui, a native of Ise, who
had gone to China for the purpose of acquiring knowledge in porcelain-making, and
that Shonsui had exercised his calling at Hizen, in Japan, from 1525 to 1540." Ap-

ITALY. 265
parently to clinch the matter, the Japanese expert, leaving Memorial Hall, where the
Castellani collection was exhibited, went to the Main Building, in the Japanese de
partment, and, unlocking a case containing a choice assemblage of porcelain and
pottery selected for the South Kensington Museum, chose a couple of pieces of old
Japanese porcelain having on them similar decorations to those on the Medicean
porcelain, even to the flutings and the peculiar treatment employed in shading
them. " These pieces made by Gorodayu Shonsui," said Mr. Shioda Mashasi, " are
precisely like those you have just shown me. As to decoration, they are the same.
This mark at the bottom of our own porcelain indicates the maker — the meaning
of which is ' happiness.' There is a mistake in our catalogue, which may give rise
to some error. The period of Gorodayu Shonsui is put down there as between
1580 and 1590 of your time: it should have been from 1525 to 1540. The dates
I give you are positive. Your Italian porcelain - makers possibly acquired our
methods of manufacture ; what is quite certain is this, that they copied our old
style of ornaments." A careful comparison of the pieces of Japanese with the Ital
ian porcelain was quite convincing. The material of the Oriental piece was of bet
ter composition. The decoration, save that the Japanese work was of a darker
blue, was quite the same.
Mr. Phillips adds :
We believe that the presence of Japanese in Italy may have had a direct influ
ence not only on the ornamentation, but on the production, of this Medicean porce
lain. It is well known that in 1564 numerous Christian churches existed in Japan,
and that as many as 150,000 converts were made. In 1581 several princes in Kiu-
shu adopted Christianity, and in this same year a Japanese embassy, led by Father
Valignani, sailed for Italy, to pay homage to Pope Gregory XIII. Owing to diffi
culties and delays, these Japanese envoys only reached the Eternal City in 1585,
and, Gregory being dead, they paid their court to Gregory's successor, Sixtus V.
Quite a number of years before this, intercourse between Japan and Portugal had
been frequent. Kampfer, who liked to trace race-resemblances and the affinities of
people, recalls the fact that an interchange of methods of manufacture existed be
tween the race coming from remote Indian islands and the people of Southern
Europe. This recognition of the decorations by the Japanese experts is exceed
ingly interesting. But we cannot agree with the suggestion that the pro
duction of the porcelain was due to immediate Japanese influence. It is
probable that porcelain had been made at Ferrara a few years before the
Medicean laboratory produced it. The experiments in the two places may
have been synchronous. Venice had without doubt made it early in the
sixteenth century. It Avas an object much desired in Italy, and this de
sire was, of course, prompted by the presence of examples of the Oriental

266 PORCELAIN.

wares. The copies of Japanese decorations may have been made from
original examples, or from copies on Persian porcelains, brought into Italy
by the Saracens.
Great interest attaches to the other decoration. The centre of the
bowl is occupied by a monochrome picture. This has usually been re
garded as St. Mark, attended by the lion, whose paw rests on a tablet bear
ing the letters P G in monogram. It has been suggested that these let
ters are ' the initials of Giulio Pippi, known as Giulio Bomano. He had
died at Mantua in 1546, but he may have left a painting from which this
is a copy. He had never, so far as is knowm, used these letters as his sig
nature. The style of the work on the bowl is wholly unlike that of any
painter on majolica, and it belongs to a much higher order of art than
most of the majolica decorations.
At the date of this porcelain the fine period of Italian pottery was
ended. A new artist here begins a new line of art, which had a magnifi
cent succession in the porcelain decorations of Sevres, Dresden, Capo-di-
Monte, and a hundred modern factories. He was a worthy leader, for his
work is very fine. Who was this first of European porcelain decorators ?
His style is clearly that of one accustomed to engraving, or preparing the
monochrome designs which are used by copperplate engravers. For some
time we believed that we had found his work, or its inspiration, in the
large coarse wood -cuts of an Italian Josephus,
published at Venice, 1604. The wood-blocks in
this edition are worm-holed, indicating the exist
ence of an earlier edition. The portrait of Judas
the Essene in this book has curious similarities to
the figure on the porcelain. But these cuts are
not signed, and do not help to any knowledge of
the P. G. Next, however, we discovered the orig
inal copperplate engraving of which the picture
on the bowl is a repetition. It is in a book,
" Epistole et Evangeli," published at Venice in
162. Judas the Es"ZnT Fac- 1673> nearly a hun<ired years after the porcelain.
simile of old Italian wood- This book is copiously illustrated with old cop-
cut- perplates, bought up for the purpose, and had
been preserved on our shelves only because of two of these, which we
had marked as uncatalogued works of eminent engravers of the sixteenth
century. One, an engraving 5 by 6£ inches, is the original of the design
on the bowl in the minutest respects, only that the tablet held by the
lion is blank. Again, we do not find any help to know the meaning of

ITALY.

267

163. Fac- simile of Engraving.
Original ol the Medicean bowl.

P. G. The wood-cut and the copperplate are here given (Ills. 162, 163)
reproduced (for the New York Nation) in small size by photographic
process. The engraving is signed, in the lower
left-hand corner, with the monogram given below,
which may be either of Marc Antonio Baimon-
di, Giorgio Ghisi (Mantuano), Antonio of Trent
(Fantuzzi), or Antonio Salamanca, a well-known
dealer in and retoucher of old plates. Innumer
able conjectures arise here. Fantuzzi was a pu
pil of Girolamo Mazzola (Parmigiano), who paint
ed the Vision of St. Jerome, whose name he bore.
Did Parmigiano paint this also ? And did Fan
tuzzi engrave it from his work, and place it on
the plate with G. P. ? Did George Ghisi or
Marc Antonio repeat it from Giulio Pippi ? We
have no doubt that one of the great engravers,
or some one accustomed to prepare copies of paintings for them in mono
chrome, executed the bowl. Baimondi was dead nearly
\ it ~ fifty years before it was painted. Shall we fall back on
hJ\ jO\' Ghig^ to whom, indeed, we are inclined to attribute the
original engraving ?
The subject is always called St. Mark. From the position of the fig
ure, seated on rolling clouds, from the appearance of the lion, expressing
distinctly affection and companionship, and by no means looking like a
mere emblem or symbol, we have suspected it to be a representation of St.
Jerome, who is eminently regarded in the Church as the Father or Preach
er of the Judgment. The idea receives confirmation from the position of
the plate in our volume of the Gospels and Epistles, where it appears oppo
site to the Gospel for the first Sunday in Advent (Luke xxi.), which fore
tells the terrors of coming doom. Is it just possible that the letters P. G.
were placed by the decorator on the blank tablet of the engraving he was
copying, to say that this figure, seated on and surrounded by dark clouds
and writing in a book, represents the Preacher of the Judgment, Girolamo
Padre ? The subject is so full of interest in the history of art that any
suggestion, however wild, is worth considering.
Whoever he was, the first European artist on porcelain must for the
present rest unknown with the first European inventor of porcelain, the
old man of Venice, who was too old to leave home and win wealth and
fame, while we pass on to a history more modern and better preserved.
The porcelain art was lost at Florence almost as soon as discovered,

268 PORCELAIN.

UB"

m*j

/' ¥'~ ~
Mpl
IP
<Ǥ
5S18II5
and did not reappear in Italy for more than a century. The faience-
makers of Castelli and Naples were producing their work, the last of the
long series of Italian majolica, when Charles III. was induced to found
the Capo-di-Monte porcelain factory at Naples. That it grew out of a
faience pottery is highly probable, and it is said to have produced fai
ence. But its triumphs were in soft -paste porcelain, which it began to
make about 1736. Whence the workmen derived their knowledge of the
art does not appear, and it is by some supposed to have been an indepen
dent discovery, like that at St. Cloud, in France. The king took great
pride in it, working with his own hands in the factory,
and encouraging the production of good commercial
wares for the use of his subjects. On the accession
of Ferdinand IV., in 1759, the second period of the
works commenced. In the annual fairs held in the
palace square, a booth was devoted to the porcelain ;
and the king took great interest in the daily reports
of sales, which were brought to him with the names
of purchasers. The factory continued in successful
164 CujTanT Saucer °Peration tul 1821, when it was closed. In 1759 it
(Capo-di-Monte. T.- had sent a colony of workmen to Madrid to establish
p- Co11-) there the Buen Betieo factory.
Fair specimens of porcelains of Capo-di-Monte are not rare. Naples
and the neighborhood abound in the oldest as well as the more recent
work. Great quantities were produced for use in Italian houses, and are
plenty in the bric-a-brac shops. The fine specimens, as of all factories, are
rare. Those made in the second period, after 1760, decorated with col
ored reliefs, are less common, having been produced for the more wealthy
purchasers. These have been extensively reproduced at Florence, where
the Doccia factory, having bought the old moulds of Capo-di-Monte, has
constantly made imitations, retaining the Capo mark. Dresden and other
factories have also imitated them. Fine specimens, especially those deco
rated with colored reliefs, are costly. The latter include exquisite shell
and flower work, as well as groups of figures in mythological and other
scenes, which, on pieces of larger size, are exquisitely moulded, and deli
cately painted and gilded. On smaller objects the relief decorations are
not always sharp, though invariably tasteful in color. The Doccia counter
feits are usually more gaudy, and the porcelain is thicker and more milky.
Among small pieces, especially cups and saucers, decorated only with
paintings, many equal or surpass, in delicacy and perfection of work, the
finest productions of Sevres or Dresden. Considered as a whole, the
ITALY. 269
Capo-di-Monte painted porcelains, cheap and expensive, rank in taste,
beauty, and artistic finish above those of any other European factory.
Large objects, especially plaques for wall use, with colored reliefs, are
superb products of art, wholly unrivalled elsewhere. A room in the pal
ace at Portici was covered with plaques painted richly, and bordered with
reliefs of flowers, squirrels, monkeys, and birds. The mirror-frames and
chandeliers were also of porcelain.
The stippled character of flesh-painting in Capo-di-Monte work, usu
ally referred to as a means of identification, while characteristic, must not
be depended on. We have seen fine work of this factory without the
stippling, and fine Dresden work stippled in the Capo style.
Figures and groups were made at Capo-di-Monte of very great beauty.
These are found in pure white, aud in colors. The knobs of large table-
tureens and other dishes were often in figures, and many of these are ad
mirable specimens of moulding. The early mark of a fleur-de-lis was
also used at Buen Betiro. Its form varies on different specimens. The
crowned N mark is sometimes stencilled backward.
The Marquis Ginori founded a porcelain factory at La Doccia, his
villa, not far from Floeence, in 1737. It was a private enterprise, and
has since remained in the Ginori family. Great attention has always been
paid to the artistic character of its work, and the products have been in all
varieties — vases, figures, groups, large and small, and the customary ser
vices and table wares. Accomplished modellers and artists have been
employed at all times.
Long ago the factory became possessed of the Capo-di-Monte moulds,
and has since reproduced the relief wares of that factory, with the mark ;
and, in addition to good original art, the factory has imitated various other
fabrics. The early figures of Doccia, in white, occasionally somewhat yel
lowish in glaze, are extraordinary specimens of moulding. The products
are in both soft and hard paste porcelain, and also in a hybrid porcelain,
midway in paste between pottery and porcelain, called terraglia. Pieces
in this ware, decorated in blue, resemble the Oriental.
Venice. — We have seen that Venice produced the first porcelain made
in Europe, so far as is now known. But the lost art was not revived till
the eighteenth century. In 1726, a porcelain factory was in existence in
Venice, as appears by a mark, Vena a.g 1726, on a soft-paste saucer, deco
rated with arms. This was probably the work of the Vezzi brothers, who
were of a family of goldsmiths, and were ennobled by the senate in 1716.
They established a porcelain factory, probably about 1726 ; but little is
known of its work.

270

PORCELAIN.

Specimens in paste of varying hardness are known, of which the deco
rations are frequently in red lines, forming geometric patterns, enclosing
figures and landscapes. The later Venetian factory under Cozzi produced
similar decorations, but Sir W. B. Drake attributes the older wares to the
Vezzi, and says they have the edges, and occasionally the handles, covered
with silver or platina, " producing the effect of oxidized metal settings."
He also describes two cups and saucers of hard paste, the decoration re
sembling the best Dresden. On one of the saucers is the Dresden mono
gram,^.. P.; but one cup and saucer are both marked IW1, with the letter
M impressed, while the other cup and saucer are also marked Ven" in red,
and on the saucer are the letters m. c. over the letter A engraved in the
paste. Other specimens marked Yen" are known, with decorations in fig
ures and flowers, birds, arabesques, etc., and this mark is now assigned to
the Vezzi fabric. The peculiar red of Venice can be recognized on these,
as on the works of Cozzi.
To. the same factory are attributed decorations of borders in diaper-
work, black and colored, with small gilt points on crosses at the intersec
tions of the lines. These are chiefly table wares in hard paste.
The Vezzi factory probably ceased about 1740. In 1757, a grant was
made to Hewelcke & Co. of the right to
make porcelain, but it does not appear that
they made any. In 1764, Domenico Cozzi
experimented in making imitations of Ori
ental porcelain ; and this factory, success
fully established, continued till 1812. Some
of Cozzi's work is remarkably fine. He
made decorated copies of Oriental porce
lains ; his red, green, and blue, and his gild
ing, being specially rich. Good figures, in
biscuit and in colors, were produced.
All the Venetian porcelain-makers pro
duced both hard and soft paste. In examin
ing marked specimens of Venice, care must
165. Venice Cup and Saucer: Cozzi be taken to distinguish the anchor mark
P^Coii) ecoratlon m re ¦ ( •" from a similar mark used at Chelsea, in
England, and at other factories.
To Nove Antonibon brought a Dresden workman in 1752, and
thereafter made hard and soft paste porcelain of high character until 1802,
when the works were leased to Baroni, who also made some charming
ware, but, after a few years, suspended. From 1825 to 1835, Gio. Bat-

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.

271

tista Antonibon and his son revived the works, but since 1835 have made
only faience.
Soft-paste porcelain was made at Treviso in the latter part of the last
century by the brothers G. and A. Fontebasso, whose marks, G. A. F. F.
and F. F., occur on pieces, as also Treviso.
At Turin (Vinovo), about 1770, Professor Gioanetti, or Giovanetto,
established a factory of soft-paste porcelain. The marks are a cross, in
the paste or in color, sometimes with V, or V.N and other letters. The
products were tasteful in shape and decoration.

VI.-SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
Charles III. brought to Madeid workmen and materials from the
Capo-di-Monte factory at Na
ples in 1759, and founded the
celebrated Buen Betiro facto
ry of hard and soft paste porce
lains and other ceramic wares,
which was sometimes called La
China. Bemoving from Naples
to Madrid, on his accession to
the crown of Spain, the king,
d.i ii . 166. Jardiniere: Buen Retiro porcelain. (Marryat.)
the queen as well, seem to v '
have had such interest in ceramic art that they determined to foster it in
Spain. The result was the establishment of one of the most noted fabrics
of Europe. The director, Bonicelli, proceeded immediately to examine
the earths of Spain ; and so soon as the workmen, artists, and materials
had arrived, buildings were erected in the Buen Betiro Gardens, under the
direction of the royal architect, Don Carlos Antonio de Bourbon, who is
said to have been a black slave, who had been educated by the royal fam
ily at Naples. The buildings were completed in 1760, and the work estab
lished with great secrecy, no strangers being admitted. Porcelains were
soon after produced, but the exact date remains unknown. For many
years no wares were sold, the factory being conducted as a royal luxury,
and its products used in the palaces, or disposed of as presents. In and
after 1789 the porcelain of Buen Betiro was offered to the public at a
shop in the gardens, and later in Madrid ; but the prices were very high,
and sales not large. The great works were for royal purposes. Two
rooms, one in the palace at Madrid and another at Aranjuez, are lined
with porcelain plaques superbly painted and ornamented with reliefs.

272 PORCELAIN.

Much of the earlier wares resembled the work of Capo-di-Monte; but
in the nineteenth century Sevres was frequently copied. White and
colored figures were made, and imitations of Wedgwood's blue-and-white
jasper wares were among the finest products.
In 1808, when the French entered Madrid, they occupied the facto
ries, and effectually destroyed them, say the English authorities; while the
Spaniards charge the final vandalism on the English, who took possession
in 1812, under Wellington. The buildings were blown up by Lord Hill,
on the evacuation that year. Ferdinand II. revived the manufacture at
La Mancha, but the glory of Buen Betiro had departed.
Porcelain was made at Alcora in 1756, but nothing is definitely
known of it. A tea-service is known with the shield of arms of Cordova,
and the name Gerona under it, but this is by some supposed to be Chi
nese w'ork. Modern factories of porcelain exist in Spain at Barcelona,
Sargadelos, Seville, and Moncloa ; the latter going back to 1827.
At Vista Alegre, Oporto, a hard-paste porcelain factory was estab
lished in 1790 by Bintobasso, which had royal patronage until 1840.
The mark was V. A., with a crown, in gold or in colors. A successor,
marking V. A., without the crown, continues the work.

VII.-FRANCE.
In 1698, a family of potters named Chicanneau made soft-paste porce
lain at St. Cloud. Martin Lister, physician to Queen Anne of England,
describes a visit to their works in that year, the transparency of the wares,
and the beauty of the decoration. He says that the secret of the paste
had been known to the proprietor for twenty -five years, but had been
brought to perfection within three years past. This would fix the date
of the first making of soft-paste porcelain in France at about 1695. A
patent for ten years to make porcelain at St. Cloud and elsewhere,
granted to the heirs of Pierre Chicanneau in 1702, recites that Pierre
Chicanneau had experimented many years, and that his children had,
since his death, succeeded before 1696 in making veritable porcelain.
The widow of Pierre Chicanneau married one Trou, and had two sons,
Henri and Gabriel. Subsequently Henri Trou conducted the St. Cloud
factory, and Marie Moreau, widow of a Chicanneau, with Dominique Chi
canneau, about 1722, established works in Paris. Marryat says, "The
paste of the St. Cloud porcelain is compact, and milky in color, the lead
glaze vitreous, and unequally laid on, so as to become yellowish, and set
tling into drops. Much of the china is modelled with flowers or birds in

FRANCE. 273

relief, closely resembling the white Oriental ; the pieces with imbricated
or artichoke leaves are well known. Others are decorated in the French
style, such as the cups and saucers, with blue arabesque borders, the sides
gadrooned. Colored pieces are more rare, and, unless marked, it is dim-
cult to distinguish them from those of Chantilly, Mennecy, and Sevres, as
all four manufactories adopted the Chinese style of decoration."
While the St. Cloud factory was successfully producing porcelain,
Beaumur made experiments in Paris, designed to ascertain the compo
nent parts of Chinese and other porcelain, and produced in 1739 a ware
known as Beaumur's Borcelain. This is simply glass, which after man
ufacture is subjected for some time to a high temperature, not up to melt
ing heat. Under this treatment, glass undergoes a series of changes, the
first of which gives it the appearance of porcelain. Beaumur's experi
ments are interesting, as they were directed towards the discovery of por
celain paste, as a variation of glass paste, and were conducted from that
point of view, while Bottcher, at Dresden, and others sought it from pot
tery, as a variation of pottery compositions. Both views were right, since
the composition lies midway between earthenware and glass, and is in re
ality earth in minute particles held up and held together by translucent
glass. In 1711, while Lille was under the dominion of Holland, Barthelemy
Dorez and Bierre Pelissier established a factory of soft -paste porcelain
there. In their application to the mayor and council for leave to estab
lish it, they stated that it would be the second porcelain factory in Europe,
St. Cloud being the only other. The products closely resembled those of
St. Cloud, and were long confused with them in collections. In a later
application to the mayor, the founders state that the master of the Bouen
factory had thought that he had discovered the secret, and had made
wares which he sent to Paris for sale as St. Cloud fabrics, which were so
poor that they had injured the reputation of St. Cloud, but that the fraud
had been discovered, and Bouen had been constrained to abandon the fab
rication. This accusation, if accepted as true, leaves a doubt whether the
Bouen fabric was porcelain.
Claude Beverend, a Delft potter, removed to Baris, and in 1664 ob
tained a grant to make faience, and to imitate the porcelain of the Indies.
This grant has given rise to much discussion in France, and it is main
tained on the one side, and denied on the other, that Beverend produced
porcelain. There is no satisfactory evidence of his having done so, but
many French amateurs attribute to him works and marks which are not
otherwise assignable. 18

274 PORCELAIN.

In 1725, Ciquaire Cirou established at Chantillt a factory of soft-
paste porcelain, and produced articles of great beauty in every form,
which became highly popular. The Chantilly sprig pattern, a small blue
flower scattered over the piece, was long a favorite, and was everywhere
copied. This factory continued till the French Bevolution, and was re
vived in 1793 by an Englishman, Mr. Potter, who made hard paste and
faience, imitating Wedgwood and other English wares. In 1803, a new
factory was founded. The surface of Cirou's work was of a pure white,
produced by the use of tin in the glaze, but the body was almost opaque.
Louis Poterat, of Bouen, obtained in 1673 a grant for making porce
lain similar to the Chinese. For this potter the invention of soft-paste
porcelain in France has been claimed, but the claim is not supported. He
may have produced wares in imitation of Oriental, but the chief evidence
of this rests on the accusation before mentioned, made by potters at Lille,
that he sold his wares as St. Cloud porcelain, injured the reputation by
the inferior quality of his fabrics, and was compelled to stop their pro
duction. Specimens of porcelain are known, which M. Jacquemart and
other French authorities attribute to Poterat — an attribution generally
acquiesced in by French connoisseurs; but other specimens bearing for
mark A. P. with a star are much disputed. The subject, which has more
local than general interest, has been discussed in France, without reach
ing a satisfactory conclusion.
In 1735, Francis Barbin established a factory of soft-paste porcelain
at Mennecy- Villeroy, and produced excellent ware, decorated in every
style and with great artistic ability. Fine figures and groups, rivalling
the work of Sevres, were made. In 1773, this factory ceased, its materi
als being removed to Bourg-la-Beine.
In 1740, two brothers, Dubois, workmen from St. Cloud, went to Vin
cennes, and offered to M. Orry de Fulvy, Intendant of Finance under
Louis XV., to sell the secret of making porcelairl. The offer was accepted,
and a laboratory at Vincennes assigned for them. Three years of fruit
less labor and an expense of sixty thousand francs resulted in failure, and
they were discharged. M. Biocreux attributed to them ware having for
mark a tower, but this has also been assigned to Tonrnay. Experimental
work was continued in the Vincennes laboratory until 1745, when a
French sculptor, Charles Adam, formed a company, to which the king,
Louis XV., granted special privileges for thirty years, and assigned a loca
tion for the works in the Chateau of Vincennes.
The early products of the work at Vincennes were chiefly flowers in
porcelain and wares in imitation of Oriental. In 1753, the king, Louis

FRANCE. 275

XV., became one-third owner of the works, and it acquired the title of
Boyalty. Madame de Pompadour is said to have taken great interest in
its productions, and they were now brought to such perfection that their
beauty and the favor of royalty together produced a vastly increased de
mand for them. Increased business required larger accommodations, and
in 1756 the works were removed to Sevres, where buildings had been
erected for them.
Sevres. — In 1756, after the removal from Vincennes, Louis XV. pur
chased the entire interest and became sole owner of the porcelain works.
A decree of January 17th, 1760, provided that the work should be called
"Manufacture de Porcelaine de France" a name which has disappeared
in the simple word Sevres. The same decree forbade any person to make
porcelain plain or painted, gilded or not, with relief sculpture, flowers or
figures, except only that they might make white porcelain painted in blue
in Chinese patterns. Gilding was specially prohibited in all other fac
tories, on either pottery or porcelain.
In 1761, the secret of making hard-paste porcelain was purchased of
Pierre Antoine Hannong, whose name appears in connection with the
spread of this art in various places. But as this secret consisted only
in the use of kaolin, and kaolin was not known to exist in France, except
of inferior quality, it was a useless purchase until 1769. A lady named
Darnet, wife of a surgeon of St. Yrieix, near Limoges, had found near that
place some white clay, which she submitted to her husband as a possible
substitute for soap in washing. He sent a specimen to Macquer, chemist
in the Sevres factory, who recognized in it the desired kaolin. The quan
tity was found to be abundant, and in 1769 the first hard-paste porcelain
was produced at the royal factory. Thereafter hard and soft paste both
were made at Sevres until 1804. Soft paste was not made from 1805 un
til 1847, when it was resumed, and since that time both pastes are pro
duced. The phrase Vieux Sevres is arbitrarily confined to soft-paste wares
made before the year 1800.
From the time when the king became sole proprietor, the Sevres fac
tory has always employed the highest skill in the art, both in the model
ling and in the decoration of its products. Hence a long list of artists,
eminent as Sevres decorators, whose works are sought as eagerly by lov
ers of porcelain as are the works of other artists on panel and canvas
by their admirers. Boileau was director from 1760 to 1773 ; Parent suc
ceeded him, but was discharged in 1779, for selling factory works for his
private benefit. Begnier succeeded Parent in 1779, and continued to be
director until imprisoned by the Bepublicans in 1793. A commission of

276

PORCELAIN.

three members of the convention then superintended the affairs, Chanou
being in immediate charge, and thereafter Salmon, Etlinger, and Meyer
were joint directors until 1800, when Brongniart became director. Alex
ander Brongniart is one of the most distinguished men in ceramic history.
Learned, accomplished, having a thor
oughly correct and critical taste, he was
eminently fitted for the position which
he occupied until his death, in 1847. Al
though the soft -paste work of the last
century has been the favorite with col
lectors, the Sevres factory never attained
to such success in any former period as
under the direction of Brongniart, nor
are its products of this time surpassed in
any portion of its history. In some re
spects the works of the nineteenth cen
tury in hard paste far outdo all their
predecessors. Great vases, of sizes un
known before, were made under the di
rection of Brongniart. Plaques, four feet
by three, of white porcelain, were paint-
167. Sevres Vase: gros bleu. Height 13 •;, '. i# \ .^ . r,. _
inches. (Bernal sale; the pair sold for ed by eminent artists with copies of Ba-
£890.) phael, Vandyke, Titian, and the works of
other great masters in the galleries of France and Italy. Table services
of unequalled lustre, dishes with lapis-lazuli borders, ornamented with
landscapes, portraits, and deceptive copies of cameos, attested the success
of the new director. The colors on the soft paste sank gently into the
paste, and produced more harmonious and delicate effects, but the col
ors resting on the glaze in the hard paste gave more brilliancy and eclat,
while the gilding had more of the effect of solid metal. The art student
finds it difficult to decide which of the two classes of ware are the more
satisfactory to his love of the beautiful, the vieux Sevres, or the hard paste
of the Brongniart period. The superb plaques and other works of Le
Gnay, Langlace-, Georget, Constantin, Beranger, Bobert, and numerous
other artists of the later period rank as high as any of the productions of
the former century.
Brongniart was the first director who brought to his work a thorough
scientific and practical knowledge of all departments of the art. His
published works on the subject are of great value, and the splendor of
the products of the factory under his care abundantly exhibit his ability.

FRANCE. 271

The personal attention which he gave to the details of the work is at
tested by occasional specimens on which his approval is endorsed — " Vu
Alex. B." This visa was not designed as a mark, but appears to have
been the stroke of a crayon made by the director with great rapidity on
the backs of such pieces as, for special reasons, were submitted to his ex
amination after the painting and before the firing. After his death the
directors have been Ebelman, succeeded by Begnault, following whom
came Bobert, the present director. Among the most noteworthy ad
vances in the art made from time to time was the adoption, under the
administration of Begnault, in 1861, of the principle of compressing the
paste in moulds of large objects by means of air pressure. Brevious to
-this, great difficulty had been found in preventing the collapse of large
vases, moulded in the wet paste, and not yet thoroughly dried or baked.
By the new process, the mould holding the wet paste is subjected to an
air-pump, which, as may be desired, presses the air into the interior of the
mould and paste, or exhausts the air from a receiver adjusted to be air
tight around its exterior ; and in either case the uniform and powerful
pressure of the atmosphere compresses the paste and produces a strong
object, from which the mould may be at once removed without danger
to the form. This is not only one of the great triumphs of the Sevres
factory, but one of the most ingenious of modern applications of scientific
knowledge to the useful arts.
The history of the Sevres factory is a brilliant art history. The styles
of its products are illustrations of the changing tastes of the upper classes
in France ; for Sevres porcelain was always so expensive that its use was
confined to the wealthier of the population. The
prevailing .styles are known as the Pompadour, or Rp*§JP
Bocaille, from 1753 to 1763 ; style Louis XV., from ''¦ gJ] f
1763 to 1786 ; style Louis XVI., from 1786 to [ILL.
1793. Every class of article known to ceramic art ~
was made. Furniture was made of wood in the j^0^3t^!K
factory, and ornamented with plaques of porcelain, j^^^^^^^'^S^^i
the wood being little visible between the gorgeous gl \ S
enamels, over which were porcelain statues, exqui- M^fe^^^^^li^^;
sitely modelled. Entire tables of porcelain, clocks, ^kj§*j^:^^^ M'
armoires, vast jardinieres, vases on the pedestals of ^^^^^^%fW
which stand groups of animals, candelabra in great ^^ggggSS^
variety, mirror and other frames, all of the most 168. Sevres Cup and Saucer.
elaborate workmanship, and innumerable other (Genet Coll.)
forms of useful and decorative furniture, were among the factory prod-

278

PORCELAIN.

ucts. In 1780, Mademoiselle Beaupre, an actress, appeared in a carriage
whose panels were porcelain, " ornee de peintures delicieuses, les encadre-
ments en cuivre surdore." In 1782, the king gave to the Comtesse du
Nord a toilet-table and mirror in porcelain, which cost seventy-five thou
sand livres. The patronage of the crown and of Madame de Pompadour,
Madame Du Barri, and others connected with the court enabled the fac
tory to execute many of its most expensive works.
While the factory was still at Vincennes, it produced porcelain flow
ers, painted to imitate nature. It is said that these were made by the
wives of workmen. They became popular,
and formed an important part of the work.
Brongniart states that two groups, made in
1748 for the king and dauphiness, cost three
thousand livres. The Marquise de Pompa
dour once received the king in winter at the
Chateau of Belle Vue in a room opening from
which was what appeared to be a conservatory
filled with exquisite flowers in bloom, and emit
ting their various odors. All were porcelain
of Vincennes. The story relates that the king
was surprised, deceived, and delighted at the
spectacle; but it is probable that the surprise
was feigned, since another story, also exagger
ated, but founded on fact, says that the king
once ordered porcelain flowers, chiefly for the
marquise and Belle Vue, to the amount of
eight hundred thousand livres.
Perhaps the most celebrated service made
at Sevres was that executed in 1778 for the
Empress Catharine II. of Bussia, consisting of 744 pieces, and costing
328,188 livres, equivalent, in our time, to nearly $200,000. It was subse
quently scattered, a hundred and sixty pieces being stolen at the time of a
fire in the palace. These were sold in England. Most of them were re
purchased by the Emperor Nicholas and restored to Bussia, about 1852.
A few pieces, however, are still in private collections. A plate of the
service was sold at Baron Thibou's sale in February, 1875, for
twenty-four hundred francs. This plate was probably like one
in the possession of Bobert Napier, Esq., dated 1777, which is
described as of turquoise ground, having in the centre the letter
E, formed of small flowers, and II interlaced, over which is the I i ;>>

169. Sevres Vase : gros bleu.
Height 15-J- inches. Paintings
by Gremont. (Bernal sale ; the
pair sold for £900.)

FRANCE.

279

imperial crown between branches of palm and laurel. On the border,
in medallions, are portraits, exquisite antique engraved gems on jasper
ground, and two narrow borders of white, with flowers and gilding. The
marks of all the artists are on the back of the plate — Dodin for cameos
and busts, Niquet for the initials in flowers, Boulanger for the bouquets,
and Prevost for the gilding.
Madame Du Barri relates in a letter that she had made a present of
two blue cats, in Sevres porcelain, to Madame de Mirepoix. These two
cats are described by Marryat as of old turquoise celadon, with head dra
peries of ormolu, bearing ormolu candelabra for four lights on their backs.
The ears were pierced, and diamonds to the value of 150,000 francs sus
pended in them. They were sold at Christie's, in London, in 1863, for
£367 10s., without the diamonds, of course. Other animals, snuffboxes,
and various small articles were also made.
Jewelled porcelain, so called from the ornamentation in colored pastes
resembling precious stones, pearls, etc., was first produced according to
some authorities in 1777, others say in 1780. This date should be borne
in mind by collectors, as a large quantity of counterfeit Sevres porcelain
is of this description, and it frequently occurs that the date of the counter
feit is earlier than 1 777, in which case the piece is false. Any jewelled
porcelain which is dated with a single
letter from A to Y is not Sevres. The
year 1777 is dated Z.
Statuettes, groups, animals, medal
lions in white and in blue or black re
lief on white, busts and other objects,
were produced in porcelain bisque in
great numbers. Over five hundred
models were preserved in the museum.
Many by Falconnet, Boizot, La Bue,
Pajou, and other modellers are cele
brated. These were frequently made
to accompany dinner services, and were
superb ornaments of the table.
No collection exists which can be said to illustrate fully, or even fairly,
the splendid variety of the work of this factory. It was a happy idea of
Brongniart, in 1805, to found a ceramic museum at Sevres. Louis XVI.
presented his collection of Greek vases, formed by Denon, and the Govern
ment gathered specimens of the clays and fabrics of France. Foreign
governments and individuals contributed by gift or in exchange. In 1826,

171. Sevres Plate. (Hoe Coll.)

280 PORCELAIN.

Brongniart brought to his aid in the museum Biocreux, who had been a
flower-painter in the factory from 1808, and whom an accident had disa
bled from pursuing his work. He was made conservateur of the museum,
and so continued till his death, in 1847. The principle on which the mu
seum was founded and conducted may well afford an example to be imi
tated by other museums which are in danger of gathering merely curious
or beautiful art, without effecting illustration of practical art. " We pre
fer," said Brongniart, " a Greek, Boman, or Mexican vase with defects
which exhibit the principles of their fabrication, to a Greek, Boman, or
Mexican vase which might represent the most instructive subject in the
history of those peoples." Brongniart gathered in the museum the mod
els of all the pieces useful or ornamental — vases, figures, and groups — that
the factory had executed from its foundation. He thus effected one of
his special designs, the history of what, in the " Visitor's Guide," is called
" le gout dans les arts ; c'est a dire, les variations qui parfois s'operent
rapidement dans la facon de voir, non seulement du public, mais des ar
tistes." The " Salles des Modelles " contained the collection of forms, but it
was sadly broken up by the Prussians in the war of 1870. Among the
vases were styles known as the vase ecritoire, vase du milieu du roi, vase
du milieu Falconet, vase chaine, vase console, vase a bandes, vase vaisseau
a mat, vase fontaine Dubarri, vase Duplessis a tetes d'elephants, vase Tri
ton, vase bas-reliefs Clodion, vase a 1' Amour Falconnet, vase a cartels
Bachelier, vase ceuf garni.
The celebrated colors characteristic of Sevres were the bleu de roi, a
deep dark blue, sometimes veined or sprinkled with gold, to resemble
lapis lazuli ; the bleu turquoise, discovered in 1752 by Hellet ; the rose
Pompadour, sometimes called rose Du Barri, discovered in 1757 by
Xzrowet ; the violet pensee" ; the vert pomme, or vert jaune ; the vert pre,
or vert anglais ; and the jaune clair or jonquille. In the use of these as
ground-colors, presenting an even tint of equal richness and beauty on a
surface, this factory had no rival.
Without seeing the specimens, it is not easy to form an idea of the
cost of Sevres porcelain in the earlier times, for the value of such articles
always depended on the amount of work expended on each, as well as on
the "breakage," which often requires the moulding and baking of several
pieces before one perfect is finished. Some of the prices, however, are in
teresting, as illustrations of the luxury of the work and of the times. The
king gave to the King of Denmark, in 1758, a service of green with fig
ures, flowers, and birds, costing 30,000 livres ; in 1786, to the Archduke

FRANCE. 281

Ferdinand of Austria a service of turquoise, with daisies and roses, sculpt
ured centres, and also a blue cabaret, with miniatures, busts of the king
and queen, all which cost 26,748 livres ; in 1787, to the Spanish ambassa
dor a grand table service, blue ground with flowers, which cost 48,252
livres; and in 1788, to the Sultan of Mysore a table service, vases, cups,
and busts, costing 33,126 livres.
An album at the factory contains a large number of colored drawings
of plates, made during the last century, with prices, and names of some of
the purchasers. A few of these are as follows : Livres.
Plate : flowers (Prince Louis de Eohan)  12
Plate: blue border and centre — flowers and gilt (Princess de Lamballe) . . 18
Plate : rose and foliage (Madame Du Barri)  27
Plate : Chinese figures (Madame Du Barri)  140
Plate : ground green ceil de perdrix — birds and busts  72
Plate : birds, the names under — bleu-de-roi borders  72
The marks on Sevres porcelain are of two kinds — the factory marks,
and the marks used as signatures by artists who decorated the pieces.
Both are given in the Table in detail, so far as known, and we believe our
list to be the most complete hitherto published. The factory marks va
ried from time to time. It is important for the inexperienced collector
to note that though the form of the interlaced double J£ is always sub
stantially as indicated in the Table of Marks herewith, it was not always
jtrecisely the same, being pencilled on the ware with a brush, not stamped
with a uniform type. The marks are usually in blue, except as otherwise
indicated. A cut in the glaze across the mark indicates that the piece
was sold from the factory in pure white, and decoration on pieces thus
marked is not original in the factory.
A system of dates by letters was adopted in 1753. It rarely occurred
that the date letter was omitted, and therefore articles bearing the simple
double L mark should be of Vincennes fabric, as the factory was there
until 1756. But immense quantities of counterfeit porcelain bear this
mark, without date. Services in velvet-lined boxes, plates in bleu de roi,
and turquoise, with jewels and paintings, cups and saucers quite prettily
made and ornamented, abound in bric-a-brac shops, and the supply is kept
up constantly from French makers. None of these would deceive a col
lector who had familiarized his eye to the genuine works of the factory,
and happily now art museums on both sides of the Atlantic are begin
ning to furnish opportunity for study by examples. Counterfeits are
abundant, and the collector needs experience before trusting his judgment

282 PORCELAIN.

in purchasing. We have already noticed the frequent occurrence of jew
elled ware bearing dates earlier than 1777, and therefore counterfeit. It
sometimes occurs that hard-paste wares bear a Sevres mark and date prior
to 1769, when hard paste was first made. Such specimens are, of course,
counterfeit. Soft-paste specimens bearing date from 1804 to 1846 are for
the same reason counterfeits.
The most deceptive counterfeits are outside decorations on genuine
old Sevres porcelain. In 1813, Brongniart, having previously directed
the factory wholly to the production of hard paste, sold the entire stock
on hand of old soft-paste wares, including a large amount of unfinished
pieces. Three dealers, named Pe"res, Ireland, and Jarman, bought the lot,
and proceeded to decorate it in old styles. They employed Sevres artists,
and the results were so fine as to defy, in many cases, the most experi
enced collectors. In 1814, Louis XVIII. received a present of a de'jeuner
service, with medallion portraits of Louis XIV. and persons of his court,
which for two years remained at the Tuileries before it was suspected
to be one of the new counterfeits. An examination at the manufactory
showed that the plateau was of a late form, and the decoration certainly
not old. It was then placed in the Sevres Museum as an example.
Clignancouet. — This factory was established in 1775, by Pierre De-
ruelle, under the patronage of the Count de Provence, brother of the king.
The soft-paste wares were known as Porcelaine de Monsieur.
Boueg-la-Beine. — Jacques and Jullien removed their material hither
from Mennecy in 1773, and continued the manufacture of soft paste.
Oeleans. — The faience factory at Orleans, under the direction and
proprietorship of Gerault-Daraubert, made soft-paste porcelain in 1753.
The ware resembles that of other early French factories, as Mennecy,
Sceaux, etc. Various kinds of wares were made — flowers, figures, and
biscuit. Sceaux Penthievre.' — Jacques Chapelle, having founded here a factory
of faience, began to make soft-paste porcelain in 1750, and the product
was continued till towards the close of the century. Birds, groups of Cu
pids in clouds, bouquets, etc., characterize the wares, which are often of
the highest quality.
Arras. — A factory of soft-paste porcelain, established 1784, suspended
after four or five years. The work sometimes equalled Sevres, and is
highly esteemed. This ware is frequently disfigured by small particles of
coal which was used in place of wood for the baking, and which some
times adhered to the surface. The same thing occurred in other factories
occasionally.

FRANCE. 283

Boulogne. — A modern factory of superior porcelain, established by
Haffringe. Etiolles. — Factory established by Monnier, 1768, for soft paste ; after
ward made hard paste. Early work in imitation of St. Cloud.
Brancas-Lauragais. — The Count de Lauragais made hard-paste porce
lain in 1765 which was decorated in blue. He went to England, offered
to sell the secret, and in 1766 obtained an English patent, stating that he
had found the materials in England, and produced the porcelain there. If
true, this was the first hard-paste porcelain made in England as a special
ity ; Bow having previously made exceptional pieces. No specimens are
identified. Vincennes. — Pierre Antoine Hannong was manager of a porcelain fac
tory here, founded about 1786, and belonging to a M. Le Maire. It was
under the protection of Louis Philippe, Due de Chartres.
Niderviller. — We have described the faience of this place. Under
the Baron de Beyerle and Count Custine, hard-paste porcelain was made,
of good quality. Lanfray, who was Custine's director, brought it to great
perfection. After Custine's unfortunate end, Lanfray continued the works
as proprietor. In 1827, Dryander, of Sarrebruck, bought them, and after a
few years ceased to make porcelain. The stamped mark Niderville oc
curs on some fine statuettes and groups relating to America, such as B.
Franklin, and Franklin with Louis XVI. in a group. Lemire and Cyffle
are named as modellers of many of the beautiful groups of Niderviller.
Joseph Deutsch was a painter. The curious decoration of white cards
with black pictures on a ground resembling wood, which was used on pot
tery, was also used on porcelain.
Boissette. — Hard paste, established 1777.
Vaux. — A monogram, seemingly of VAVX, attributed to this place
(about 1770), is also attributed to Bordeaux.
La Seinie. — Established 1774.
Caen (1800-10). — Hard paste, resembling Sevres paste, well deco
rated. Valognes (1800-10). — Hard paste of the best quality, employing some
of the artists at Sevres.
Bayeux. — Established 1810, and still continuing. Hard paste.
Bordeaux. — Uncertain period. Jacquemart names a potter, Ver-
neuilles, to whom marks are assigned.
Tours.— Established 1782.
Valenciennes. — Hard paste. Established 1785; made biscuit groups
and figures, and other wares.

284 PORCELAIN.

St. Amand les Eaux. — Soft paste. Established 1815 by De Betti-
gnies. This factory has constantly made the best -known copies of old
Sevres pate tendre, even the fine vases of the old time.
Chatillon (Seine). — Hard paste was made here in 1775.
Nantes. — Hard paste. Established 1779 ; closed about 1790. Another
factory, of soft paste, was established in 1809.
Choisy-le-Boy. — Hard paste. Established 1786.
Limoges. — Soft paste. Established about 1774, by M. Massie. The
mark was C. D. It was discontinued 1788. Other works were estab
lished and soon suspended. About 1774, a factory of hard paste was
founded, which has continued till the present day. The director, ap
pointed in 1788, was M. Alluaud, a learned and skilful ceramist. Sev
eral other factories of hard-paste porcelain have been established at Li
moges in modern times.
Marseilles. — Savy, the widow Perrin, and Bobert, faience - makers,
are all supposed to have made porcelain. None is known of the first two.
Fine specimens, in soft and in hard paste, decorated with views of Mar
seilles, and other well-executed paintings, are attributed to Bobert.
Paris. — Many porcelain factories were established in Paris ; and, al
though generally unimportant, there are occasional pieces made in the
different shops, which were decorated by the best artists. Well-known
names of Sevres decorators are found on vases and other pieces of the
Paris makers. We have already mentioned the establishment of the
widow of Chicanneau of St. Cloud, founded about 1722, for soft paste, and
continued till about 1762.
The Manufacture du Due d'Orleans, for hard and soft paste, was
established 1784, and in 1786 was authorized by Louis Philippe Joseph,
Duke of Orleans, to sign L. P., and take the name by which it was
known. Henry F. Chanou established a hard-paste factory in 1784.
Jean Joseph Lazzia established a hard-paste factory in 1774.
The De La Couetille factory of hard paste, established in Paris in
1773 by Jean Baptist Locre", was important, and produced the finest class
of work, decorated by the best artists. It was called also la Manufacture
de Porcelaine d'Allemande, and the mark of two torches crossed is often
mistaken for that of Dresden, the porcelain being similar. This mark
resembles too that of Dubois, also in Paris. A large class of vases com
mon in America, covered with gilding, more or less ornamental, with han
dles moulded in serpent, scroll, and other forms, having on one or both
sides paintings, usually poorly executed, but sometimes fine, are of this

FRANCE. 285

factory. Marks are not common on them. We have seen specimens,
painted and signed by celebrated Sevres artists, which are valuable.
Jacob Pettit established at Belleville in Paris, in 1790, a hard-paste
factory, making fine work in vases, candelabra, figures, and a variety of
beautiful wares. He made porcelain flowers, mounted on metal branches
and leaves, and used as relief -work on vases, etc. Later these works, re
moved to Fontainebleau, have imitated Dresden with the mark.
A factory of hard paste, founded by Le Maire in 1780, was purchased
in 1783 by M. Nast, who produced choice work, much of which was ex
quisitely decorated. The factory is still in existence.
Honore established a hard -paste factory about 1785. In 1812, Ed
ward and Theodore Honore" formed a partnership with P. L. Dagoty,
and the works were called Manufacture de Madame la Duchesse d'An-
gouleme. Dagoty retired in 1820, and established another factory. The
same P. L. Dagoty had, at the end of the last century, a factory of hard
paste, which was later styled, and marked, Manufacture de S. M. Vlm-
peratrice. Pierre Antoine Hannong had a hard-paste factory, in 1773, in a fau
bourg of Paris, where he made wares signed H.
Vincent Dubois established in 1773 a hard-paste factory, using for his
mark two crossed branches with leaves, in allusion to his name. They
are sometimes called pointless arrows.
The Porcelaine d'Angouleme, hard paste, was made from 1780, by
Dihl & Guerhard. The finer works of this factory are prized.
The works of M. Feuillet in modern times are important because of
one of his marks, the interlaced L's of Sevres, enclosing the letter F,
often mistaken for the Sevres mark, which it resembles. He has pro
duced much superbly decorated work. His plates have ordinarily the
three support marks.
Isle St. Denis. — Hard paste, established 1778 by Laferte\ Bisque
busts are known, signed Gross.
Steasbourg. — About 1752, Paul Hannong, then working the faience
pottery at Strasbourg, learned the secret of hard-paste porcelain, and be
gan its fabrication. The interference of the royal factory at Sevres sus
pended his work, and he went to Frankenthal in 1753.

286 PORCELAIN.

VIII.-GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.
The introduction into Europe of the manufacture of hard - paste or
true porcelain was one of the most important events in history. Pot
tery was fragile, and its decoration was expensive if beautiful. Porcelain
was as beautiful as gems in its white condition, far more durable than
pottery, and, when it could be made cheaply, took the place of wood and
pewter in domestic use. Thus it became the vehicle for the introduction
of art, with its refining influences, into the most humble houses, and into
very many wealthy homes also where formerly gold and silver had been
abundant, but art had found no entrance. The civilizing and elevating
influences exerted by the discovery in Europe of the art of making true
porcelain can hardly be over-estimated. To form some idea of this, it is
only necessary to reflect on the vacuum that would be produced in do
mestic circles, among the rich as well as the poor, if all porcelain were
abolished, and all modern stone - ware, which has been produced as the
rival, and therefore as one of the effects, of porcelain.
China and Japan had made porcelain from a remote period, but up to
the year 1700 the quantity imported into Europe had been comparatively
small. Only the wealthy possessed it, and few even of that class. Little
was known except the blue-and-white. Wood and pewter furnished the
tables of a large portion of the population, giving place here and there to
coarse pottery, which in the houses of the wealthy was enriched with
more or less artistic decoration.
In 1701, the Elector of Saxony, Augustus II. , King of Poland, had
in his employ Tschirnhaus, an experienced chemist, and
John Frederic Bottcher, a young chemist, who together
sought the "philosopher's stone." Bottcher was a man
fond of gayety, uniting remarkably the characteristics
of a hard worker and a free drinker. Their laboratory
was in the old castle at Meissen, on the Elbe, about
twelve miles from Dresden. Tschirnhaus furnished
p^2" Bottcher with a clay found near Meissen, to be used in
172. Bottcher Ware making crucibles. Bottcher ascertained that this clay
Teapot, lacquered WOuld make a hard pottery, varying from deep brick-
andgilt. (T.-P. Coll.) , , , , , , . / 8 ,.,
red to a dark ashy brown in color, exceedingly strong,
as well as fine in grain. It was not porcelain, but a stone -ware. The
king recognized the value of the discovery; and possibly because of

miuxlajs X, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.

287

Bottcher's giving to this ware the name red porcelain encouraged the
chemist to seek the art of making true porcelain.
Bottcher ware, as this red stone -ware is commonly called, was pro
duced in considerable quantity and variety of form. It was at first with
out glaze, and was decorated by polishing and engraving the surface on
a lapidary's wheel, or by varnishing with lacquer, on which designs in gilt
were painted. Somewhat later, a ware, which has been classed as Bottcher
ware, was produced, of rich dark chocolate-color, well glazed, and decorated
with designs in gold and in silver, chiefly Oriental in character.
Bottcher's further experiments seem to have been continued with
out very much method, and consisted
in making pastes of various compo
sitions, which, being subjected to the
furnace heat, failed to produce por
celain. He stumbled on the secret
by an accident. The story is that
his valet purchased a new hair-pow
der in Dresden, and the chemist,
observing that his wig was heavier
than usual, tried some of the hair-
powder in one of his mixtures. The
result was true porcelain. Inquiry
led to the discovery that the hair-
powder was that clay which alone
of all clays will produce hard-paste
porcelain, and which is known by
its Chinese name, kaolin. An iron
master, one Schnorr, had, while rid- 173. Dresden Cup and Saucer : King's period.
ing on horseback at Aue, near ( .- . Co .)
Schneeburg, noticed this clay adhering to the hoofs of his horse. Schnee-
burg was in the mining district of the Erzgebirge, where nature had
stored silver, tin, iron, lead, coal, and even cobalt, which furnishes the best
blue in ceramic decoration. Doubtless the iron-master was led to think
this clay, unlike any other that he had seen, worth an examination in a
country so rich in mineral products. He found no better use for it, how
ever, than to sell it in Dresden for hair-powder, and by accident Bottcher
discovered that the ore -mountain district furnished also this treasure of
kaolin. The Government monopolized the discovery, and sought to keep
it a profound secret. The kaolin was placed in sealed casks by dumb
men, and conveyed to Meissen, where now the king established a porce-

288

PORCELAIN.

174. Dresden White Teapot: Marcolini
period. (T.-P. Coll.)

lain factory. Every precaution was taken to preserve the knowledge of
the art from becoming public. The workmen were not only sworn to
secrecy, but were practically prisoners in the castle at Meissen. On the
walls they read everywhere the notice, "Secrecy to the grave." But
stone-walls and oaths failed to guard this secret, which was more valua
ble to the world than would have been the philosopher's stone which the
discoverer had set out to find. Nevertheless, the rule of secrecy was ob
served at Meissen for a hundred years,
and was not repealed till in 1812, when
Napoleon sent Brongniart, the savant and
director at Sevres, to Meissen, to inspect
the Saxon processes. Even the king,
when he visited the works, went through
the formality of the oath as an example.
Within a few years after Bottcher's dis
covery, the art was known throughout
Europe, and various factories were estab
lished. There is some confusion about
dates in connection with Bottcher's dis
covery. Tschirnhaus died in 1708, and
it was probably about 1710 that Bottcher's heavy wig led to the knowl
edge of kaolin. The first public sale of Dresden or Meissen porcelain
was at the Leipsic fair in 1715. In 1718, a Meissen workman was bribed
to violate his oath, and carried the art to Vienna, whence it went, in 1720,
to Hochst, and then spread widely from year to year.
The rapidity with which the art sprang to perfection is not surprising,
since kaolin was the only substance wanting to the product of pure white
translucent hard paste. With the art of decorating pottery Europe had
long been thoroughly familiar, and the decoration of porcelain required
few new instructions.
The first color used at Meissen was the blue from cobalt, perhaps ob
tained from the same ore mountains near which the kaolin was found, and
pieces were decorated in the style of Oriental blue-and-white. But the
porcelain decorators soon used all the colors known to the faience decora
tors, and rapidly added to these. From about 1720 artists of great ability
were employed in the factory.
The history of the Dresden, Meissen, or Saxon porcelain factory (the
three names apply to the one factory) is usually divided into three pe
riods, designated as: 1. The King's period, ending 1756 or 1796; 2. The
Marcolini period, ending 1814 ; 3. The Modern period. The King's pe-

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.

289

175. Dresden Teapot. (T.-P. Coll.)

riod, in strict words, should be confined to the brief space 1731-33,
when the king in person superintended the works, but it is commonly ex
tended from 1731 to the breaking-up of
the factory by the war in 1756, and by
some to Marcolini's time.
Collectors of Dresden or other pot
tery or porcelain should not be misled
by fashions which often control and pre
vent the free exercise of taste. It is the
fashion to regard the work of the King's
period as the finest in every way, and it
therefore generally commands the high
est prices. But there was much poor
work done in that period, and much
work of high art executed in the Mar
colini period which fully equalled any
that had preceded it. The early por
tion of the Modern period also produced porcelain of the highest class and
artistic value. The judicious collector will be guided by an educated taste
in selecting specimens from the various periods.
Bottcher continued in charge of the factory till his death in 1719, at
the early age of thirty-five years. In 1720, Ploroldt became director. In
1731, the king himself took the direction, until his death, in 1733, when
Count Bruhl was appointed director, and so continued till the breaking-
up of the factory in the Seven Years'
War. Frederick the Great robbed the
Saxon establishment to enrich Ber
lin, but the factory resumed work un
der the direction of a commission ;
and after the peace, Dietrich, the cel
ebrated engraver, was first director.
In 1796, Count Marcolini became di
rector (Marryat says 1774), and so con
tinued till 1814. It has been sup
posed by some that up to the death
of Bottcher, in 1719, the factory pro
duced only white ware, without col
ors. Under Horoldt rapid advance
was made both in forms and decora
tion. Figures of men, beasts, and birds, of life size as well as small,
19

176. Dresden Ohocolate-pot : Marcolini period.
(T.-P. Coll.)

290

PORCELAIN.

111. Dresden Tray: Marcolini period. (T.-P. Coll.)

were produced. Kandler, a sculptor, was superintendent of modelling
after 1731.'
Many groups of this period are celebrated. Count Bruhl's tailor and
the tailor's wife riding on goats are well known, from frequent modern
reproductions. " The Carnival of Venice " consisted of more than a hun
dred pieces, mostly figurines, which could be arranged in one group, or
placed separately. The Japanese Museum at Dresden contains a number
of figures of wild animals of life size, and a large variety of specimens of
the early modelling. In the
first years the white porcelain,
not decorated, was never sold,
being reserved for the private
use of the king, or for pres
ents made by him. Speci
mens have therefore always
been rare. Baron Busch, Can
on of Hildesheim, had an art
of engraving or etching on
the surface of white porce
lain, and good specimens of
his work are esteemed most highly. A service thus decorated, lately be
longing to the Duke of Brunswick, was estimated at ten thousand pounds.
Angelica Kauffman painted on Dresden porcelain, and her oil-paintings,
as well as those of other eminent artists, were often copied by the artists
of the factory. Lindener (1725-45) is the most celebrated Dresden artist.
He painted birds and insects.
In the Seven Years' War, Frederick the Great took Dresden, and
seized on the royal factory, which was the property of the crown. He
carried to Berlin workmen, moulds, and
even materials, and from this plunder
the Berlin factory dates the origin of
its success. The question which is often asked
by persons not familiar with ceramic
collections, " Is the work of Dresden
or of Sevres the superior ?" can hardly
be answered. The Dresden hard-paste
porcelain was always superior to Sevres
as porcelain. In flower decoration, in birds, insects, and animals in gen
eral, in figures and figurines, Dresden work was generally superior. Ih

178. Dresden Teapot, to accompany Tray,
No. 177. (T.-P. Coll.)

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.

291

ground-colors, especially in rose and in blues, Sevres vastly excelled Dres
den. In general art, landscape, portrait, and figure painting, each lover
of art must answer the question for himself. Neither factory has prece
dence in reference to forms of vases and other articles, for both employed
eminent modellers, copied every known form of beauty, and produced
many miserable original forms. It is worthy of note, however, that in
figurines both Sevres and Dresden, and all other factories, were surpassed
by Hochst. The desire to possess old Sevres has, liowever, been so great
that its prices vastly exceed those of Dresden.
The factory marks used on Dresden ware at various periods are given
in the Table. They are usually in blue, under the glaze. The forms of
these marks vary, because they were made rapidly with a dashing stroke
by the decorator or workman. The examples given are typical, and slight
departures from these forms are unimportant.
The earliest marks known are the monogram of A. B., and the mark
of the caduceus of Mercury, as it
has been called, or the wand of
JEsculapius, as others think it.
The latter mark was used only on
pieces made for sale. The crown
ed A. B. is occasionally found in
gold. In 1721, the crossed swords,
taken from the arms of the Elect
or of Saxony, were adopted, usual
ly with a dot or a circle between
the handles, and continued in this
form until the Marcolini period,
during which a star took the
place of the dot. The modern
mark is the crossed swords with
out dot or star, occasionally accompanied by letters or numbers, or both.
The letters M. B. M., for Meissener Borzellan-Manufactur, and K. B. M.,
for Koniglicher Porzellan-Manufactur, are found on some early speci
mens, but these and some other marks are rare and exceptional.
Of late years this royal Saxon factory has descended to the production
of porcelains bearing its own ancient marks, a practice which not only
brings just condemnation on the present management, but inevitably tends
to the injury of its old reputation ; for the modern works are inferior to
those of many of the Continental factories.

179. Dresden Chocolate-pot, to accompany Tray,
No. 177. (T.-P. Coll.)

292

PORCELAIN.

All porcelain sold in white undecorated condition has the factory
mark cut across by one cut in the glaze. No decorated piece having the
•mark thus cut was decorated in the factory. But
many able artists have used the white porcelain
thus cut for decoration, and it does not follow that
a specimen is to be rejected on account of the
scratch across the factory - mark. It is only to be
remembered that a piece thus scratched is not a
specimen of the Dresden factory decoration. A dec
orated specimen with one or two scratches above or
. . ,. , , . ... . ,-, , -, -, 180. Dresden Saucer: King's
below the mark (not crossing it) is thus scratched period. (T.-P. Coll.)
because of some defect. Vessels for table use
which have defects are cut with two, three, or four scratches crossing
the mark, the defects being greater, the greater the number of marks.
We not unfrequently find table services consisting of some pieces dec
orated in the factory and some decorated outside on factory porcelain;
and it sometimes occurs that the outside decoration is the better. These
instances probably happen from the filling -up of partially broken ser
vices. The factory has, of late
years, produced wares in exten
sive quantity, counterfeiting its
own ancient marks.
Quite recently a large quan
tity of porcelain has been sold
in America, bearing the Dres
den mark, wdiich is made in oth
er factories. Figurines of a
coarse paste, poorly glazed, and
vases in a variety of forms, are
quite common. The collector
who has once learned the ap
pearance of old Dresden ware
181. Dresden Milk-pot: King's period. Diamond en- will not be deceived by these
graving. (T.-P. Coll.) articles, which are generally
clumsy in modelling and weak in color. The same counterfeiters place
the old Berlin and other marks on their wares.
It remains only to add that the products of the Dresden factory
have been almost infinite in form and purpose. Services for the table,
ornamental vases, figures of- men and animals, candelabra, frames, portions
of furniture, household utensils of various kinds, plaques — in short, an

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.

293

innumerable variety of objects, were the product of this first of the Eu
ropean factories of true porcelain.
Vienna. — The Vienna factory of hard -paste por
celain was the first child of Dresden. Claude Inno
cent Du Pasquier, having received a patent (bearing
date May 27th, a.d. 1718), for twenty-five years, from
the Emperor Charles VI. for the exclusive sale of por
celain in the Austrian Empire, went to Dresden, bar
gained with a Meissen workman named Stenzel for a
yearly payment of a thousand thalers and a carriage,
and induced him to break his oath, and go to Vienna,
where Pasquier established the factory. His partners
were Heinrich Zerder, Martin Peter, and Christophe
Conrad Hunger, an artist. The work was poor. Sten-

182. Dresden

Vase:

King's period. (T.-P. ze\ would not communicate the secret, and not beins:
Coll ) regularly paid, abandoned the factory, which was sus
pended after two years of unsuccessful work. Du Pasquier in some way
discovered the secret, and resumed the production of porcelain ; but, in
1744, finding his labors unrewarded by the success he had expected, he
offered it to the Government. Maria Theresa accepted his offer; the
State purchased the factory in 1747; Du Pasquier was appointed direc
tor ; and a more brilliant era commenced. Groups and figures were now
produced, Joseph Niedermeyer
being chief modeller. Down to
1790 the factory produced its
best work of this description.
After 1780 its artists equalled
Dresden in painting and deco
ration, and this high rank was
maintained to 1820. In 1785,
under the direction of the Bar
on de Sorgenthal, great strides
were made in all departments
of work. Good medallions
and imitations of Wedgwood's
wares were also produced. The
paintings of Watteau, Boucher,
Angelica Kauffman, and many
other celebrated artists have
been exquisitely reproduced on Vienna porcelain

188. Vienna Plate. Embossed border; fruit and
flowers painted. (T.-P. Coll.)

Leithner, a chemist,

294

PORCELAIN.

prepared the most celebrated colors, and that gilding which is renowned
as a very striking feature of the ware. George Perl succeeded Leithner,
and is distinguished as a decorator. Schindler was an artist in ornaments ;
Foerstler painted mythological sub
jects; Lamprecht was an animal-
painter, who afterward worked at
Sevres ; Joseph Nigg painted flow
ers ; Varsanni, Wech, Herr, Perger,
Baffey, and Schallez are also known
as painters. A rich -cobalt blue and a red
brown, both discoveries of Leithner,
were characteristics of Vienna deco
ration. The factory ceased in 1864.
The mark was always the shield
184. Vienna Chocolate-pot. (T.-P. Coll.) of the armg of Austria, varying in
form, and from 1784 to 1864 pieces were marked with the date, by im
pressing in the paste the last three numerals of the year — thus, 812 for
1812. The signatures of artists also occur on pieces.
The Vienna marks are sometimes counterfeited by modern potters,
and collectors must depend on experience in judging of their purchases.
We have seen soft-paste plates, richly decorated, bearing the Vienna mark,
which were admirable specimens of work, apparently French.
Herend (Hungary). — No factory has more puzzled collectors by its
products than this. Its marvellous imitations of old work, signed with
Herend marks, led to the belief that an old factory of porcelain had ex
isted there. Many splendid specimens have been brought to America,
copies of Oriental wares and of decorations of Sevres and Dresden, as
well as original works of the artists of the factory. A factory of pipes
was the only pottery at Herend until 1830, when Moriz Fischer estab
lished his hard-paste porcelain works, whose original products equal those
of any European establishment, and whose reproductions of Oriental
wares are of such sort as to deceive the most experienced. The factory
mark is usually placed on its wares. No intent to deceive is shown. The
maker seems to take pride in exhibiting the marvellous skill with which
he can duplicate the beautiful styles of the celebrated old factories of
Europe and the rarest wares of Asia.
So deceptive are some of these last that a cabaret of white porcelain,
having compartments in green, wuth flowers, etc., was purchased by the
South Kensington Museum in 1863 as Oriental, and its Hungarian ori-

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY. 295
gin was not discovered for a long time. The history of a very beautiful
bowl in our collection, classed as unknown Asiatic ware, was precisely sim
ilar. The ground is a pale green, decorated with white marguerites and
other flowers in rich colors on stems springing from the base. The ex
quisite enamels extend over the bottom, leaving a small white circle in
the centre. A few touches of blue, supposed for years to be accidental,
were at length, with the aid of a glass, resolved into the Herend mark of
the Austrian arms.
The marks used at this factory are various. Those given in the Table
of Marks are taken from specimens in our own collection. Herend, im
pressed in the paste, is a frequent mark. The Austrian shield is used in
various sizes, sometimes very small. The mark with the crossed swords
of Dresden, and the letter W accompanying the impressed name, is on a
service decorated in rich Oriental style. Odd marks in red, somewhat
like Chinese signs, are on specimens with Oriental decorations. The pro
prietor of this factory has earned for it a brilliant reputation, due to the
close attention paid to its productions. He employs, artists from Dresden
for his imitations of Saxon porcelains, from Sevres for copies of the old
French, and, finding no Europeans competent in certain parts of the imi
tation work, has introduced Chinese skilled labor on his Oriental wares.
This is the only instance within our knowledge of the employment of the
Orientals in European porcelain factories.
A factory at Prague, in Bohemia, uses for its mark K & G, Prag, im
pressed. A factory exists at Piekenhamee, near Carlsbad, founded in 1802, and
purchased in 1818 by Christian Fischer, whose partner was Beichembach.
The marks are C. F. and F & B. This factory has taken high rank in
modern times.
Schlakenwald. — A hard-paste porcelain factory was established at
Schlakenwald, in Austria, about 1800, and produced good work in ser
vices and other forms. The mark was a large S, and sometimes a script
S, painted. On a pair of fruit dishes, painted with a bouquet of flowers
and richly gilded, in our collection, the latter mark is in gold. The fac
tory was in operation at a recent date.
A hard-paste porcelain factory was established at Elbogen, in Bohemia,
in 1815, and still exists. Its work is celebrated, especially that made under
M. Haidinger. The mark is an arm, with elbow bent, holding a sword.
Alten-Eothau. — A hard-paste porcelain factory exists at this place,
the proprietor A. Nowotny. The mark is impressed — either the name
Nowotny or the initials, A. N.

296

PORCELAIN.

185

Berlin Cup and Saucer.
P. Coll.)

Beelin. — The Berlin (hard-paste) factory was established in 1751 by
William Wegeley, whose mark — a W (of which the middle lines cross), is
found on early specimens. In 1761, Gottskowski, a banker, bought the
establishment, and improved the products. Gru-
nenger was employed as director, and so con
tinued after the purchase of the factory by the
king in 1763. At this time the products of ev
ery kind were of the best sort. Not only the
ordinary services and vases were made, but also
groups, figures, snuffboxes, ear-rings, lamps, can
delabra, furniture ornaments, and a large vari
ety of other objects.
On the occupation of Dresden, by Frederick
the Great, in the Seven Years' War, he trans
ported from the Meissen factory not only ma
terials, but workmen, clay, and specimens from
the Dresden collection, to enrich his works at
Berlin. A curious decree made by Frederick
for the encouragement of his factory, and the
diffusion of its work, forbade any Jew in his dominions to marry until he
produced a voucher from the director of the factory that he had bought a
specific amount of porcelain. In 1776, seven hun
dred men were employed in the works. From that
time to this the Berlin royal factory has kept pace
with the advancing and changing demands of the
successive periods, and within the past few years
has achieved greater triumphs than perhaps any
other Continental factory. Its products have been
in every form known to ceramic art, and its artists
skilful in all departments of decoration. While, in
general, its flower-painting was not equal to that of
Dresden, it was in some instances superior. Berlin figures and groups of
the last century were, as a rule, superior in modelling and color to those
of Dresden. As Berlin reproduced the rare and splendid works of other
factories, but with its own mark, counterfeiters have sometimes covered
the blue sceptre mark with a gold rose or a green leaf to conceal it, some-
¦times first removing the mark and glaze with fluoric acid. The sceptre
mark is not always in the same form, but the differences are no indication
of comparative date.
lithophanie, the making of pictures in plaques of porcelain paste, the

186. Berlin Teapot.
Coll.)

(T.-P.

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY. 297,
shades produced by the varying thickness of the plaques, was invented in
this factory. Transfer printing on porcelain is also claimed here as the
discovery of a chemist, Pott, in 1753, in which year he published a book
on the subject. It does not appear, however, that any practical use was
made of the art.
About 1760 a hard- paste factory was founded at Chaelottenbueg,
near Berlin, by Bressel, which continued till, in modern times, it was ab
sorbed by the royal factory.
From 1717 to 1729 hard-paste porcelain was made at Brandenburg.
A factory of hard -paste porcelain has long existed at Altwasser,
which produced good table wares, tastefully decorated.
In 1720, Bingler, escaped from the oaths and secrets of Vienna, came
to Hochst, then in the electorate of the Bishop of Mayence, and assisted
Gelz and others in adding a hard-paste factory to the
faience works already there existing. Exceedingly
beautiful work was produced, especially in figures and
groups, of which the most highly prized are those by
the modeller Melchior, which are occasionally, but rare
ly, marked M. His successor, Bies, made figures with
large heads, and his period is commonly called the
" Thick-head " period. Christian Gottlieb Kuntze was ig^ Berlin Cup^por-
an enamel painter of the factory, celebrated for blue trait of Frederick the
and red. In 1794 the works were sold. Great (T-p-Co11-)
Nuremberg. — As early as 1712, soft -paste porcelain was made at
Nuremberg by Marz and Bomeli, who, as we have seen, were faience-
makers. In the Berlin Museum are six oval plaques, painted in blue,
with inscriptions giving the name of Christoph Marz as founder of the
Nuremberg porcelain fabric in 1712, and that of George Tauber as the
painter in 1720, while another inscription in nearly the same words gives
the name of Johann Conradt Bomeli as founder. Another plaque in
England records the name of J. J. Mayer as purchaser of Bomeli's half
interest iu 1720. All these plaques which have portraits of Marz and
Bomeli among their other decorations seem to have been made as rec
ords of the history at the time of Bomeli's sale. Marz died in 1731,
when the works were sold. A plaque in M. Demmin's collection records
his death.
Frankenthal. — A hard-paste factory was established at Frankenthal,
in Bavaria, by Paul Hannong, in 1754, which made wares of the highest
class till 1800. In 1761, it became the property of the Elector Carl
Theodore, and under his patronage equalled in the beauty of its products

298 PORCELAIN.

any European fabric. The figurines of Frankenthal have justly a great
reputation. Fruit and flower paintings were admirably executed. The
works when sold, in 1800, were removed to Greinstadt, and continued
in private hands.
In 1747, a factory of hard paste was founded at Nymphenburg and
Neudech by a potter, Niedermayer. Bingler came here in 1756, and in
1758 the works were confined to Nymphenburg. The products are
highly prized, and works are of great beauty. Heintzmann and Adler
are among the celebrated decorators of the wares in landscape ; Linde-
mann, another. L. C. Fouquet, a Sevres painter, also worked here, having
previously worked at Berlin. The factory is still at work in private hands.
The white wares are sometimes sold undecorated, with the impressed mark,
and, being decorated at other factories, receive a second mark in color.
The Baireuth porcelains are modern.
Anspach (in Bavaria since 1806) was the seat of a hard-paste porcelain
factory in the early part of this century, at which some very well deco
rated wares were made.
Fuestenbueg. — Bengraf , from Hochst, established a hard-paste factory
at Fuestenbueg, in Brunswick, in 1750, which was under the patronage
of the Duke of Brunswick, and has continued during modern times,
making wares of very high quality and decoration. The mark is the
letter F in several cursive forms, sometimes accompanied with initials of
artists. On a set of three vases in our collection are the letters A. B.
On others are B. B., A. C, and on one Beck.
Hard-paste porcelain was made at Hoxtee about 1770 by a painter of
flowers — Zeiseler — who was succeeded by Baul Becker.
At Ludwigsburg, or Kronenburg, in Wurtemberg, Bingler established
a hard-paste factory in 1758, under the patronage of Charles Eugene, the
reigning Duke of Wurtemberg. This was one of the most extensive fac
tories in Germany, second only to Dresden and Berlin in the number of
its products, and not second to them in the beauty of many works.
At Fulda, in Hesse, in 1763, a hard-paste factory was established by
the prince-bishop, which produced fine vases, figures, and services, deco
rated by able artists. Good specimens are not common, and are highly
prized. The Thuringian factories of hard paste are interesting because of an
independent discovery of the art here made. At Budolstadt, near Jena,
a young chemist named Macheleidt, then a student of Jena, experimented
to find the secret of true porcelain. A woman brought some sand to his
father for sale, and with the aid of this he made a ware resembling porce-

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.

299

lain, and continued his experiments until he perfected the discovery, and
received from the Prince of Schwarzburg permission to establish a fac
tory at Sitzerode, which was soon after, in 1762, transferred to Volk-
stadt. Other factories followed. One at Wallendorf, in Saxe-Cobourg,
was founded in 1762 ; one at Limbach, about 1761 ; and one at Budol-
stadt, date uncertain. A manufacturer — G. Greiner — obtained, about
1770, the control of several of these factories, and at that date established
one at Grosbreitenbach. He seems to have run those at Volkstadt, Wal
lendorf, and Grosbreitenbach as one establishment, as we find the several
marks on pieces in the same services. Some of the wares were very beau
tifully decorated. We have a Wallen
dorf service, the pieces decorated with a
rebus: Wandle auf over roses on one
side ; and on the opposite side of the piece,
Und over forget-me-nots, reading " Wan
dle auf Bosen und Vergiss-mein-nicht"
(111. 188). The marks B. g. and B— n are
attributed respectively to Batisbon and
Bauenstein, while a simple r is attributed
to Budolstadt. These marks are uncer
tain. Hard -paste porcelain was made at
Batisbon (Begensburg) in the last cen
tury. The factory at Bauenstein was
founded in 1760, and wares there made
resembled those of Wallendorf.
A great deal of Thliringiail porcelain 188. Wallendorf Cup and Saucer. Kebus
is ribbed or fluted. Some of the wares decoration. (T.-P.Coii.)
bear the marks of other factories, notably of Dresden. The trefoil mark
of Grosbreitenbach is often very carelessly made. On a service in our
collection no two pieces have the mark in the same form.
Hard-paste porcelain was made at Geea about 1780. The mark is a
G. We have it on a delicate egg-shell cup and saucer, decorated with
rich gilding and Chinese figures in colors.
At Gotha a hard-paste factory was founded, in 1780, by Bothenburg.
From 1753 to 1778, hard-paste porcelain was made at Baden-Baden
by the widow Sperl.

300 PORCELAIN.

IX.-SWITZERLAND.
About the middle of the eighteenth century (1759 ?), a hard-paste por
celain factory was founded at Zueich, as it is supposed, by some one of the
workmen at Hochst, in Mayence. The work, in general resembling Dres
den, was very good, and specimens show the best class of paste and deco
ration. They are rare, as the factory ceased work long ago. We have a
tea-service, decorated with flowers, admirably executed.
In the latter part of the last century, Maubree, a Sevres decorator,
established at Nyon a hard-paste porcelain factory, which produced very
beautiful work in French styles. We have specimens, with flower decora
tions and landscapes well executed. Mr. Chaffers attributes to this fac
tory specimens on which occur the name Geneva or the letter <%, and
states that the Genevan artists, Delarive, Hubert, Gide, and Pierre Mul-
houser, painted Nyon porcelain, Gide signing with his name, and Mul-
houser with a monogram of the letters P A M. The fish, mark of Nyon,
is often so roughly drawn as to be with difficulty recognized.
X.-HOLLAND.
Though pottery was made so plentifully in Holland, it does not appear
that porcelain was made until 1764. The Delft potters decorated Chinese
porcelain, adding arms and devices to the. existing decorations, and it is
not improbable that white porcelain was sometimes imported and deco
rated there. We have some specimens, which are otherwise inexplicable.
A large bowl, of remarkably pure Oriental porcelain, has for sole decora
tion two oval pictures in black, the work of a first-class European artist
representing a Dutch political subject, with a Dutch inscription on one
side. The decoration contains no other color, and is unmistakably Euro
pean, while the porcelain is certainly Chinese. Nor is this a solitary spec
imen. It is quite possible that many specimens classed as English ware
of Lowestoft are of this class.
In 1764, a hard-paste porcelain factory was established at Weesp, near
Amsterdam. Specimens are rare, for the factory ceased after seven years.
The paste is fine and thin ; the mark, a W (the middle lines crossing), or
two b&tons crossed, with three dots. The first mark is also that of We-
gely at Berlin, and of Wallendorf in Thuringia, and care must be exer
cised in assigning specimens.

HOLLAND.— BELGIUM.— SWEDEN. 301
In 1772, this factory, or a new one, was opened at Loosdrecut, by
a clergyman named De Moll, and produced excellent work. The mark,
M o L, on this porcelain has no reference to the name of the reverend
potter, but means Manufactur oude loosdrecht. A star sometimes ac
companies it. In 1782, the works were moved to Amstel (old Amstel,
near Amsterdam), and continued prosperous. Some exquisitely painted
ware was produced here. The work ceased before the end of the last
century. About 1808, a factory was in existence at New Amstel, but
ceased in 1810.
A mark, a rampant lion (not crowned as in the Frankenthal mark), is
assigned to an unknown factory in Amsterdam. We have specimens in
white unpainted basket-work.
The Hague had a hard-paste porcelain factory, established about 1775,
by a German, which made choice work, well decorated. It was short
lived, and was closed before 1790.
Although Lille was under the dominion of Holland in 1711, when
soft -paste porcelain was first made there, we have described its works
among those of France, to which it passed.
XL-BELGIUM.
In 1750, a manufacture of soft-paste porcelain was established at Tour-
nay. Specimens called porcelaine de la Tour (from the mark, a tower),
in divers shapes, are assigned to it. Others have given these specimens
marked with the tower to Vincennes in France. Close imitations of
Sevres have been produced here.
At the end of the last century, L. Crette seems to have made hard-
paste porcelain at Brussels, which he signed with his name. Another
mark is a crowned B, but this is not certainly of Brussels.
In 1806, M. Boch made hard-paste porcelain at Luxembourg, marked
B. L., the letters separate and in monogram.
XII.-SWEDEN.
The Swedish factory, at Marieberg, whose faience has been described,
made soft -paste porcelain, which is good and rare. The rustic or twig
handles, feet, and ornamentations, as on the pottery, are also on the porce
lain. Figures and groups are found, cream-pots, with fluted spirals, dec
orated with beautiful little bouquets of flowers, and occasionally cande
labra.

302 PORCELAIN.

XIII.-DENMARK.
Three parallel waving lines are the mark on the hard-paste porcelain
of Copenhagen, some of which is highly artistic. A manufacture began
in 1760, and the early products were generally decorated in green, and
are rare, for the factory soon ceased to work. It was reopened about
1770-72 by a stock company ; but in 1775 the Government purchased the
stock, and has since carried on the factory, paying its annual deficit ; for,
although it has made porcelain of the highest artistic character, it has
never made money. Miiller, who started the revival, remained in charge,
and it was in his time, in 1801, that Lord Nelson, a lover of porcelain,
bought some in Copenhagen, and sent it to Lady Hamilton, as recorded in
one of his letters to her. A very beautiful service of Copenhagen is dec
orated with portraits of celebrated painters. Some specimens have fine
flower paintings, and the general ornamentation is admirably executed.
From 1802 to 1807 groups and figures were made under Mulder's direc
tion.

XIV.-RUSSIA AND POLAND.
The Empress Elizabeth established at St. Petersburg, in 1744, a hard-
paste porcelain factory, with workmen from Dresden, and the crown has
fostered the works, which rank among the highest in Europe. The wares
are hard, the enamel white and pure, the decoration various, rising to the
finest art. Vases, figures, table-wares of all kinds, are among the products. .
They often resemble the works of Dresden, and sometimes those of Kro-
nenburg and other German factories. The mark is usually the initial of
the reigning emperor or empress, in the Bussian alphabet. Some marks
— one, three parallel lines ; and another, a waving line somewhat like a
letter S — are very doubtful.
A manufactory was established in St. Petersburg, in 1827, by the
brothers Korneloff, whose name is on their products.
At Savsk, towards the close of the last century, porcelain was made by
M.Volkof. The name of a town, Baranowka, is found on specimens of hard-paste
porcelain. In Moscow, in 1787, an Englishman named Gardner established a fac
tory, of whose products we know nothing, but the name, in Bussian let-

RUSSIA AND POLAND. 303

ters, is found on specimens. Modern manufactories at Moscow are con
ducted by A. Popoff and M. Gulena, whose names are on their wares.
Bichly gilded and well -painted hard -paste porcelain has been made
since 1803 at Korzec, in Poland. Meranlt, a chemist, from Sevres, went
there with Sevres artists, to take charge of the factory, about that date.

PAET IV.
POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF
ENGLAND.

The history of pottery and porcelain in England is worth the study of
the political economist and the statesman, as well as the lover of art. It
is little more than a century since the products of England were, in gen
eral, of the cheapest and most common kinds. To-day, they not only ri
val, but surpass, the products of the Continental factories in every de-

189. Celtic Urns.
partment, and illustrate the noblest and most beautiful achievements of
ceramic art in all the ages. Thousands of families are supported by the
industry; large districts with crowded populations are wholly occupied
with it ; colossal fortunes have been amassed ; and wealthy potters have
been public benefactors.
If wre seek the immediate cause of this wonderful change, it is to be

ENGLAND.

305

found in the cultivation of artistic taste by those intelligent men and
women of England who, for the past hundred years, have devoted atten
tion to the study and collection of pottery and porcelain. The industrial
interests of England are as largely in
debted, during the last twenty-five years,
to the gentlemen whose works we have
so frequently quoted in these pages as to
the inventors of engines, looms, or tele
graphs. When the old ladies of Eng
land were ridiculed for their enthusias-
j tic devotion to "old china," their critics
knew very little of the latent force which
rested in a cabinet containing a few old
A Chinese turquoise kylin was a hideous

190. Celtic Incense-eup.

teapots and cups and saucers.
object to one who did not appreciate the rarity of the color ; but that
color on a few costly specimens impelled the potters to discover its
composition, and, when reproduced, gave bread and clothing to a hun
dred families. But for the collectors of England, the people of England
and America might have gone
on a century longer, eating from
cheap Delft ware or pewter dishes.
There can be no better illustration
of the importance and value of art
study and art collections with re
gard to the commercial interests
of a people. The policy which
has been pursued in America is
sadly in opposition to this great
truth in political economy. The
heavy duties imposed on decorated
potteries and porcelains have pracr
tically excluded them from Amer
ican homes without resulting in
the establishment of a solitary ar
tistic pottery in the United States.
As a rule, the people of this coun-

191. Romano-British Cup : red ware.

try have never seen the superb products of European art for household
ornament and table use ; and until the people become acquainted with
these, no industrial progress in ceramic art can be expected in America.
The history of the art in England may be summed up briefly. Celtic,
20

306

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

192. Romano-British Urn. (From Castor.)

Boman, Saxon, and Norman potteries were succeeded, in the seventeenth
century, by stone -wares and soft potteries, in imitation of the poorer
classes of German and Delft products.
A slight artistic progress was visible un
til, in the early half of the eighteenth
century, Josiah Wedgwood, the first stu
dent of art among English potters, in
troduced improvement after improve
ment, and achieved that great result of
commercial industry, the production of
beautiful art at a cheap rate. One and
another porcelain factory was establish
ed, and some good, some very beautiful
work produced ; but these porcelains, if
beautiful, were always expensive, and
the general standard of ceramic art in
England was below that of the Continent, except in the wares made by
Wedgwood and those who followed his lead. Chelsea, Derby, Worcester,
and other factories made occasional work worthy the best Continental pot
teries, but these were exceptional products. The public taste, even of the
educated classes in England, was not of the
highest order in the last and early part of this
century ; and the prevalence of ugly imitations
of Oriental decorations, or of gaudy, stiff, un
graceful masses of gold and color, attests the
want of opportunity to know what delicious
works the Continental factories were at the
same time producing.
When public museums began to show the
people of England what ceramic art had done
in ancient and modern times, and when the old
collections in private hands which had been rid
iculed by writers whose knowledge and views
were limited, came to be exhibited in loan de
partments of museums, a new era began in Eng
lish ceramic art. Factories which had for more
than a half - century produced good plain com
mercial wares, with occasional articles of great
beauty, now entered into competition with the renowned fabrics of the
Continent. Public taste was rapidl}7 elevated and enlightened. A market

193. Romano-British Vase.
(From Castor.)

ENGLAND.

307

for high art was established, and increased from year to year. The books
of art students familiarized the people with the triumphs of painters and
decorators in modern Italy, France, Germany, and Spain, and in old Greece,
and the lands of the Saracens. The achievements of the art in all ages and
countries were seized and utilized as aids to the new art in England. The
result is the pre-eminence of English ceramic art in our day, and the crea
tion of that vast commercial industry employing millions of capital, sup
porting thousands of families, and introducing beauty and abundant refin
ing influences into homes all over the world. He must be wilfully blind
who does not see in this history the clear evidence of the importance of
art education to the commercial prosperity of a people, and the immeas
urable value to a nation's industry of the free importation of the artistic
productions of all other nations. The general wisdom or error of a pro
tective-tariff system is not involved in this subject. Whatever be the
view taken of that system, it is plain to every intellect that, to expect ar-

194. Saxon Jug.

195. Saxon Urn.

tistic industries in a community which excludes artistic products of other
communities, is simply a modern illustration of the man in the ancient
Greek fable of Hierocles who resolved never to go into water until he
had learned how to swim.
The ancient potteries of England are numerous, the art having been
abundantly put in use by the various tribes ^and races who possessed and
governed parts of the British islands at different periods. Celtic, Bo-
mano-British, Saxon, and Norman potteries abound in tombs or barrows.

308

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

The Celtic remains are chiefly sepulchral urns, or domestic vessels, cups,
bowls, and lamps, or perfume - burners. It has been supposed that they
were made by the women, whose skill and ability they indicate. Formed
like the pottery of nearly all savage tribes, they are of clay, sand, and peb
bles intermingled, not baked with great heat, brown, unglazed, with black
fracture. The burial urns have usually a deep rim falling downward.

196. Norman Jar.

197. Norman Jug. (Derbyshire.)

They are decorated with incised lines, diagonal, herring-bone patterns, in
different arrangements. They are found usually inverted over the ashes
of the dead as covers. Differences in shape, clay, and style of ornament
seem to have characterized different tribes. The pottery was not made on
the wheel, but by hand, and mouths of vessels are in consequence large,
to admit the potter's arm. The urns vary in size from 18 to 25 inches in
height, and 13 to 22 in diameter. Smaller articles are of the same gen
eral character. Handles are rare, knobs of clay perforated for a cord oc
curring in their place.
Similar potteries are found in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
The Irish are better in color, and more elaborate in ornament, some of
them bearing a remote resemblance to basket-work. They are found
right side up usually, filled with bones and ashes. They have been found
in eight or ten different places in Ireland, and each locality has wares
marked by some peculiarity.
Some Celtic urns found in Staffordshire may be regarded as among the
earliest known pottery of England, and the beginning of the long series

ENGLAND.

309

of Staffordshire wares which have continued in a remarkable succession,
and become so illustrious in modern days.
The Boman invasion brought a different class of pottery art into Eng
land. At Castor, or Caistor, in the Upchurch marshes of Kent, and else
where, remains of kilns have been found, and specimens of wares. The
Castor wares are more ornamented than those found elsewhere, having re
lief subjects — men, dogs, scrolls, etc. The manufacture must have been
extensive during the Boman domination. The Samian or red wares of
the Bomans, of which specimens are frequently found in England, do
not seem to have been produced here, but were imported from the Con
tinent. The Saxon potteries are not unlike the Celtic in some respects, con
sisting largely of burial urns. These have not the peculiar overhanging
rim of the Celtic specimens, but have necks, are ornamented with incised
bands and decorations, and occasionally with knobs or bosses of clay.
Bare instances occur of a rude imitation of Boman ornaments. Small
crosses and other patterns were made with a wooden punch or stamp, and
a few decorations in white clay are known.

198. Norman Yellow-glazed Pitcher:
thirteenth century.

199. Norman Green-glazed Pitcher :
thirteenth centurv.

The Norman potteries indicate a small advance in art. This is well
illustrated in the examples given. The first use of glaze in England now
begins to appear. The Norman vessels were sometimes covered with a
green glaze, which was also common in France at a later and probably

310

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

at this same period. Occasional specimens have relief or imposed work,
as jugs which bear horseshoes and other ornaments, supposed to refer to
the Ferrars family (111. 197).
For a long time after the Norman conquest little advance was made in
the art of pottery. Tiles for pavements were made in Staffordshire ¦ and
elsewhere. Telwright or Tilewright is an old name, known for some cen
turies in that district. These were the first pottery of England which can
lay claim to importance in decorative art. The old churches of England
were mostly paved with tiles of English fabric. These were better ware
and of more artistic character than were made on the Continent, and, cu
riously enough, among them we find considerable indication of a knowl
edge of Saracen decorations. The tiles of St. Albans, decorated with re
liefs, are of the thirteenth century. Of the four
teenth century are some tiles with patterns in re
lief, including inscriptions. Thus, one illustrated
by Mr. Marryat, has upon it Orate pro anima
domini Nicholai de Stowe Vicarii. Another
style was that in which the patterns are im
pressed in outlines, producing an admirable result
in general effect. Indeed, we of the nineteenth
century may take lessons in art from the pot
ters of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in
England. They were probably men of learning
and taste in some instances, for it would seem
that the potteries were sometimes attached to ab
beys, and the same skill and appreciation of art
which are found in the illuminations are found
in the tiles which the potteries produced. Brior
Cruden's Chapel, at Ely, has tiles that were made by an artist (111. 201),
and superb work is found in Ireland.
More common were red tiles inlaid with patterns in white, and cov
ered with a yellow glaze which gave a rich tone to the whole, the red
becoming brown. A great variety of these are found in old churches,
with arms of lords of the State and of the Church, devices of various
kinds, arabesques of simple but beautiful design, and a great profusion of
patterns. The floors laid with these must have been very effective, judg
ing from specimens in our own collection, and such illustrations as are
found in Mr. W. A. Church's " Patterns of Inlaid Tiles from Churches in
the Diocese of Oxford ;" Shaw's " Specimens of Tile Pavements ;" " Ex
amples of Inlaid Gothic Tiles in Winchester Cathedral, Bamsey Abbey

200. Mediaeval English Bottle,
Red, unglazed, white decora
tion.

ENGLAND.

311

Church," etc., published anonymously, and other works, in which these are
reproduced in colors.
The Chertsey Abbey tiles, in Surrey, dating from the thirteenth cen
tury, are specially noteworthy (111. 202). These are round, having designs

201. Pavement Tile from Cruden's Chapel, Ely.
from old romances, with surrounding inscriptions, enclosed in rich bor
ders. In the Chapter-house at Westminster is still to be seen a fine pave
ment, dating also from the thirteenth century (111. 204). More rare are
tiles in which the pattern was painted with white clay and glazed, as in
the example from Malvern Abbey (111. 203).
The domestic purposes, ordinarily served in our day by porcelain or
pottery, were in England, as on the Continent, in the Middle Ages, sup
plied by silver, in the houses of the wealthy, and pewter and wood in
those of the middle and lower classes. Wooden trenchers were common,
even on the tables of people well to do in the world. Earthenware was
used, as we know from numerous records, but its quality was probably
coarse and common. Three hundred " picheriis " were paid for by the ex-

312

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

ecutors of Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I., which were used " die anni-
versarii Beginse," and the price was 8s. 6d. for the whole. Glazed green
and yellow wares were made, and sometimes a rude attempt at higher art
is visible in decorations of the simplest sort, in white clay, under the yel
low glaze. A lighter green was produced by covering the whole piece
with a thin wash of white clay. Belief ornaments, made in moulds, were
imposed. The glazed jugs and drinking-vessels were sometimes moulded
in form of animals. A curious jug of this description, in the form of a
mounted knight, is described, and the illustration given by Mr. Marryat

202. Tile from Chertsey Abbey.
forcibly reminds one of the Phenician figures found in great quantity by
General Cesnola in the tombs of soldiers. This is of the thirteenth or
fourteenth century.
Vessels for holding liquids were made of this lead -glazed ware in
various parts of England. The tyg, or drinking-cup with two or more
handles (111. 205), was made, with mdre or less ornamentation in relief,
certainly as early as the sixteenth century. This cup, or mug, was often

ENGLAND.

313

large enough to satisfy the moderate desires of two, three, or four persons
seated around it, each one of whom could lift it by his own handle and
drink from his own side
of the rim. One in the
Mayer collection, Liver
pool, with four handles,
is dated 1612. Another,
in the Museum of Prac
tical Geology, is dated
1621. The importation of
German stone -wares at
the close of the sixteenth
century had given new
ideas to the English pot
ters, and they began to
make stone-ware which
had some pretence to ar
tistic appearance. Dutch
203. Tile from Malvern Abbey. workmen had come to
England in considerable numbers before the end of the sixteenth century,
and among them were potters who established manufactories. In 1626,
Thomas Boos and Abra
ham Cullyn received a
patent for the making of
stone pots and jugs of Co
logne ware. Graybeards
were produced, and vari
eties of jugs and mugs,
probably many by these
makers. The English products
of this period in common
stone-ware so closely re
semble the Continental
that it is not possible to
distinguish them by any
characteristics. Even
where English arms oc
cur in the reliefs, it is 204. Tile from Westminster Chapter-house.

314

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

205. Staffordshire Tyg : brown clay, lead glaze.

not certain that they were of English fabric. Several large jugs are
known with the arms of Queen Elizabeth, one of which has the arms and
name three times repeated, and date 1594. Another, however, has the
same arms and date, with the arms
of Cologne also.
In the course of the seventeenth
century the making of stone-ware
wTas commenced at Lambeth, and
possibly at Fulham. It was not in
troduced into Staffordshire till the
latter part of the century, but, once
commenced there, was rapidly im
proved. Before this time, common
classes of soft pottery had been dec
orated in various colors, but known
specimens cannot be assigned to a
period before the middle of the
seventeenth century.
Staffordshire, the clay country,
had been the seat of potteries from the earliest times. The Staffordshire
butter-pots, in which butter was sold in the markets, were of coarse pot
tery, but their size and quality were so important that an Act of Parlia
ment, in 1661, regulated them to hold fourteen pounds of butter. They
were 14|- inches high by 6£ in di
ameter, weighing not above six
pounds; and it was ordered that
they be of material so hard as not
to take in moisture and increase
their weight. On some are found,
in relief, the names of Bichard Cart
wright and his son, who were pot
ters at Burslem from 1640 to 1715,
and, doubtless, honest men who put
their names on their wares because
people trusted them.
The English potters began, in
the seventeenth century, to produce
work resembling the Delft wares.
These, which had been largely imported, and were now extensively cop
ied in England, were beginning to take the place of pewter, and even of

206. Staffordshire Posset-pot, decorated with
clays of various colors.

ENGLAND. 315

wood, in domestic use, and the word " delft " or " delf " soon entered into
the English language as about synonymous with what we call crockery.
Mugs and dishes were painted with subjects in blue, with arms, mottoes,
and with names of owners. " Anne Chapman, 1649," owned a mug now
in the South Kensington Museum. "Bee merry and wise, 1660," says
another. Jugs or bottles of white enamelled pottery had, painted in blue,
the names of liquors, such as Sack and Claret, usually with a date, be
tween 1640 and 1660.
The Delft wares were made in Liverpool, as well as in Staffordshire,
and probably in other parts of the country. The pottery was covered
with a wash of white clay, which had a slight tint of blue or green, and on
this the decoration was painted, most frequently in blue, and the whole
was then glazed. This ware was made till quite late in the eighteenth
century, and some of it is found in America, especially in New England.
The prevalence of the blue-and-white ware has perhaps led to the making
of an old story of a merry master-potter who was given to fiddling and
rhyming, who, when his workman asked instructions for finishing wrare,
would say or sing, " Tip it wi' blue,
An' then it '11 do."
Bnzzle-jugs are among the relics of the pottery of the seventeenth and
early eighteenth century, which were so constructed that when lifted to
the lips they emptied their contents by a secret passage (111. 240). There
were generally three spouts from the rim, the handles and rim being hol
low. If the drinker covered two of the spouts with his fingers, he could
drink with safety. Mottoes and homely rhymes were often on them.
One has this : From mother earth i took my birth,
Then formd a Jug by Man,
And now stand here, filled with good cheer :
Taste of me if you can.

Another :

Another

Here, gentlemen, come try yr skill.
I'll hold a wager, if you will,
That you don't drink this liqr all
Without you spill or lett some fall.
The ale is good, taste.

Bosset was a fearful mixture except to those who liked it. Hot ale,
milk, sugar, spices, bits or slices of bread or of oatcake, went to make it.
It was used on Christmas-eve, and the posset-pot (111. 206) kept for this

316

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

annual occasion had small chance to be broken, and was passed down
from generation to generation. A coin and the mother's wedding-ring
were dropped in it. The posset was drunk from a spoon. Whoso took
up the coin had good -luck for the coming year, and the ring foretold
marriage. Wares decorated with color and glazed were made at an early period,
but known dates commence in the middle of the
seventeenth century. There is an old house be
longing to the Wedgwood family on which a
pottery tablet (111. 207), with raised yellow dots,
records the building in 1675. Mottled wares,
made of mixed clays, were probably an early
manufacture. Some of the old graveyards in
and near the pottery districts contain interesting
relics in the shape of mortuary tablets, memo-
207. Tablet on a House at Burs- rials of the good folk, perhaps potters and their
lem- families, of the early part of the eighteenth cen
tury. These are in soft pottery, unglazed, glazed, and marbled or mot
tled, illustrating varieties of wares.
The district in Staffordshire known as " The Potteries " includes
Tunstall, Longport, Burslem, Cobridge, Hanley, Shelton, Etruria, Stoke,
Fenton, Lane Delph, Lane End, and several other seats of potteries less
known, all these lying adjoining,
and now forming an almost contin
uous city, for a distance of ten miles
from the extreme end in one direc
tion to that in the other. Early
potteries abounded here. Bntter-
pots and tygs are the earliest of
the known Staffordshire wares. At
what period the manufacture of
glazed wares with color decoration
began is unknown. The earliest
products of this sort which are iden
tified were made about 1670-80. A
large dish in the Museum of Prac
tical Geology has a buff -colored
ground, in the centre a rampant lion crowned, sundry ornaments around
him, a trellis-work border, all laid on in black and brown clay slip, the
name Thomas Toft appearing in large letters on the rim. Another dish

208. Mortuary Tablet : light-brown glazed
pottery.

ENGLAND.

317

Another has a mermaid:

(111. 211) has a crowned portrait of Charles II.
and a fourth a portrait.
Similar dishes bear the
name .of Balph Toft. On
one of these is the date
1676 ; and on another, 1677.
Other dishes of the same
class have the name of
William Sans ; and a sim
ilar one, with two full-length
figures of a gentleman and
lady in the costume of the
Stuarts, has between them
the initials W. T., and on
the rim the name William
Talor. All these dishes are
lead -glazed, and date from
1670 to 1680.
The name of Balph
Tuenoe is found on an old 209- Mortuary TaWet : marWed pottery ; gIazed"
four-handled tyg, not certainly Staffordshire ware. A tyg, buff-colored,
with designs in brown slip, resembling the Toft dishes, has the name of
Joseph Glass, who was a pot
ter at Hanley in the latter
part of the seventeenth and
beginning of the eighteenth
century. About 1680, the art of
glazing pottery with salt was
accidentally discovered at
Stanley farm, near Bagnall.
A servant of Mr. J. Yale, or
Yates, was preparing in an
earthen pot, over the fire,
brine to cure pork, and, hav
ing left it, during her absence
the liquid boiled over, and
Inscrip- the pot became red-hot. The
sides of the earthenware were
This accident led to the adoption of the salt glaze

210. Mortuary Tablet : unglazed red pottery
tion white relief.

found to be glazed.

318

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

by a neighboring potter, a Mr. Palmer. It is effected by the simple proc
ess of throwing salt into the furnace when the wares are fully heated. He
applied it to the common
brown wares which he
made, and it was imme
diately adopted by other
potters. Where white and gray
wares were made, the salt
glaze was used for them,
and a very interesting class
of old English potteries
are the salt -glazed stone
wares. They were after
ward moulded with ex
treme care, in styles re
sembling silver wares, and
sometimes apparently in
moulds prepared from met
al pieces. Their manufac
ture was continued in va
rious potteries for a long time after the use of enamel was introduced.
The name of " Crouch ware " was given to
them, and they have also been erroneously
called " Elizabethan ware." Specimens are
not uncommon in America, but are gener
ally of late periods. Many country-houses
have mugs, teapots, and other articles of
white salt-glazed wares, with relief borders,
sometimes colored in green or yellow.
About 1690, at Bradwell, the first pot
tery was established which has importance
in the art history in England. John Bhilip
Elers, who came over with the Brince of j
Orange, was a man of good family. His
grandfather, an admiral, had married a |
princess of the Baden family. His father 212. White Salt-glazed or Crouch-ware

211. Early Staffordshire Dish.

was ambassador from Holland to various

Mug.

European courts. He is said to have been a man of ability and some
chemical and mechanical knowledge. He was the first inventor of new

ENGLAND.

319

213. \\ hite Salt-glazed or Crouch-ware Dish.

styles of pottery, in the long list of inventors who have made England
famous, and to him is accorded the honor of leading the art out of semi-
barbarism into its track of later splendor. Bossibly au exception should
be made in favor of Dr.
Dwight, of Fulham ; but
whatever he accomplished
seems to have perished
with him, and had no vis
ible succession or influence
on English art.
With John Philip Elers
was associated his brother
David. They introduced
good patterns of pottery
wares, fine ornaments from
well -cut moulds, and at
length discovered how to
make imitations of the red wares of Japan, which had made their appear
ance in the English market. These they made from a clay they found
near Bradwell, which they worked with great skill and care. Their pieces
were decorated like the Japanese, with small ornaments in relief, were
beautiful in shape, even and fine in surface. They also made black wares,
which were the forerunners of the basaltes of Wedgwood. They pre
served the secret of their wares with
great caution; it is even said they
employed only the most stupid and
semi -idiotic workmen. Tradition
says that a potter, Astbury, of Burs-
lem, feigned idiocy, obtained em
ployment from them, and after some
years of work, making private notes
and drawings of machinery, and
learning all the processes, left them
and established a pottery.
Another potter, Twyford by
name, became possessed of their se
crets, and others soon acquired them. The Elers brothers, finding now
many rivals, ceased work about 1710, and went to London, -where, it is
said, they were concerned in some way with the founding of the Chelsea
porcelain works. A granddaughter of John Philip Elers was the mother
of Maria Edgeworth.

214. Elers Ware.

320

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

The influence of Elers on the Staffordshire potteries was immediate.
They began to make wares in better forms and with better decoration.
It is impossible to assign unmarked wares of the time to particular makers,
for rivalry in trade led every one to copy wdiatever his neighbor produced
that was popular. Marks were not in use to identify wares. In 1720,
a Shelton potter, Astbury, who had robbed the Elerses of their secret, or
his son Thomas, or, as Mr. Wedgwood states in one of his letters, a potter
named Heath, while stopping at an inn on a journey, asked the hostler
to do something for his horse, whose eyes were sore. The hostler heated
a flint, threw it into water, pulverized it to a fine white powder, and
applied it. Whether the horse was helped does not appear ; but Astbury
had discovered the white flint stone-ware made by the use of pulverized
flint, alwrays afterward of great importance in pottery. Mixed with sand
and clay, and colored with man

ganese, copper, and

215. Elers-ware Teapot.

other mate
rials, it also produced the "ag
ate" and "tortoise-shell" wares,
which were manufactured with
great success.
An English potter, visiting
Paris at this time, learned that
plaster-of -Paris could be used for
taking casts and making moulds,

which in England had before
been expensively cut. This en
abled the potters to mould pieces of the new wares in relief, and to mould
reliefs for application to any pottery. The paste made with flint was col
ored in a variety of shades — brown, drab, and cream-color.
In 1733, Balph Shaw, a Burslem potter, took out a patent for making
a salt-glazed ware, chocolate color, striped with white outside, and inside
white. His method was nothing more than covering interiors with a
white wash, and exteriors with a slip of flint and pipe -clay. This Mr.
Shaw annoyed his neighbors by frequent accusations of violations of his
patent, and did at length commence a suit, which the potters united in de
fending. It came to trial before a jury at Stafford in 1736, and the pot
ters proved the history of the process, showing that it was practised by
Astbury before Shaw. The jury found for the defendant, and the judge
dismissed a court -room crowded with waiting ceramists of Staffordshire
with the memorable utterance, " Go home, potters, and make whatever
kind of pots you please." They obeyed the advice ; and the improve-

ENGLAND. 321

ments in the art, which had been repressed by fear of the patent-holder,
went rapidly forward.
New pastes, and new varieties of old pastes, were introduced ; and
from time to time since then English potters have produced many wares,
which may be said to lie midway between pottery and porcelain, but which
must be classed as stone-wares under hard pottery.
The Wedgwoods were a family of potters at Burslem. Aaron Wedg
wood was a potter there in the seventeenth century. His son, Dr. Thomas
Wedgwood, made the common wares of the early part of the eighteenth
century ; and his grandson, Thomas Wedgwood, junior, made varieties of
"marble," of "agate," "cauliflower," and "melon" wares — names given
to fabrics which were decorated in imitation of these stones and vegeta
bles, and made by many of the potters of the time. Bichard Wedgwood,
another son of Aaron Wedgwood, made stone-wares.
Aaron Wedgwood, junior, son of the first Aaron, was a potter at Burs
lem till 1743. Shaw (" Chemistry of Pottery ") says that in 1690 he im
proved the Crouch ware, originally made of common potter's clay and
" grit from Mow-cop," by using marl instead of the clay. His son, Aaron
Wedgwood the third, succeeded him, and, with his brother-in-law, William
Littler, made experiments in porcelain.
Thomas and John Wedgwood, sons of the second Aaron, first em
ployed by their father, made pottery on their own account about 1740, re
tiring in 1769. Thomas afterward was a partner with Josiah Wedgwood.
His son, Balph Wedgwood, was an in
genious man, of scientific tastes. About
1790 he made pottery, the firm name
being Wedgwood & Co. In 1814, this
Balph Wedgwood invented an electric
telegraph, which he urged on the Gov
ernment without success. He pub
lished a pamphlet on this invention,
dated May 29th, 1815, which seems to
have escaped notice, in the many dis
cussions and suits at law relating to 216. Josiah Wedgwood's first Teapot, pre-
Professor Morse's invention. His claim served at Etruria-
is the only one of which we have knowledge which- is in the express
terms of Professor Morse's claim — to wit, the invention of the actual op
eration of "writing at a distance." He states that by his invention "fac
similes of a despatch written as, for instance, in London, may with facility
be written also in Plymouth, Dover, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, and Bristol, or
21

322

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

any other place, by the same person, and by one and the same act. While
this invention proposes to remove the usual impediments and imperfec
tions of telegraphs, it gives the rapidity of lightning to correspondence
when and wherever we wish, and renders null the principal disadvantages
of distance to correspondents." Lord Castlereagh, on behalf of the Gov
ernment, declined the offer of the inventor on the ground, substantially,
that Waterloo had rendered it unnecessary to improve the old telegraph

217. Mr. Thomas Bentley. Wedgwood medallion : jasper-ware. White on blue.
system. Could he have looked forward to the year 1877, when England
depends on regular telegrams from the heart of Asia and from her Indian
possessions, he would perhaps have decided to look into it.
Other Wedgwoods were potters in Burslem, but there is no interest
connected with any of them except Josiah Wedgwood.
The Wares of Wedgwood. — The middle of the eighteenth century
found the potter's art in England ready for instruction. Porcelain had

ENGLAND. 323

been made at Bow about 1740-43 ; at Chelsea, about 1745 ; at Derby and
at Worcester, in 1751. But in England, as on the Continent, there was
very little that was new in the art. The porcelain factories were content
to reproduce what had been done in China and on the Continent. The
pottery-makers had ample sale for the ordinary useful articles which they
made in soft pottery and in salt-glazed stone-ware, and for their copies
and imitations of the Delft, which were mostly copies of the Chinese.
There was, however, a vast deal of energy and enterprise in the trade,
and it was the moment for a great leader. It remained to be shown that
. the highest art of sculpture was applicable to the potter's work.
J osiah Wedgwood, the youngest of thirteen children of Thomas Wedg
wood, was born at Burslem in 1730. At fourteen years old, in 1744, he
was apprenticed to his brother Thomas, who had succeeded their father
in the business. His apprenticeship expired in 1749, but he worked with
his brother for some time, and then removed to Stoke, where he estab
lished a small business in making earthenware, knife -handles, agate and
tortoise-shell wares, and where, in 1752, he entered into partnership with
John Harrison in a pottery. Two years later, in 1754, he formed a part
nership with Thomas Whieldon, an experienced potter, and this firm con
tinued for five years at Fenton Low. Their fabrics were various, but
chiefly such as Wedgwood had been making, and cauliflower and melon
wares. Wedgwood's attention was directed to the coloring of wares, and
during this time he invented a rich green glaze for dishes made in leaf
and fruit patterns. In 1759 he returned to Burslem, and commenced bus
iness alone in the " Church-yard Works," where he had learned his trade
as an apprentice. Here he built up his fame and fortune. In 1768, he
took into partnership, only in the ornamental branches of the work,
Thomas Bentley, of Liverpool, who had been his agent in that city, and
who was eminently fitted, by taste and knowledge of the business and of
art, to be his associate.
In 1769, the factory was removed to new works, which Mr. Wedg
wood had erected, on a large scale, near Burslem, and to which he gave
the name Etruria.
In 1780, Mr. Bentley died. About 1781, Flaxman was engaged as an
artist to make designs or models. In 1790, John, Josiah, and Thomas,
sons of Mr. Wedgwood, and Thomas Byerley, his nephew, were taken into
the firm, under the name " Josiah Wedgwood, Sons, & Byerley." Josiah
Wedgwrood, senior, died January 3d, 1795.
In 1800, the firm consisted of Josiah Wedgwood (the son) and Thomas
Byerley. In 1810, Byerley died. In 1823, Josiah Wedgwood (the son)

324 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
took into partnership his eldest son, Josiah, and the firm name was "Jo
siah Wedgwood & Son." Under this name, changed to " Josiah Wedg
wood & Sons," the business is still carried on by the descendants of the
great Josiah.
This sketch of the history of the Wedgwood factory is important.
The work made by the founder himself is, of course, prized for histor
ical reasons ; but the death of the first Josiah did not affect the artistic

218. Mrs. Wedgwood. Jasper medallion, by Flaxman.
character which he had stamped on the products of Etruria. Wedgwood
ware was equally beautiful for a long time after his decease ; and while
in some styles the modern work is not equal to the old, in other depart
ments it is fully as artistic, and in not a few superior.
To Josiah Wedgwood the ceramic art in modern times owes more
than to any other person. He was a man of remarkable energy and
great shrewdness in his business. Having had no education, he neverthe
less appreciated art, and his need of knowledge as the tool to accomplish
the object which he kept constantly before him. This object was to be
successful in his business, by producing, as had never been done, the

ENGLAND.

325

beautiful and the useful, and thus creating a trade in the products of the
potter's furnace which had not before existed. He pursued this object
throughout a long and successful life, becoming the benefactor of the
people who surrounded him, and revolutionizing the ceramic art in Eu
rope. The world is under as great obligation to him for the present ad
vanced state of artistic taste and knowledge in Europe and America as
to any artist or author of the last or present century. Having cultivated
his own taste by study, adding constantly to his store of artistic knowl
edge, watching withal the varying moods of popular taste, and ingeniously
leading and guiding these moods, he made the most exquisite products of
the sculptor's art in all ages familiar to every household, so that the work
men in English shops and laborers in the fields could use, for buttons and
ornaments, gems of the glyptic art of the best ancient artists.
He began life, as we have seen, in the humblest way. He increased
his small trade at Stoke by making black -glazed ware, and plates and
dishes of a kind commonly called tortoise-shell ware. It was a soft pot
tery, colored with brown and yellow glaze, in which other colors were also
visible. Other potters
were making the same
wares. His first ambi
tion was to excel the
others in the ordinary
products of the shop;
and, after doing this, he
invented new wares.
Cream-ware, or
cream -color ware, was
made in England long
before Wedgwood's day.

f?- ¦

^:r-

219. Wedgwood Cream-color Basket-dish.
It was first made from a mixture of marl and
flint, and improved by various manufacturers from time to time. Wedg
wood introduced Cornwall clay in the composition, improved the methods
of manufacture, and gave it a pure and unequalled glaze. The color of
his ware varies from a light-straw to a deep-saffron yellow. In 1718, he
wrote to his clerk in London, " I endeavor to make it as pale as possible
to continue it cream-color, and find my customers in general, though not
every individual of them, think the alteration I have made in that re
spect a great improvement. But it is impossible that any one color, even
though it were to come down from heaven, should please every taste,
and I cannot regularly make two cream-colors, a deep and light shade,
without having two works for that purpose." The cream-ware was fired

326

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

220. Wedgwood Cream-color W are.

twice, being dipped in the glaze after the first firing. The glaze was a
composition of flint, lead, and earthy matter, and is in reality a pure glass.
The cream -ware was sold mi-
decorated, or with paintings, or
with transfer prints. It is a cu
rious fact that as Wedgwood had
no means of doing the printing,
the undecorated ware was sent
to Liverpool, to Sadler & Green,
once a fortnight, there to receive
the transfer prints, and brought
back to Burslem for the final
baking.
The cream-ware changed its name to queen's-ware when a service was
made for the queen. In 1762, Wedgwood presented a caudle and break
fast service to Queen Charlotte, who liked
it so well that she ordered a complete
table service of the same ware. Patterns
were submitted to her, and on her ap
proval the pattern chosen was called
" Queen's Pattern." The king then or
dered a service with slight variation, and
this was called the " Boyal Pattern." This
may be regarded as the foundation of
Wedgwood's pecuniary success. Orders poured in on him. With increased
means, he was at liberty to make more expensive experiments. He im
proved the queen's-ware
while he was seeking new
bodies. He employed good
artists. While the paint
ing, especially of leaves
and flowers, was well exe
cuted, the great beauty of
this ware is in those deli
cate and exquisite borders,
in monochrome, which
have wonderful effect on
the soft background of
the glaze. Simplicity is a
prominent characteristic, of the Wedgwood decorations. At the same

221. Wedgwood Cream-color or Queen's
Ware.

222. Wedgwood Cream-color Ware. Cup and saucer, with
autumn leaves.

ENGLAND.

327

time, beauty of form was so carefully studied that the undecorated ware
presents many of the most desirable specimens for collections.
Black ware had long been made in England. In 1766, Wedgwood in
vented a body, composed of clay, iron - stone, ochre,
and oxide of manganese, which he called "a fine
black porcelain," and to which he gave the name ba-
saltes. From this he formed vases, busts, table ser
vices, seals, medallions, bas-reliefs, and articles in va
rious forms. Specimens are found in two shades of
black, some having a polished, others a dead surface.
The polish was produced in two ways — on the lathe,
and by the use of a lustre varnish baked in. The lat
ter are the older pieces. Black vases of this body
were painted in Greek style, with encaustic colors
baked in, and are called Etruscan. The use of the
engine-lathe in potteries was an idea of Wedgwood,
and enabled him to produce such effects that his ex
ample was soon followed, and the use became com
mon. About 1763, Wedgwood had turned his attention
to improving wares which were made in variegated
colors resembling various minerals. It had been cus- 223- Wedgwood Antique
tomary to paint objects with colored clays, and Wedg- ase' l e on ae '
wood in his earliest work followed this custom, but afterward adopted the
plan of intermingling the clays in the paste, so that the body of the article
should be veined with colors. He continued to use both processes. He
called these wares " Bebble Wares," and in a letter to Mr. Bentley, in
1770, suggested a series of subdivisions : " Suppose we call those barely
sprinkled with blue, and ornaments gilt, Granite ; when veined with black,
Veined Granite ; with gold, Lapis Lazuli ; with colors and veined, Varie
gated Bebble ; those with colors and veined without any blue sprinkling,
Egyptian Pebble." The varieties of the pebble ware as now known are,
Serpentine, gray and green ; Agate, brown and yellow, with sometimes
gray and white; Verd - antique, dark green, gray, and black ; Green Jas
per, green and gray ; Gray Granite, white and black ; Bed Borphyry, white
on red. In these wares were produced vases, candlesticks, flower -pots,
plates, and other objects.
But the greatest of Wedgwood's improvements was the invention of
the pastes commonly called " Jasper-ware." This was a subject of much
study and labor with him, and the composition varied from time to time.

328

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

In 1774, he announced "a fine white terra-cotta of great beauty and del
icacy, proper for cameos, por
traits, and bas-reliefs," and in the
1787 edition of his catalogue he
thus describes it: "Jasper, a
white -porcelain bisque of ex
quisite beauty and delicacy, pos
sessing the general qualities of
the basaltes, together with that
224. Wedgwood Cameo : jasper. White on pale blue, of receiving colors through its
(T.-P. Coll.) whole substance in a manner
which no other body, ancient or modem, has been known to do."
In the same catalogue, of 1787 (which does not include his queen's-
ware), he mentions various "bodies" or compositions in
which his work was executed, as (1) Terra-cotta, resembling
porphyry, granite, Egyptian pebble, and other beautiful
stones of the siliceous or crystalline order; (2) Basaltes, a
fine black-porcelain bisque ; (3) White-porcelain bisque, the
same as No. 2, except in color; (4) Jasper (described as
above quoted) ; (5) Bamboo or cane colored bisque porcelain
of the same nature as No. 3 ; (6) A porcelain bisque of ex
treme hardness, little inferior to that of agate, resisting 225- Wedgwood
the strongest acids and corrosives, impenetrable to every
known liquid, adapted to mortars and chemical vessels.
In addition to these wares he produced a red ware, on which he ex
perimented, varying the tint, but never reaching a high de
gree of beauty except in specimens of red on black, which
are admirable. He also made an ordinary earthenware of
a very pure white color, to which he gave the name of
" Pearl- ware."
In 1777, he introduced the use of his "jasper wash,"
which consisted in covering only the surface of the ware
with the colored paste. It would seem, from a letter of
Wedgwood to Bentley, that his object was economy, or, per
haps, rather to use a. more expensive cobalt, and thus give a
finer surface color without increase of cost.
The jasper medallions w-ere of various sizes, and for an
226. Wedgwood infinite variety of purposes, ornamental and useful. The
White on^ale sma^er cameos were sold set in steel and gold mountings,

Ear-ring Drop :
jasper.

green.

or unset, for buttons, seals, watch - keys, lockets, and other

ENGLAND.

329

trinkets, or for furniture to be inlaid. Large plaques in bas-relief were
made for chimney-pieces and other architectural uses, for ornamenting
cabinets and bookcases, and for framing as cabinet pictures. The sizes
of the plaques and medallions varied from the smallest, less than an inch
in diameter, up to twelve by twenty-seven inches. The 1787 catalogue
states that the buttons were " worn by the nobility in different parts of
Europe." Lady Diana Beauclerc and Lady Templeton allowed Mr.
Wedgwood to use original designs by themselves, some of his reproduc
tions of which are among his most esteemed work. Various groups of
boys by Lady Beauclerc ; Do
mestic Employment, Sportive
Love, Charlotte at the tomb of
Werther, Contemplation, all by
Lady Templeton, are among
these. Heads and busts were
made in black basaltes and in
jasper. One series of 253 heads
of popes were made in small
cameos of jasper ; another series
of 63 kings of France, another
of kings of England.
While the smaller articles
were cheap, and placed the
most exquisite works of art
within reach of every class, the
larger articles were proportion
ately cheap. The prices of
heads were from one shilling
to a guinea each. Vases in
the terra-cotta ware resembling
stones, and varying from six to twenty inches in height, were from seven
and sixpence to three guineas. They were made in sets of five, at from
two to six guineas the set. The small cameos were sold at sixpence, and
cheaper when in sets. The series of popes were sold in sets at threepence
each. Wedgwood advertised that he would model portraits in wax for
any desiring them, three to six inches in diameter, at from three to five
guineas each, and furnish any number of copies in jasper-ware at a half-
guinea each.
Wedgwood was a man of artistic taste as well as a practical potter.
He knew what was beautiful in form, color, and combinations of colors.

227. Rev. John Wesley. Wedgwood jasper medallion.
White on blue.

330 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
He appreciated able artists, and was himself fully capable of criticising
their work, suggesting ideas, directing form and design. He was in ad
vance of the English world and taste in the study and love of the an
tique. No work on ancient art which could furnish him with informa
tion or patterns escaped him. His catalogues are themselves wonderful,
as they exhibit the extent of his researches in ancient and modern art for
originals to be reproduced in busts, medallions, cameos, intaglios, and bas-
reliefs. He borrowed engraved gems wherever he could find them,
copied them in jasper of various colors, produced many beautiful original
works from models, or drawings of artists and amateurs of his own time,
and made the noblest efforts of artists in all ages
familiar to the people of England and Europe.
His fabrics he exported to all parts of the world ;
and Italy, which had, a few centuries before, been
the art teacher of Europe, received from him a re-
228. Wedgwood Ear-ring payment so great that perhaps more of Wedgwood's
work is to be found in Italy than in any other coun
try. Travelling in the interior, we have been astonished at finding beau
tiful specimens in obscure little inns. The Neapolitan factories of Gius
tiniani and Del Vecchio were roused by the large importations of these
wares to imitate and copy them, and some very beautiful ware, not infe
rior to Wedgwood, was the result.
Other English factories also sought to follow in the footsteps of the
great ceramist. But his strides were too long for them, and, with the ex
ception of those who were educated in his own workshops, none succeeded
in closely imitating him. But his influence gave life to art in England.
The products of the Wedgwood factory include articles in nearly ev
ery form known to ceramic art. The collector who chooses to confine his
studies solely to this factory may gather as great a variety of objects of
beauty as if his collection represented all the works of all times ; and, so
very rare have some of the objects now become, he may find occupation
for a long life without reaching the completion of his desired collection.
A glance at the catalogue of 1787 will show the extent to which, at
that time, Wedgwood had carried his illustrations of art. He divides
the objects offered for sale into twenty classes. Class I. includes cameos
and intaglios ; Egyptian, Grecian, and Boman mythology ; ancient philos
ophers, sovereigns; fabulous age of Greece; war of Troy; Boman history;
masks, chimseras; illustrious moderns, and miscellaneous subjects. Tlie
numbers of the cameos run up to 1764, and of the intaglios to 394. Class
II. includes bas-reliefs, medallions, tablets, etc. These are of sizes varying

ENGLAND.

331

from one inch by two to twelve inches by twenty-seven, and number 275
varieties. Classes III., IV., and V. include kings, illustrious persons, and
scenes in Grecian, Egyptian, and Boman history,
down to the removal of the seat of empire to
Constantinople. Class IX. includes kings of
England and France. Class X. includes heads
of illustrious moderns. Class XI. includes busts,
varying in height from four to twenty-five inch
es ; statues and figures two feet high and down
ward in size. Class XII. includes lamps" and
candelabra. Class XIII. includes tea and coffee
equipages, all in bamboo-ware, basaltes- ware, or 229. Wedgwood Cameo: jasper-
jasper-ware, polished (not glazed) within. Class ware" White on blue.
XIV. includes flower and root pots. Class XV. includes ornamental
vases of antique forms in the terra-cotta resembling agate, jasper, por
phyry, and other variegated stones of the crystalline kind. Class XVI.
includes antique vases of black porcelain, or artificial basaltes. Class
XVII. includes vases, paterae, tablets, etc., with encaustic paintings. Class
XVIII. includes vases, tripods, and other ornaments in the jasper. Class
XIX. includes inkstands, mortars, paint-chests, eye-cups, and chemical ves
sels. Class XX. includes thermometers for measuring strong fire, or the
degrees of heat above ignition : this instrument, known and used still as
Wedgwood's pyrometer, being an invention of Josiah Wedgwood, by
which the temperature of a furnace can be determined accurately on the
principle of the contraction of argillaceous substances
in heat. After the death of Josiah Wedgwood, the factory
at Etruria continued its work in all respects as during
his life, and many improvements were made. In
1808, Mr. Byerley produced the first soft-paste porce
lain which had been made there. It was a very pure
paste, white, decorated admirably, but the production
was not long continued, and specimens are rare.
Examples in our collection show decorations in Chi
nese figures and groups in medallions, on diapered
green ground, rich blue, red, and gold foliage, like
the Derby and other brilliant wares, and various pop
ular styles of the day.
230. Wedgwood Vase: Jt jg no(. to distinguish the works of the fac-
jasper- ware. White on J °,
blue. (T.-P. Coll.) tory at different periods, since the form ol the lac-

332

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

tory mark — the simple word wedgwood stamped in the paste — has con
tinued the same, with brief exceptions, from the time of the elder Josiah
to the present day. In the medallion and cameo work, the old is, in gen
eral, better than the modern, because more carefully finished, less marked by
defects, and in colors less pronounced and glaring. But it is far from true,
as many enthusiastic admirers of Wedgwood are fond of asserting, that it is
easy to distinguish all old work from the modern. All the work down to
1820, and even later, may be regarded as of great merit. The very modern
cameos have more chalky-white surfaces, less sharpness of moulding, less
of the careful undercutting of the figures and faces, and generally strong
er ground-color. Where a medallion, bas-relief, or cameo presents these
characteristics, it may be supposed to be modern.
There is also a difference in the feeling of the sur
face of the jasper -ware, the old being softer and
more velvet like, which some persons can detect,
and on which they rely ; but to the ordinary col
lector this test is of no value. The marks, al
though substantially the same now as in the old
time, are somewhat of an assistance ; but it must
be borne in mind that genuine specimens are
often found without mark. In all cases, except
on porcelain, the mark is impressed in the paste
Avithout color. The most common mark is wedg
wood, generally in small capitals, sometimes in an
old-fashioned italic or script letter. Articles bear
ing the latter mark are very surely old. The
mark Wedgwood and Bentley, in small letter, or in old
italics, or in a circle with the word Etruria, is very
good evidence that the piece bearing it dates of
the time of that partnership, usually regarded as
231. Wedgwood Antique the best period of the factory. The circular mark
Vase: black basaltes-ware. appears frequently on vases, and an ingenious
fraud is sometimes perpetrated with this mark. The foot of an old and
genuine vase bearing the mark is connected with a vase made by some
other factory. We have before us a very poor black basalt vase, with
gross defects, such as no respectable factory would allow to go out, and
which has probably been picked out of the refuse ware of some factory,
to the bottom of which is affixed, by an iron rod and nut, a genuine Wedg
wood and Bentley base or foot, with the circular mark.
Other marks, of which the signification is unknown, are found on

ENGLAND. 333

many Wedgwood pieces, in addition to the factory mark ; sometimes un
der or over it, and sometimes distant from it. Capital letters, as O, T, D,
DN, AOY, etc., in great variety are found. In cases where three or
more capital letters are found thus on the piece, it is modern work (later
than 1840). Besides these marks, there are numerous tool-marks — scratch
es, numbers, dots, etc. — none of which are of importance, except one style
of mark. This is apparently made of subdivisions of a circle or of the
letter O. It appears as a semicircle, or as one or two brackets (), or as
two commas £ , or as small sections of a circle. Miss Meteyard is of opin
ion that this mark in one or the other form indicates that the piece bear
ing it was made since 1810 and prior to 1830. In modern times the let
ters in the word Wedgwood are sometimes out of line, and the mark is
carelessly impressed, which was not so often the case in the old marks.
The letter o in Wedgwood was generally an exact circle of even thickness
in the old marks, thus: O O, while in the modern it is, or seems, more
elongated, and has thicker sides, thus : O O.
But the best advice to the collector which can be given is that he dis
miss anxiety about the age of his specimens, and judge them by their ar
tistic beauty. A modern Wedgwood plaque or cameo is as wrell worthy a
place in any collection as an old one, if it equal the old in artistic work.
And, as we have before remarked, the work made since the death of the
elder Wedgwood is often equal and sometimes superior to the older work
of the same pattern.
The porcelain made in Byerley's time is marked sometimes with the
name impressed, and more rarely printed in blue or in red, always in cap
ital letters. Marks intended to deceive purchasers have been used by
other manufacturers to some extent. Wedgwood & Co., Wadgw'ood,
Wedgewood, are specimens of fraudulent marks of this kind. The gen
uine mark has rarely been counterfeited. A Frenchman, J. Voyez, who
had been in Wedgwood's employ, subsequently established a pottery and
issued copies of Wedgwood ware, on which he placed the genuine mark.
These were chiefly small cameos, seals, and intaglios, and were so few in
number that they rarely occur. No rule can be given by which to detect
them, except that in rejecting all specimens which are not the best work
the collector will probably not retain any of the Voyez forgeries. We
have recently found modern pottery, made about 1830-40, with printed
landscape decoration in pale blue, which seems to be English ware, of a
genuine factory, with the mark, printed in blue, J. Wedgwood. It is not
known who this manufacturer is.
In his ambition to reproduce the best works of the ancients, Mr. Wedg-

334 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
wood was led to project the reproduction of the Barberini or Portland
Vase, which has generally been regarded as his greatest
work. This vase was discovered in the seventeenth century in a
tomb three miles from Bome, on the Frascati road. The tomb
contained a sarcophagus of stone, within which was the vase,
containing ashes. No inscription was found on sarcopha
gus or tomb, and various theories were suggested as to the 232. Form ofthe
person whose ashes it preserved. The first idea was that the Portland Vase.
ashes were the remains of the Boman Emperor Alexander Severus, but
Winckelmann and others opposed this view. Antiquarians differed about
it for a century, during which the vase remained in the library of the
Barberini palace in Bome, and was for a long time supposed to be of
stone, and ranked as a gem of the highest value. Bartoli called it a sar
donyx, De la Chausse an agate, Montfaucon a precious stone.
The subjects represented on the vase, in white relief on the almost
black ground, have given rise to more discussion than its history. The
illustration (232) shows the outline form of the vase. On the bottom is a
very striking head, occupying a considerable part of the circle. Around
the vase, below the greatest di
ameter, is a scene, or a succession
of scenes, one half of which is
shown in 111. 233. Various theo
ries of various antiquarians down
to the present century have been
233. From the Portland Vase. ' alike unsatisfactory in determin
ing the subject ; and it is safe to
say that no one knows, or has yet offered a reasonable guess, of the sub
ject represented.
In the middle of the last century it began to be suspected that the
material was not stone, but a paste of some kind, and that it was possibly
glass. Mr. Wedgwood's examination determined that it was glass. The
bottom was a separate piece cemented on. The ashes had, perhaps, been
thus introduced, the neck being too narrow to admit them. The colors
were a deep dark -blue, almost black, ground, on which the designs were
cut from a layer of opaque white glass, in cameo style.
On the sale of the Barberini library, the vase was purchased by Mr.
Byers, of Aberdeenshire, who was then in Bome. He showed it to Sir
William Hamilton, who describes the enthusiasm with which he bought
it. " I eagerly asked, ' Is it yours % Will you sell it ?' He answered,

ENGLAND.

335

' Yes, but never under a thousand pounds.' ' I will give you a thousand
pounds ;' and so I did." He afterward wrote, " I have no doubt of this
being a work of the time of Alexander the Great, and was probably
brought out of Asia by Alexander, whose ashes were deposited therein
after his death."

234. Dr. Erasmus Darwin. Wedgwood medallion : jasper.
Stories have been told in connection with the first sale of the vase,
that a Barberini princess had lost money at cards, and parted with her
most valuable antiquities to repair her losses ; that the pope, hearing of it,
forbade their exportation, but that the vase, being a small object, w-as
easily smuggled out of Bome.
When Sir William Hamilton brought it to England, in 1784, the
Duchess of Portland, an enthusiastic collector, at once pressed him to sell
it to her, and the transfer was accomplished secretly. The duchess for

336 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
some reason concealed the fact that it had come into her possession ; and
on her death, about six months later, it wras found among her effects.
In 1786 the museum of the duchess was dispersed by sale at auction,
and in the sale catalogue the last lot but one is thus described :
Lot 4155. — The most celebrated antique vase, or sepulchral urn, from the Bar
berini cabinet at Eome. It is the identical urn which contained the ashes of the
Eoman Emperor Alexander Severus and his mother, Mammyea, which was deposited
in the earth about the year 235 after Christ, and was dug up by order of Pope Bar
berini, named Urban VIII., between the years 1623 and 1644. The materials of
which it is composed emulate an onyx, the ground a rich, transparent, dark ame
thystine color, and the snowy figures which adorn it are in bas-relief of workman
ship above all encomium, and such as cannot but excite in us the highest idea of
the arts of the ancients. Its dimensions are 9 inches and 3 quarters high and 21
inches and 3 quarters in circumference. A more particular account of this famous
vase may be found in Montfaucon's Antiquities, vol. v., book ii., chap. vi. ; in Sigr
Bartoli delle Sepolchri Antichi ; in the iEdes Barberini ; in Wright's, Breval's, and
Misson's Travels ; in YVinckelmann on the Arts of the Ancients, etc., etc.
On the last day of the sale, June 7th, 1786, the vase was sold to the
Duke of Portland (son of the late duchess) for one thousand and twenty-
nine guineas. It does not appear what foundation there is for a current
statement that Mr. Wedgwood was the principal bidder against the duke,
and was induced to stop his advances on a promise of the latter to lend
him the vase for his purpose of copying. But it is true that within a day
or two after the sale Mr. Wedgwood received the vase from the duke, and
gave him a written receipt for it and for a cameo medallion of Augustus
Csesar, which was in the same sale, with a promise to deliver them back
on demand. Before describing Mr. Wedgwood's work, it will be of interest to fol
low the history of this remarkable vase. Mr. Wedgwood retained it in
his possession for a long time. In 1810 it was deposited in the British
Museum by the duke, who retained his ownership of it, and the museum
placed it in a glass case in the " Hamiltonian Boom," where it remained
on exhibition. On the 7th of February, 1845, while several visitors were
in the room, a young man, one of the visitors, took up a piece of stone,
an ancient sculpture, and hurled it into the case containing the Portland
vase, breaking both case and vase to fragments. He was arrested, made
no resistance, declined to give his name, was taken to prison, and, on be
ing brought before a magistrate, still declined to give his name. He was
an Irishman, about twenty-one years of age, of respectable appearance.

ENGLAND. 337

He confessed the act, expressed profound regret, stated that he had been
indulging in intemperance for a week previous, was suffering under ner
vous excitement, a continual fear of everything he saw, and "it was un
der this impression, strange as it may appear, that I committed the act
for which I was deservedly taken into custody." It appeared that he had
lodged in Long Acre, where he went by the name of William Lloyd.
The British statute under which the prisoner was arrested, and which
was known as the Wilful-damage Act, authorized the magistrate to im
pose a fine for compensation to the owner of the injured property "not
exceeding the sum of five pounds;" and it was doubted whether, in case
the value of the property was greater than that, the court had jurisdiction
to impose any fine. To relieve the case of doubt, the British Museum
proceeded against tlie prisoner on the charge of breaking the glass case,
which was their property, and worth about three pounds, and the charge
of breaking the vase was abandoned. The prisoner was accordingly con
victed on that charge, and sentenced to pay a fine of three pounds, or,
in default, to two months in the House of Correction. Being without
money, he went to prison. It was afterward stated that he was a student,
of good family, and that he concealed his name on their account as well
as his own. A letter was received by the magistrate a few days later, en
closing three pounds to pay the fine, and the young man was discharged,
and not again heard of. The vase was placed in the hands of a restorer,
who gathered the fragments, and replaced them with great skill, so that
the damage was almost imperceptible. It has always since been guarded
by the British Museum with great care.
Immediately on receiving the vase from the Duke of Portland, Mr.
Wedgwood commenced his labors, and with his accustomed antiquarian
tastes sought, first of all, to gather all possible information about its his
tory and the subjects of the relief work on it. He prepared and privately
gave to a few of his friends a pamphlet, which abundantly shows his at
tainments. This pamphlet he subsequently reprinted, to accompany his
reproductions of the vase. In the copy in my possession the preface is
interlined and extended with some words in Mr. Wedgwood's autograph.
This preface is as follows, the italics being his manuscript additions :
Mr. Wedgwood is endeavoring to collect all tbe accounts of the Barberini, now
Portland, vase that have hitherto been published. He takes the liberty of submit
ting to his friends the present state of his collection ; and will be very thankful for
any further information they may be pleased to give him, or any other books they
may direct him to in which this subject is mentioned; that the account which he
purposes to deliver with his copies of the vase may be as complete as possible.
22

338

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

In the catalogue of 1787, Mr. Wedgwood expresses his obligation to
the Duke of Portland for " entrusting this inestimable jewel to my care,
and continuing it so long,
more than twelve months, in
my hands." It would seem
that at this time it was still
in his hands, and it is matter
of fact that for three years
he labored at his copy. It
was found that casts from
the vase would not answer,
as the shrinking of the ware
in baking was very great,
and the result would be a
smaller vase. His chief
artist and modeller Henry
Webber, William Hackwood,
William Wood, and others,
worked on the preparation
of moulds. The entire vase
was, of course, modelled in
larger size, for the purposes
of the mould. Defective or
unsatisfactory copies were produced from time to time. In the latter
part of 1789 he sent the first perfect copy to Dr. Erasmus Darwin, which
is still in possession of his descendants.
In 1791, a copy was produced which
perfectly satisfied Mr. Wedgwood, and this
was exhibited in London, and sent abroad
in charge of Josiah Wedgwood, junior,
and Mr. Byerley, and exhibited in Hol
land and Germany. At this time Wedg
wood wrote to his son that the price was
not yet determined, but that it would
not be prudent to fix it at less than fifty
pounds. By 1789 twenty copies had been
subscribed for, though no price was named.
The subscription -list increased somewhat
after that date, but it is not known that more than twenty copies were
made during Wedgwood's life. It has been reported that fifty copies in

235. Dr. Priestley. Wedgwood medallion: jasper.

236. Wedgwood Cameo : jasper.
on blue.

White

ENGLAND.

339

237. Cameo : Wedgwood jasper. White on pale green.
(T.-P. Coll.)

all were made, but no evidence of this exists ; nor are the copies now ex
tant, which are known to be of this early issue, alike. They vary in height
from 10 to 14 inches. Some have higher polish than others. The white
of some is pure, of others yellowish. Several were produced by the fac
tory after the death of Mr. Wedgwood ; and some of those of later man
ufacture, down to 1810, are fully equal to the earlier. The vase was again
borrowed in 1800, and doubtless new moulds were made. The modern
factory continues the production of the vase in three or more colors, and
copies in various wares and various colors and sizes by other makers are
innumerable. The collector who seeks an original will do well not to pay a high
price until he has familiarized himself with one or more known copies.
The color should be nearly
black, with a blue tint, the
white reliefs soft as velvet,
delicate in color, cut careful
ly under the edges like a
stone cameo, and the height
from ten inches upward.
Some originals are numbered,
but not all, and it is suggested that the numbered copies may be those
from the moulds made in 1800.
In 1872, at Mr. Parnell's sale, an original copy brought one hundred
and eighty pounds. Another, which belonged to the poet Bogers,
brought at his sale one hundred and twenty-seven pounds, and was sold
again in February, 1875, for one hundred and ninety -one pounds, the
highest price as yet known for this work.
Lambeth. — It is probable that stone-wares were made at Lambeth as
early as anywhere in England. Dutch potters are said to have settled
there in or before 1640, and commenced the manufacture, which grew up
until there were about twenty potteries there which made tiles, glazed pot
teries, and stone-ware. At the beginning of the present century, only one
factory remained in operation, producing wares for apothecaries, and sim
ilar purposes, and some Delft ware.
In modern times the stone -ware product has revived, and Messrs.
Doulton & Co. now make the greatest variety of artistic work in stone
wares, equalling, if not surpassing, all other makers in modern times.
Fulham. — Dutch potters also established works for making stone-ware
at Fulham, in the seventeenth century.
Mr. John Dwight, a gentleman of education, secretary, successively, to

340

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

Bishops Walton, Feme, and Hall, of Chester, established a pottery at Ful
ham, at which he made stone-wares of a peculiar kind — his own inven
tion. It is claimed for Mr. Dwight that he was the English discoverer of
porcelain, and that, in 1640 or 1641, he made successful experiments at
Fulham. Dr. Plot, in his " History of Oxfordshire," published in 1677,
recounts at some length the works of Mr. Dwight. He says he " hath
discovered the mystery of the stone or Cologne wares, such as D'Alva
bottles, jugs, noggins ;" he " hath discovered also the mystery of the Hes
sian wares and vessels for reteining the penetrating salts and spirits of
the chymists;" and he "hath found ways to make an earth white and
transparent as porcellane, and not distinguishable from it by the eye, or
by experiments that have been purposely made to try wherein they dis
agree. To this earth he hath added the colours that are usual in the col
oured china ware, and divers others not seen before." * * * " He hath also
caused to be modelled statues or figures of the said transparent earth (a
thing not done elsewhere, for China
affords us only imperfect mouldings),
which he hath diversified with great
variety of colours, making them of
the colour of iron, copper, brass, and
part}7 - coloured, as some Achat-
stones." In 1671, Mr. Dwight secured a
patent, on his representation that
he had discovered "the mistery of
transparent earthenware, commonly
known by the name of porcelaine or
china, and Persian ware, as also the
mistery of the stone -ware vulgarly
called Cologne ware." In 1684 his patent was renewed, reciting, as
among his works, " white gorges, marbled porcelanne vessels, statues and
figures, and fine stone gorges and vessels," and also that he had discovered
the mystery of " transparent porcelanne and opacous redd and dark-col
oured porcellane or china."
Dr. Plot's testimony would be more valuable were it not for a recol
lection of the many misunderstandings wdiich have grown out of the six
teenth and seventeenth centmw- use of the word porcelanne. This testi
mony is shaken, too, by his description of the coloring of this " transpar
ent earth," which he describes as " of the color of iron, copper, brass, and

238. Inkstand : Fulham stone-ware.

ENGLAND.

341

party-colored, as some Achat-stones," all of which, especially the marbled
ware, resembling agates, seem more like pottery than porcelain. A single
specimen of Dwight's " porcelain " would settle the question ; but while
his " statues " in pottery, admirable works, exist, no translucent specimen
is known ; and it is not likely, even if he produced experimental pieces
of porcelain, that he continued its manufacture.
Statuettes and busts, of stone -ware, well modelled by Dwight, were
preserved in the Dwight family until recently, and are in several collec
tions. These include a life-size bust of Charles IL, smaller busts of the
same king and other persons, full-length figures of Flora, Minerva, Melea-
ger, a sportsman, a girl with flowers, five stone-ware statuettes in imita
tion of bronze, of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Meleager. These are proba
bly what Dr. Plot called the transparent earth colored to resemble brass.
A half-length figure of a dead child lying on a pillow, holding a bouquet,
with a broad lace band across the forehead, is described as very fine — so
fine, says Mr. Chaffers, that " the child seems almost to breathe again."
This is inscribed in the paste, lydia Dwight, died March 3. 1672. It is
in the South Kensington Museum. Other articles of Dwight's stone
ware are bottles, one slate-colored, with marble bands, others entirely mar
bled ; a mug, with a scene from Hogarth's Midnight Conversation ; a but
ter-boat, and other objects. Many of the early stone-ware mugs and jugs,
with medallions and initials of royal names, as C. B., W. B., A. B., G. B.,
are assigned, with some confidence, to Fulham. Whether Dwight did or
did not make porcelain, he was undoubtedly an accomplished ceramist for
his time ; and it is possible that fur

ther study of English wares will
show that to him, in advance of the
Elers brothers, of Bradwell, is due
an influence leading to better art in
English pottery.
After his death, the pottery con
tinued, under the management of his
daughter Margaret, with a partner,
Warland, making chiefly the brown
wares of commerce. It was sus
pended in 1746, but revived when
she married William White, and
continued in the White family un- 239 Brown stone-ware Jug. (Fuilnm -
til 1862. Brown-ware pitchers or jugs, with hunting-scenes in relief, and with

342

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

grotesque figures, monkeys, dwarfs, and various decorations, mugs, bot
tles, inkstands in the shape of heads (111. 238), and divers objects, were
originated at Fulham, and very popular in the last and this century.
They have been imitated in numerous potteries; and the style, especially
a favorite handle, formed of a hound, has been reproduced for a long time
at the Jersey City Pottery, and elsewhere in America.
A flip -can is preserved, which is an interesting relic of "Bobinson
Crusoe," bearing this inscription :
Alexander Selkirke, this is my one (own).
When you take me on bord of ship
Pray fill me full of punch or flip. Fulham.
The brown ware was made also at Nottingham, where a potter, Morley,
worked in 1757. " Nottingham ware " was a familiar name for the mugs
and other ordinary articles. Dated
specimens are found from 1721
to 1771. The ware is very hard,
salt -glazed, and generally has a
slight metallic lustre. It is deco
rated with incised lines of bands
and flowers, especially pinks.
Large punch-bowls, tobacco-jars,
puzzle-jugs, bottles in the shape
of bears, mugs, etc., are among
specimens. Brown jugs like those
of Fulham, the upper parts darker
than the lower, dead glaze without
lustre, are later. Names of own
ers are incised. These works were
discontinued before 1800.
John and Christopher Heath
made brown stone-ware similar to
that of Fulham and Nottingham at Cock-pit Hill, in Derbyshire, prior to
1750. A mug, a copy of the Fulham mug, with Hogarth's Midnight Con
versation, is inscribed William Heath, 1764. Jugs with reliefs, superior
in modelling and work, with subjects not found on Lambeth or Fulham
ware, have been attributed to the Heaths.
Burslem.— The name Pa. Wood is found stamped on a statuette of
Chaucer, and on another specimen, both in pottery. He was probably the
father of Aaron Wood, and seems to have made wares in colored potteries

240. Puzzle-jug. (Nottingham.)

ENGLAND.

343

before 1750, when Aaron commenced work on his own account, having
been previously appren
ticed to Dr. Thomas
Wedgwood, one of the
numerous family of
Wedgwoods who were
potters. Aaron Wood
in ad e white stone - ware
with the salt glaze. He
was known as an ingen
ious engraver of moulds
for these wares. It has
been supposed that he
was the inventor of the
white ware known after
ward as cream -ware, and
after Wedgwood's im
provements, as queen's-
ware. Enoch Wood, who 241. Old Staffordshire White Pottery. Figures in blue, with
was called afterward yellow.
"The Father of the Pottery," began business in 1784, and produced all
the ordinary modern varieties of pottery. His specially important work
was in statuettes, made of soft pottery, colored in
good style. We have in our collection several
of these, the best of which are — Shakspeare, 18
inches high ; Milton, the same size ; Benjamin
Franklin, 15 inches high, wearing a dove-colored
coat, yellow-embroidered vest, red knee-breeches,
and white stockings. The decorator, probably in
the haste of an order for several statuettes, hav
ing a variety before him, has named this last one,
in gold, General Washington. We have seen an
other example of the same statuette, in which
Franklin is dressed in a rich blue coat, with
white vest and breeches, and a third, in which his
costume is still different in color.
In 1790, James Caldwell entered the firm,
now Wood & Caldwell, but retired in 1818,
when Wood took three sons into partnership under the firm name, E.
Wood & Sons, which continued till 1846, when they closed the business,

242. Shakspeare: Enoch
Wood's ware.

344

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

Enoch Wood having died in 1840, aged eighty-three. Large quantities
of ordinary pottery, decorated in blue, and other colored prints, by E.
Wood & Sons, were brought to America, and among these are many
good specimens well worth preserving. Some were decorated with prints
of American subjects.
The illustration (243) which we give from a blue printed plate by E.
Wood & Sons, serves a purpose to show the interest which may attach
even to common wares. This appears to be one of a service made for a

243. Hudson River Steamer " Chief -Justice Marshall." (From a blue printed plate by
E. Wood & Sons. T.-P. Coll.)
Hudson Biver steamboat. The same print appears on another plate in our
collection with the name of the steamer changed. In this case it is the
Chief-Justice Marshall, a steamer that will be remembered by many old
persons as among the first to navigate the waters of the Hudson. They
will remember, too, the custom of discharging and receiving passengers by
a small boat, run out with a line from the steamer to the shore, and drawn
back by the same line winding around the boat's shaft as she steamed on ;
a custom which led to accidents, and the enactment of a statute forbid
ding the attachment of the line to any part of the machinery.
Other printed wares in our collection form a series of illustrations of
early steam navigation.
Daniel Steele, of Burslem, about 1802, made wares resembling Wedg
wood's jasper. His name is impressed on medallion portraits, white on
blue. John Mitchell was a large manufacturer of white stone -ware, salt-
glazed, at Burslem, in the early part of the last century.

ENGLAND. 345

John and Bichard Biley began making_ ordinary domestic wares here
in the last century, and continued work till 1827. Their white ware, dec
orated in dark-blue prints, marked Riley's semi-stone china in a circular
belt, or simply Riley, is abundant in America.
John Lockett and Timothy Lockett made white stone-ware, salt-glazed,
in various forms, in and after 1786. The name J. Lockett is impressed on
wares. In 1802, they removed to Lane End.
John Walton (1806) made statuettes, groups, whistles, and toys. His
statuettes are quaint and curious. We have by him Elijah and the Wid
ow, a shepherd and shepherdess, Falstaff, and birds, and animals. The
name Walton, in a scroll, is on the back of the pedestals of Elijah and
the Widow.
Tunstall. — About 1750, Enoch Booth made pottery here. His name
is on a dish dated 1757. He is said to have introduced the use of fluid
glaze. Anthony Keeling, his son-in-law, succeeded him, and in 1786 made
queen's and other ware. The firm was later A. & E. Keeling. Mr.
Chaffers is of opinion that the New Hall porcelain company purchased
Champion's (Bristol) patent in 1777, and began to make porcelain in con
nection with Keeling that year at Tunstall. Mr. Owen, the historian of
Bristol porcelain, says Champion did not sell till 1782.
About 1780, William Adams, who had been educated by Wedgwood,
began work on his own account at Tunstall, and executed copies of Wedg
wood jasper-wares, and work in similar style, which are often equal to the
originals. In 1786, the firm William Adams & Co. produced cream - wares and
colored potteries, which are signed with their names.
G. F. Bowers made ordinary wares, signed G. F. B. in a knot.
Smith Child made queen's and other wares about 1763, the mark
Child impressed.
Longport.— Messrs. John & George Bogers made potteries for domes
tic use in the latter part of the last century and early part of this. We
find the name Bogers impressed on cream-wares and printed potteries,
sometimes accompanied with the chemical sign for iron on stone- wares.
This sign is a common mark on potteries, and unless accompanied by a
name does not identify pieces as of any special manufactory.
The most important factory at Longport was one which Mr. John
Davenport took in 1793. He extended the works largely, and produced
a great quantity of ordinary and fine work in pottery and porcelain. Tlie
proprietor employed able artists, especially for flower-painting, in which
the decorations of the porcelain especially excel. The works still con-

346 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
tiuue. No English factory had produced more beautiful porcelain than
this. Specimens are abundant in America, of very fine services, decorated
with rich blue or yellow borders, and flowers on white.
Cobridge. — Balph Daniel, of Cobridge, brought to Staffordshire the
French practice of using plaster-of -Paris moulds. He was a potter; but
we know nothing of his work. John Warburton, and his widow after his
death, had a pottery here, where they made cream-wares. Mrs. Warbur
ton was specially known for good enamelling, and previous to 1769 Josiah
Wedgwood sent to Mrs. Warburton undecorated goods to be painted and
enamelled by her.
J. and B. Clews were potters at Cobridge from about 1814 till 1836.
They are well known to Americans from the quantity of their wares dec
orated with printed American scenes and portraits, which they made for
this market. Their dark -blue decorations seem to have been favorites
here. They made cream-ware decorated in relief patterns and colors, and
also porcelain. Among their American decorations one of the most
elaborate was the " Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden," which they
placed, in prints of various sizes, on dinner and tea services. Besides these,
we have specimens of several services on which are American prints:
among them a view of the old Stevens House at Hoboken ; the White
House at Washington, with names of thirteen States on the border; En
trance of the Erie Canal into the Hudson at Albany ; the upper Ferry
Bridge over the Schuylkill ; Passaic Falls, and many others. Among
their best printed work are the Wilkie Designs, as they were called, which
are good character pictures in a very rich blue. This style of pottery, of
the period from 1810 to 1830, decorated in dark blue, made by various
English factories, was common enough in America forty years ago, but is
now becoming scarce. It is not prized, except by a few judicious collec
tors, who recognize in it a color that is rarely surpassed on pottery ; and,
common as the ware may have been thought, it has ceased to be common
— is, indeed, becoming rare — and collectors will do well to secure good
specimens. J. Voyez, a Frenchman in the employ of Wedgwood, superintending
the manufacture of jasper-wares, was discharged for some cause. He was
a man of ability, Josiah Wedgwood describing him as " a perfect master
of the antique style in ornaments, vases," etc. Between 1770 and 1773,
Voyez established himself in a pottery at Cobridge, where he produced
jasper -wares in Wedgwood's style, intaglios and cameos, vases, tablets,
statuettes, and other articles, some of which were remarkably fine. On
some he placed the Wedgwood mark. While they are tolerably close im-

ENGLAND.

347

itations of Wedgwood's work, they are in general inferior. The objects
with the counterfeit mark are always small cameos, intaglios, and other
small pieces, and it is not probable that they were numerous. Few of the
works of Voyez bear any mark. A jug in the South Kensington Museum
has the name Voyez, and J. Voyez is stamped on another. The name
also occurs on a vase made by Palmer at Hanley, who employed him in
1769. Hanley. — The names of E. Mayer and of E. Mayer & Son occur fre
quently on ordinary potteries found in America. Elijah Mayer estab
lished a pottery about 1770, and the firm ceased work in 1830. They
made cream-ware, black basaltes like Wedgwood's, brown-line ware, un
glazed terra-cotta with colored reliefs, and the common varieties of table
crockery. Their black wares were sometimes moulded with high-reliefs.
We have specimens commemorating Wellington and his battles. A well-
known service was made
in honor of Nelson and
his battles, on which are
pyramids, crocodiles, Bri
tannia, Fame, and a mon
ument with tablet. May
er's black ware is some
times met with in this
country. The name of
Joseph Mayer & Co. also
occurs on some pieces in
the Liverpool Museum.
White stone - ware,
salt-glazed, was made at
Hanley by Christopher
C. Whitehead; and about
1780, Job Meigh took the
works, and the firm of
Meigh & Walthall suc
ceeded him. They produced work from designs by Garinelli, a sculptor,
whose name appears on a specimen. The mark of their work was the
name Meigh. Job Meigh, junior, received in 1823 the medal of the
Society of Arts for a glaze free from the poisonous qualities of lead
glaze when used for holding fruits and acid articles.
Lakin & Poole (established 1770) made black wares like Wedgwood's,
cream-wares, and other pottery, including statuettes and groups.

244. Staffordshire Saucer : white ware, by Aaron Wood.

348

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

W. Stevenson, signing work with his name ; Edmund J. Birch, sign-
ino- E. I. B., and also Birch; Joseph Glass, John Glass, and John Glass &
Sons (no mark) ; J. Shorthose, Shorthose & Heath, and Shorthose & Co.,
signing with their names; Balph Salt, signing with his name; and Charles
and Samuel Chatterly, were potters at Hanley, making various wares.
Henry Palmer (established about 1760), signing " H. Palmer Hanley,"
in a circle, made cream-ware, red engined ware, and black basaltes. He
was the son of John Palmer, who first utilized the accidental discovery
of salt glaze. He copied Wedgwood's patterns, and it was said his wife
obtained, in London, Wedgwood & Bentley's new pieces, as soon as they
appeared, for her husband to reproduce. Palmer went into partnership
with Neale, the firm being Neale & Palmer, and they annoyed Wedgwood
by their copies of his works — among others, his patented ware. He sued
out an injunction, which resulted in a compromise, Palmer paying Wedg
wood for an interest in
the patent. His work
was of the best class.
Palmer failed in 1776,
and Neale (signing "I.
Neale Hanley," in a cir
cle) continued the work.
His products were also
admirable. The firms of
Neale & Wilson and Neale & Co. succeeded (1778-87), and both names
appear on excellent wares in Wedgwood's and other styles. When Neale
died, Bobert Wilson continued the works. He signed with his name,
Wilson, and also with a C under a crown. The factory had increased in-
importance under Neale & Wilson, and its products were extensive in
ornamental and useful wares. Ovals of Franklin and Washington are
known marked Neale & Co. Common wares marked Wilson, are abun
dant in America. The factory went through several hands, until 1830,
when it became one of the many run by W. Bidgway, Son, & Co.,
whose products were at that time more largely exported to America than
those of any other English potters, if we may judge from the quantity
now found here.
The mark Eastwood, found on black and cream wares, is attributed by
Mr. Chaffers to William Baddeley, at Eastwood, Hanley (1802-'22).
Bichard Hollins (1750-'80), T. & J. Hollins, and T. J. & B. Hollins
(1780-1820), Keeling, Toft, & Co. (1806-'24), made the ordinary wares of
the periods.

245. Queen's-ware Bread-dish.

ENGLAND. 349

Edward Keeling was a potter in 1786, succeeded, in 1802, by James
Keeling, who about 1828 made wares with printed views of Oriental
scenery, from the illustrations of Buckingham's travels in Mesopotamia.
These are frequently met with in this country.
Shelton. — Joseph Twyford, already mentioned as obtaining the Elers
brothers' secrets, was a potter at Shelton. The mark I. T. is attributed
to him. Astbury, the other person named in the same connection, made
white salt-glazed wares here, and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Ast
bury. Samuel Hollins (1774) made red ware with relief ornaments, black
wares, and other varieties.
The New Hall pottery at Shelton was taken in 1782 by a large com
pany organized to make porcelain under Champion's patent, wdiich they
had bought. No examples of hard - paste porcelain according with the
patent are known, but soft -paste porcelain was produced from an early
time. In 1814, Peter Warburton, one of the firm, took out a patent for
" decorating china, porcelain, earthenware, and glass with native pure or
adulterated gold, silver, platina, or other metals fluxed or lowered with
lead, or any other substance, which invention or new method leaves the
metals, after being burned, in their metallic state."
Pink lustre was a frequent decoration on the New Hall porcelain, as
well as prints in red and black, diapered borders, and painted decorations.
The paste is generally clear, and very translucent. The mark was New
Hall, within two circles, down to 1825, when the fabric ceased. Un
marked specimens may sometimes be recognized by the peculiar form of
the pattern number on the bottom, in large, sharply drawn figures. New
Hall tea services are common in America.
Job Bidgway & Sons were potters at Shelton before 1814, when the
sons, John and William Bidgway, succeeded Job. They marked wares
with the firm name, and with the letters J. W. B., making both pottery and
porcelain. Their more modern marks are common on porcelains in Amer
ica, and J. B., for John Bidgway, is found frequently in an oval under a
crown, with the name of the pattern on a scroll. Brown, Westhead, Moore,
& Co. are the modern proprietors. Old blue-and-wbite pieces by the Bidg
way house have American scenes. In some cases the same pictures served
for different places. We have the State House at Boston on one plate,
and the City Hall, New York, on another, both views being of the latter.
B. & J. Baddeley (established about 1750), signing sometimes I. E. B.
impressed, were succeeded by Hicks & Meigh, and Hicks, Meigh, & John
son, who were succeeded by W. Bidgway, Morley, Wear, & Co. in 1836.
The latter firm signed B. M. W. & Co.

350

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

T. Twemlow (about 1770);
Thomas Fletcher & Co., established about 1786
(who only printed wares made by others).

Other potters at Shelton were :
W. & J. Harding, mark Harding impressed ;
Charles Bagnall, established about 1760 ;
Edward Phillips (only a decorator) ;
Stoke-upon-Trent. — About 1790, Mr. Thomas Minton, an apprentice
to Turner, of Caughley, established works at Stoke, which have since be
come famous as Minton's works. Joseph Boulson, manager at Spode's,
became his partner, and died in 1809. He made pottery, chiefly blue-and-
white, until 1798, when a ware called " Semi-transparent China " was in
troduced, and made till 1811, then abandoned, and re
sumed in 1821. In 1817, Mr. Herbert Minton, his son,
became a partner, and on the death of the father, in
1836, became sole proprietor. About 1840, Mr. Michael
Daintry Hollins entered the firm, and later another
nephew of Mr. Minton, Mr. Colin Minton Campbell.
The history of this factory is written in the innu
merable beautiful products of the potter's art in every
variety, ancient and modern, which it has scattered over
the civilized world.
Josiah Spode, the elder, was an apprentice of Whi el
don, at Fenton, in 1749. He took a pottery at Stoke
about 1770, where he made cream
and black wares, and jasper blue on
: white. He died in 1797, and was
I succeeded by his son Josiah, who in
|f 1800 began to make soft-paste por
celain, which he improved in the
paste by introducing bones, and pro-
246. Agate-ware Knife- dnced in beautiful forms with great
handle. . °
variety of decoration. Some of his
porcelain services are among the most delicious speci
mens of the art, while a large variety, not rare, show
the best class of commercial work. His decorations
of pottery were also fine, especially those in which
Oriental tastes and colors were introduced, and the de
signs improved for English eyes. In 1805, he produced
a ware called opaque porcelain, or iron-stone china,
which was strong, serviceable, often decorated with
brilliant colors, and highly popular. He made ornamental works in pot
tery and porcelain, and many of his vases are highly prized. Under his

247. Agate-ware Knife-
handle.

ENGLAND.

351

management the factory became one of the most important in England.
The "corner-stones" of the new parish church of Stoke were made by
him, each sixteen inches by twelve : one of porcelain with an inscription
and a view of the old church and town, one of brown porcelain, one of
jasper-ware, one of iron-stone ware, and one of blue pottery. He died in
1827. His partner, Mr. William Copeland, managed the London business,
and in 1833 his son, Mr. William T. Copeland, purchased the works, which
have since become famous under the general name " Copeland."
The royal factories of Continental Europe no longer outrank the En
glish. Copeland, Minton, and the Worcester factory equal, if they do not
surpass, all European makers in the variety, beauty, and artistic character
of their products. The best artists are employed, the utmost attention is
paid to every department of the mechanical work, and the result attained,
in potteries and in porcelain, renders English ceramic art in this century
the highest art in all the ages.
Other potters at Stoke have been :

Thomas Mater (established before 1829) ;
Henry Daniel (established before 1826) ;
Hugh Booth (died 1789);
Ephraim, Hugh, and John Booth (from 1789);
W. Adams (died 1829), and his Sons ;

Thomas Wolfe (about 1776), in whose factory
silver lustre was first produced ;
Wolfe & Hamilton, the same works ;
Zachariah Botle (established before 1829) ;
John Aldersea (before 1829).

Fenton. — Thomas Whieldon was a potter here (Little Fenton) in
1740. Josiah Wedgwood was his part
ner till 1759. They made black-glazed,
agate or mixed -clay, tortoise-shell,
melon, and some other wares. Whiel
don was an instructor of potters. Jo
siah Spode, Aaron Wood, and several
other potters were his apprentices.
John Barker and Bobert Garner, two
of his apprentices, established a pot
tery here. William Greatbach, an
other apprentice, was afterward cele
brated for teapots with the story of the Prodigal Son on them in black
print, and was so good a potter that Wedgwood engaged him for life at
high wages, and employed him till his death.
Balph Bourne, William Baker, William Bacchus, and Felix Pratt, were
potters at Fenton.
Lane Delph. — Among the several potteries here, the most important
was established before 1800 by Miles Mason, whose name appears on early

248. Covered Cup, by Whieldon.

352 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
pieces of ware. Charles James Mason perfected and patented, in 1813, the
"iron-stone china" made by using with the clay the pulverized slag or
scoria of iron stones. The firm of Mason & Co., under this and other
firm names, did an extensive business in this and other wares, including
soft-paste porcelain, and their products are frequent in America. They
made large and small vases of iron-stone ware with relief ornaments, dec
orated in colors, among which a remarkably brilliant dark blue with iron-
red is conspicuous. Some of these are elaborately ornamented. A con
spicuous mark includes the words " Fenton Stone Works C. J. M. & Co.,
Granite China Staffordshire Potteries."
Other potters here were Joseph Myatt, Elkin Knight & Co., Samuel
Spode, William Edwards, W. Matthews, and a Mr. Phillips. Thomas
Heath was an early potter here, working in 1710.
Longton, or Lane End. — The most important factory here was estab
lished in 1762 by John Turner. He made
cane -colored stone -ware, in various forms,
sometimes of great beauty. A punch-bowl is
described as made by him which held twenty-
two gallons. He imitated Wedgwood's jas
per-wares with some success. His products
of this kind are remarkable for beauty and
finish. To him, among other claimants, is as
signed a class of cream-ware found in Holland,
much of which was decorated with odd paintings, sometimes accompanied
by Dutch inscriptions. The Prodigal Son, the Crucifixion, portraits of
the family of Orange with orange-trees, are all very rudely painted. Tur
ner died 1786, and was succeeded by his sons William and John, who con
tinued the works in all varieties of ware. They patented a stone-ware in
1800, on which is found Turner's Patent.
John Aynsley, established at Lane End before 1800, made melon and
cream wares. His white mugs with black prints are occasionally found,
his name being sometimes on the border of the print. We have seen
prints relating to Washington on wares which seem to be by him. These
are described, in a list of prints relating to Washington, under Liver
pool. William Bailey and W. Batkin are described as the " sole patentees of
lustred pottery," doing a good business in 1823, and having been estab
lished since the beginning of the century. Their names occur on lustred
wares. Thomas and Joseph Johnson made soft-glazed white ware in the last

249. Queen's-ware.

ENGLAND.

353

century, and were succeeded by Mayer and Newbold, who, about 1800, ex
tended the works, and made excellent porcelain, well decorated. They
marked M dh N, and also Mayr & Newbd.
J. Barley's name is found on pottery of Lane End.
Chetham & Wooley, about 1795, invented a paste called " pearl-ware,"
which was afterward used by many of the best manufacturers. Wedg
wood had previously given the name to a ware of his invention.
There were many other potters in Staffordshire, whose marks wall be
found in the Table, or their names in the Alphabetical List of English
Potters hereafter given.
Liverpool was the seat of potteries in the early part of the eigh
teenth century. From 1716 to 1770 there were several makers : Alder
man Thomas Shaw, James Drinkwater, Bichard Chaffers, John Benning
ton, Philip Christian, Zachariah Barnes, John Sadler, Guy Green, W.
Beid & Co., and Bichard Abbey.
Thomas Shaw was the principal manufacturer as early as 1716. The
earliest dated piece is attributed to
Shaw, a plaque of Delft ware with a
rude landscape view, over which is
an inscription: "A west prospect of
great Crosby, 1716." This measures
two feet seven by one foot eight
inches. Over a pew in the old
church at Crosby is another plaque,
twenty -two inches by sixteen, on
which are painted in blue the arms
of the Merchant Taylors' Company
of London and the inscription, "This
seat was erected by John Harrison
and Henry Harrison of Levcrpoole,
1722." Blue-and-white Delft wares
were the chief products of the Liverpool potters at this time. It is prob
able that a considerable portion of such wares now found in this country,
especially in New England, are of their fabric.
Bichard Chaffers was established as a potter in 1752, and made blue-
and-white wares, but soon entered into competition with the Staffordshire
potters in other classes of ware. The books tell of a pepper-box in pottery
made by him, with his name on it, and exported to America so largely as
to give rise to an expression, " hot as Dick's pepper-box," which we are
assured was a "household word" in America. We have never met with
23

250. Interior of Bowl, by Shaw : Liverpool
pottery.

354 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
the expression in American literature or folk-lore, and the Chaffers pep
per-box is, in fact, a sand-box for sprinkling sand on writing.
To Mr. Chaffers England was indebted for the discovery of the Cornish
clays, which have contributed vastly to the wealth of
England in the pottery business. He was persuaded
that kaolinic clays could be found in Cornwall; and
having obtained permission from land -owners, about
1755, expended considerable money in borings in
search of it with no success, until in the moment of
giving it up, when he had paid off his men and was
riding homeward in despair, a hail from a mountain-
251. Sand-box, by Chaf- side recalled him to learn that one of his exploring-
fers. (Liverpool.) parties nac[ mac[e the desired discovery. He applied
these clays to the production of improved porcelain wares, and in later
times they took the place of the old frit bodies in English soft -paste
porcelains. Cookworthy utilized them for hard-paste porcelain at Blym-
outh, as did Champion at Bristol, and the entire pottery art in England
felt in time the influence of their discovery.
Chaffers made a great deal of good pottery. Wedgwood regarded
him as a successful rival in colors ; and on seeing some of his work, said,
"Mr. Chaffers beats us all in his colors, and with his knowledge he can
make colors for two guineas which I cannot produce so good for five."
Mr. Chaffers died in 1765, and his works were soon discontinued. The
sand-boxes dated 1769 must have been made by another Chaffers, of whom
we have no account.
John Sadler, son of a printer, and himself an engraver, was a potter.
It has been claimed for him that he invented printing on pottery and
porcelain — an invention which revolutionized the art by increasing the
scope and cheapening the cost of popular decoration. This art, when it
became public, was adopted in all the commercial potteries of Europe, and
has in our own time been so improved by printing in colors that wonder
fully beautiful imitations of painting are made cheaply. Mr. Mayer says
that Sadler saw children playing with broken pottery, which they orna-
inented by sticking on it prints which he had given them, and thus took
the idea which led to the invention, which, after some time, he perfected.
The process was very simple. It consisted only in printing the picture
from a copperplate, and laying the paper on the surface of the piece where,
being pressed, it leaves the ink. Guy Green, a printer who had succeeded
Sadler's father, was his only confidant and partner in his experiments and
success. They proposed to take out a patent, and the papers, with ac-

ENGLAND. 355

companying affidavits, are extant, dated in 1756, at which date they had
been for some time working the new business. Sadler and Green make
oath August 2d, 1756, that on the 27th of July they did alone, without
help, in six hours print upward of one thousand two hundred tiles of dif
ferent patterns, which were more in number, and better done, than one
hundred skilful pot-painters could have painted in that time.
The same art was practised at Battersea in 1753, where was a manufac
tory of enamels on copper. At this factory, Bavenet, an engraver of note,
was employed, and Bobert Hancock, also an engraver. Mr. B. W. Binns,
in his " Century of Botting at Worcester," cites examples of prints on Bat
tersea enamel dated 1753 and 1754. Horace Walpole wrote to a friend in
1755, speaking of " the new manufacture of Battersea, which is done from
copper plates." A French pamphlet, by Bouquet, an English translation
of which appeared in 1755, is cited by Mr. Binns as mentioning the art
of printing on enamels in England. Bobert Hancock went to Worcester,
and there became celebrated as an engraver of porcelain decorations. The
art was introduced there, the earliest known specimens being mugs and
other articles, with a portrait of the King of Prussia, dated 1757, signed
with Hancock's mark. Berlin has claimed this invention, as has been
mentioned, but it is not known that any ware was printed at Berlin, al
though the idea was conceived there.
The evidence of priority thus far collected is in favor of Sadler to this
extent — that he printed wares successfully in 1756, and this is the first
known instance of printing on pottery. His application for a patent, and
the preparation of the accompanying affidavits, indicate an honest belief
in his claims as an inventor, and a previous practice of the art, and are in
consistent with any knowledge of the fact that another had invented and
was actually using the art in Battersea. It is quite probable that Sadler
was the printer of the Battersea enamels, and the instructor of Hancock.
That he printed on enamel is evidenced by a portrait of the King of Brus-
sia, printed on enamelled copper, signed J. Sadler, Liverp1. Enam1. de
scribed by Mr. Mayer.
He decided not to take out a patent ; but the partners, Sadler and
Green, preserved their art a secret, and did an extensive business in print
ing wares for other potters. Wedgwood sent his queen's-wares to Liver
pool to be printed by Sadler, and returned to be baked.
John Bennington, from 1760-90, made punch-bowls and other wares,
using a remarkably fine blue color, for the making of which he possessed
the secret.
Philip Christian made all kinds of ware, commencing some time be-

356 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
fore 1765. Zachariah Barnes made chiefly tiles, in the latter half of the
last century. W. Beid & Co. made blue-and-white wares, commencing
before 1756.
About 1790, Bichard Abbey established a pottery, at which he made
mugs and other wares, printed with arms, ships, and various mottoes.
In 1796, Messrs. Worthington & Co. took this pottery, and called it the
Herculaneum Pottery, under which name it continued till 1833. They
made blue printed wares and queen's-ware decorated with prints and
with paintings, both of which came in considerable quantities to Amer
ica. Plates with English flowers, tlie names on the back, are good
specimens. Large numbers of mugs, j ugs, bowls, and other articles of cream-col
ored ware were made at the Liverpool potteries, with transfer prints, and
with inscriptions, songs, ditties, and mottoes. It is not easy to assign
many of these with certainty, when unmarked, as the same class of wares
was made in many other potteries. Where accompanied with copper-lus
tre decorations, they are quite likely to be of Newcastle, Sunderland, or
some one of the potteries in that neighborhood. On an old Liverpool
bowd appears : John Undy of Luxillion
his tin was so fine
it glidered this punch bowl
and made it to shine.
Pray fill it with punch,
let the tinners fill round,
they never will budge
till the bottom they sound. 1731.
On a beer-mug is this puzzle :
more beer score clerk

for

my

the

his

do

trust

pay

sent

I

I

must

has

shall

if

vou

maltster

what

for

and

the

Many prints on Liverpool mugs and jugs, or pitchers, have reference
to political and other events, which make them historically interesting.
They were frequently decorated to order, and bear inscriptions indicating
the sentiments and character of the persons so ordering them. A corre
spondent of Notes and Queries thus describes one of this kind, which
was made about 1800, and is assigned to Liverpool (though he thinks it
Leeds) :

ENGLAND.

357

" Under a trophy of arms are figures of John Bull and Napoleon. John Bull is
in the act of striking his opponent with his right fist a severe blow on the nose ; the
nether end of Buonaparte is at the same time in collision with sturdy John's left
boot. Inscription: 'See here John Bull drubbing Buonaparte !' On either side of
this picture we have, 1 What ! to eonqoer all England how dares he pretend,
This ambitious but vain undertaker,
When he knows to his cost, that where Britons defend,
He's unable to conquer one Acre ?'
' If your beggarly soldiers come among us, they'll soon have enough of it ; and, damn me, if any
ten of you shall have my person or property ! — So be off !'
' Damn ye ! you black-hearted treacherous Corsican ! if you were not such a little bit of a fellow
in spite of your large cocked hat I'd crack your skull in an instant with my fist.' "
Another jug is described, cream color with a large print on each side.
One picture has above it " The Triumph of Liberty ;" underneath is the
title, " The first Attack of the f
Bastille, taken by Storm after a l||ll,(ij'ji|il,|'|i|!|,it'i«|,!ii!;ii'M'»ii'!i'ij''(i'i»:>l,,.
Conflict of three hours by tlie iillllllliiifi1'!?11111;1  '*  '''''''''''j'^Sitii'-
( litizens of Paris, July 14, 1789." <fflN(P^ "= ^'^V.'^jlj |||ife,.
The other picture is entitled iB it 'i'l lift
" Storming of the second Draw
bridge of the Bastille." On the
front of the jug is the follow
ing, in ornamental letters : " D.
B., humbly presented by J. H.
1793." Many of the Herculaneum
cream-colored wares have prints
relating to America. These have
no special value as ceramic speci
mens, but are curious and inter
esting. They are in general of
ungainly shapes, and the prints
are poor specimens of the art.
They seldom bear the factory
mark, but it appears occasionally
impressed on the bottom, and
sometimes printed in large black
letters, Herculaneum Bottery between the decorating prints on the front
of a pitcher

AHl

Hi ifSii

252. Portrait, from Liverpool pitcher.

358

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

An extensive series of these prints refer to the life and death of
Washington, and pitchers bearing them are commonly spoken of as
" Washington pitchers." They are not rare, and are found in great vari
ety, the same Washington print often appearing on different specimens,
with different accompanying prints, and on pitchers of various sizes. The
following list of Washington prints occurring on Herculaneum potteries,
in our own and other collections, will show the variety of these decora
tions :
1. Head of Washington in oval, from Stuart's portrait (111. 252). This is
found on pitchers usually of small size, and frequently on an oval plaque, which
has the swell of the side of a pitcher, as if cut out from one. An old tradition as
cribes these to an unknown American who ordered a specific number in Liverpool.
2. An oval print, including a monument on which is a medallion head of Wash
ington and inscription. A drooping eagle in the foreground. Above, " washing-
ton in glory;" below, "America in tears" (111. 253). On pitchers of three sizes.
3. The same design, more coarsely engraved, and the words, " Washington in
glory," "america in tears," are engraved within the line of the oval. On pitch
ers of two sizes.
4. Several prints on a large pitcher : under the handle, Fame in clouds. On the
front, the American eagle and shield, and inscription : " Peace, Commerce, and hon
est Friendship with all Nations, Entangling Alliances with none. Jefferson."
Under this, "Anno Domini 1804." On
the side, a medallion, surrounded with
wreaths, including a monument under
a willow -tree. On the monument,
" G. W. Sacred to the memory of 6.
Washington, who emancipated Amer
ica from slavery, and founded a repub
lic upon such just and equitable prin
ciples that it" (remainder illegible).
Under the monument, portraits of
Samuel Adams on left, and John Han
cock on right, the letters S. A. and J.
H. under them. Under these a bee
hive and cornucopia. Around the
medallion, " The Memory of Washing
ton and the Proscribed Patriots of
America. Liberty, Virtue, Peace, Jus
tice, and Equity to All Mankind."
Under this, " Columbia's Sons inspired by Freedom's Flame, Live in the Annals of
immortal Fame.''

253. Washington Pitcher : Liverpool. (T.-P. Coll.)

ENGLAND.

359

5. A large print, including a small portrait-head ; Justice and Liberty on each
side. Victory offers the
helm. A cherub above
holds a wreath enclosing
"Washington." Fifteen /J^^^^^jjf;. 'Ii "^W
stars and fifteen names of
States enclose the print.
On a large pitcher (111.
254). 6. Oval print, entitled
Apotheosis. Time lifting-
Washington from a tomb ;
an angel, holding his hand,
points up to rays of glory.
Liberty and America seated
by the tomb, on which is
" Sacred to the memory of
Washington ob. 17 Dec.
A.D. 1799." A woman,
with other subjects, in the
distance. On pitchers of
two sizes (111. 255).
7. Oval print: Wash
ington and Liberty standing by the map of the United States. On a large pitcher.
This is one of the best prints in the series.
8. The same subject, poorly engraved, and smaller. On a smaller pitcher. The
work on this specimen resembles the mugs, etc., made by J. Aynsley, of Lane End,
and it is probably by him.
9. Portrait of Washington : on his right stands America, saying, " Deafness to
the ear that will patiently hear, and dumbness to the tongue that will utter a
calumny against the immortal Washington." On his left, Liberty, saying, " My
favorite Son." Below, " Long Live the President of the United States." On a
large pitcher.
10. An oval, scalloped at sides to admit names of thirteen States. Landscape;
a church at right, water and ships at left. In the foreground, a large monument ;
on the pedestal, a medallion portrait of Washington, and legend, " first in war,
first in peace, first in fame, first in victory." Fame stands at right, a naval
officer and a citizen at left. In front a boy reclines on the American flag, under
which a cannon, sword, hatchet, etc. On a large pitcher. The style of this en
graving and the ware differ from all the others. It is more likely to be the work
of a Staffordshire potter.
11. Several prints: (1) Washington, mounted, on a battle-field; under it, " His

254. Washington Pitcher : Liverpool. (T.-P. Coll.)

360 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
Excellency General George Washington, Marshal of France, and Commander-in-chief
of all the North American Continental forces ;" (2) Franklin, the fur-cap portrait ;
(3) a print, with surrounding legend, " By virtue and valor we have freed our coun
try," etc. ; (4) American eagle and shield. These prints surround a heavy cream-
colored bowl, in the museum of the Connecticut Historical Society, probably by
Aynsley, of Lane End.
12. A design similar to Nos. 7 and 8, with reference-numbers on the figures, and
outside the oval the names Washington, Fame, Liberty, Franklin, etc. This occurs
in the bottom of a large bowl, the outside of which has several prints, one of Inkle
and Yarico. It resembles tho work of Aynsley, but may be of another Stafford
shire potter.
A variety of prints, verses, mottoes, and emblems accompany these
Washington prints. On one we have, "May America never want artil
lery to defend her rights ;" on another, " Success to the infant navy of
America;" on another, "A man without example, a patriot without re
proach." On one pitcher the reverse is a wreath, with masonic emblems,
enclosing the verses : " We help the poor in time of need,
The naked cloath the Hungry feed ;
'Tis our foundation stone.
We build upon the noblest plan,
Where Friendship rivets man to man,
And makes us all. as one."
On another is a wretched engraving, entitled "An Emblem of America."
A female figure, standing, holds in one hand the flag. Before her stand
two Indians whom she points to a portrait-gallery behind her, where hang
small ovals of heads labelled Columbus, Americ — (Vesputius ?) Baleigh,
Washington, Adams. On another, two prints, one of timber-cutting, the
other of ship-building, are separated by verses beginning
" Our mountains are covered with imperial oak,"
and ending, " For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves."
On another are the verses :
"As he tills your rich glebe the old peasant shall tell,
While his bosom with Liberty glows,
How your Warren expired, how Montgomery fell,
And how Washington humbled your foes."
On another is a schooner, and the lines (one word illegible),
"Commerce * * * and peace
All nations' joys increase."

ENGLAND.

361

Herculaneum pitchers, mugs, bowls, plates, etc., have many other prints
relating to America. The reverse prints described on the Washington
pitchers are sometimes combined on other pitchers.
One has the two prints of timber-cutting and ship-building, with verses
on one side, a large American
eagle and shield on the other side,
and in front a smaller eagle, with
the words Herculaneum Bot-
tery, Liverpool. One has a print
of the death of Montgomery ; an
other has the death of Warren ;
another Liberty seated, and the
motto "May Columbia flourish."
Ships with the American flag are
common on pitchers and plates,
sometimes in black print, often
painted in colors over the print.
A small pitcher, with two por
traits of Colonel Tarlton, one
mounted, the other standing, was
probably made at the time of
that officer's great popularity in Liverpool after the American war, when
lie was enthusiastically elected to Barliament without expense.
A mug has a portrait, and on a ribbon label The Honourable John
Hancock (111. 256).
American ship-masters trading to Liverpool, and other Americans, had
pitchers made to order with prints of local American interest. Such was
the origin of a pitcher with a print entitled "The gallant defence of
Stonington August 9 1811," representing that famous event, when the in
habitants with one gun successfully resisted an attack and bombardment
by a British force of several vessels, sinking one and driving off the oth
ers. Under the print is, " Stonington is free whilst her heroes have one
gun left." On the other side is a ship, under which is, "United States
frigate Guerriere Com. Macdonough bound to Bussia July ISIS." The
pitcher is one of a small number ordered by a citizen of Stonington who
went to Bussia on public service in the Guerriere, and probably himself
made the drawing of Stonington and the battle, which was copied by the
Liverpool engraver. A pitcher has a ship on one side, and on the other
a ribbon wreath, with names of sixteen States, enclosing verses, com
mencing,

255. Washington Pitcher : Liverpool. (T.-P. Coll.)

362

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

' Oh Liberty, thou goddess
Heavenly bright,
Profuse of bliss
And pregnant with delight,'

etc.

Pitchers with masonic emblems, accompanied by American mottoes
and designs, are quite common. Views of American towns and scenery,
on pitchers made to order by or for resi
dents, are common, and such specimens
are frequent, especially in seaport towns,
where ship -masters trading to Liverpool
resided. Examples like that of the Ston
ington pitcher will always be historically
interesting. There are many other Amer
ican subjects on Herculaneum potteries.
The earliest mark of this factory was
Herculaneum, printed in blue, or im
pressed; but down to 1822 many works
escaped marking. After that several
marks were used, including the name
256. Liverpool Mug: John Haneoek. Herculaneum, and sometimes the bird
(A. T. S. Coll.) which is the crest of the arms of Liver
pool. The pieces with prints relating to America are of various periods — ¦
from the foundation of the factory in 1796 to 1820, and possibly later.
Jackfield, in Shropshire, was a famous site for the making of black
glazed wares, as early as 1713 and down to 1780. Many an old Jackfield
teapot, made of red pottery, with a rich black glaze, decorated with reliefs
or with painted flowers outside of the glaze, still remains in one or an
other American family, where its look of antiquity makes it prized. This
pottery was removed to Coalport. John Thursfield, at Benthal, made
similar ware.
The most important factory in Shropshire was at Caughlet, estab
lished about 1751. In 1772, Thomas Turner began work, and built a fac
tory, at which the Caughley, or Salopian, wares of various kinds were
afterward produced. His potteries and porcelains were unsurpassed in
England, and for the decorations he employed the best artists. In 1780,
he introduced the willow pattern, which has probably been the most pop
ular design ever produced for ceramic decoration, and is therefore worth
studying, to ascertain, if one can, why such a nondescript pattern, neither
Oriental nor Occidental, neither Italian, French, German, nor English, but
simply a queer combination of lines and designs, hit the taste of the edn-

ENGLAND.

363

cated as well as the uneducated classes, and lasted for sixty years with un
exampled popularity. He also introduced the "blue -dragon pattern,"
which consisted of a large dragon in blue, sometimes one, sometimes two
or three dragons, disposed
on a dish, plate, or other
piece, and was widely pop
ular. He is said to have
made the first full table
service of printed ware in
England. He sold white
porcelain (which was al
ways soft paste) to be dec
orated at other factories.
Messrs. Chamberlain, of
Worcester, were large pur
chasers. Birds, insects,
fruit, and profuse gilding
of borders characterized his
decorations. The most fre
quent marks were the let
ter S, for Salopian, and a
crescent moon. The latter mark was also used at Worcester, and it is not
safe to depend on a common idea that the Worcester crescent was only
outlined, while the Salopian was filled up. Other marks were numerous,
and are given in their place in the Table. Turner died in 1799, and the
factory was soon incorporated with Coalport.
At Coalport, or Colebrook-Dale, Mr. John Bose, who had removed
hither the Jackfield works about 1780, carried on the manufacture of por
celain. In 1799, he bought the Caughley works, and made white wares
there, running both factories, till, in 1814, he removed the Caughley busi
ness to Coalport. In 1820, he purchased the Swansea and the Nantgar-
row factories, and incorporated them with the Coalport. Billingsley, a cel
ebrated painter of roses and other flowers, one of the owners of the Nant-
garrow works, was employed and worked at Coalport till his death, in 1828.
About 1821, was introduced a ground of maroon color which was greatly
admired. It was used sometimes in bands around cups and saucers,. and
Billingsley painted flowers on it.
Good counterfeits of Dresden, Chelsea, Sevres, and other factories were
produced, on which the marks were also counterfeited. The ground
colors, especially the rose of Sevres, were admirably produced. The

257. Turner's Caughley Porcelain: the willow pattern.

364

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

works of Billingsley here, and at other factories where he was employed,
are much sought by collectors. Mr. Haslem, in his history, " The Old
Derby China Factory ; the Workmen, and their Productions," gives all the
known particulars of William Billingsley's life. He was apprenticed at
Derby, in 1774, for five years, and worked there twenty years. In 1796,
he went to Pinxton for a short time. In 1801, he was painting china on
his own account at Mansfield ; after that at Torksea ; and about 1808 he
seems to have gone into hiding, being in trouble of some sort. He was
painting at Worcester probably from 1808 to 1813. From 1815 to 1820
he and his son-in-law, Walker, were carrying on the works at Kantgarrow
and Swansea, in Wales ; and in 1820 they went to Coalport, where Bil
lingsley died, in 1828, a man of seventy. It will thus be reen that his
work occurs on the products of several factories. We have seen a Coal
port cup and saucer, with a counterfeit Dresden mark, to which is added
a B. The decorations are in flowers and ribbons, probably by Billingsley.
Small sprig patterns, known as the " worm sprig " and the " Tournay
sprig," are frequent on Coalport porcelains. The Caughley willow and
dragon patterns were also used. Besides these no characteristic styles
are known. Some of the work is beautiful porcelain, but it is not re
garded as specially important, and pieces are easily procured at low prices.
In 1820, John Bose, the proprietor of the
Coalport works, introduced a new paste called
" Improved Feltspar Borcelain," and this name
is stamped on the products with J. Bose & Co.,
J. B. & Co., and other variations. The factory
mark on tea-services is usually on only one
piece, most frequently the sugar-bowl. This is
also a common characteristic of tea-services from
other factories.
Worcester. — Mr. B. W. Binns has given, in
his " Century of Potting at Worcester," a com
plete history of the important factories here.
Dr. John Wall, a physician, founded the
Worcester porcelain company for soft-paste por
celain in 1751. Dr. Wall was greatly interested
in the subject, was a chemist fond of experi
ment, and an inventor of pastes. He exerted
himself, backed probably by the influence of the
clergy of the cathedral, and secured the formation of a company, among
whom were Bev. Thomas Vernon, Bichard Holdship, and others. In 1772,

258. Worcester Vase. Height
20 inches. (Huth Coll.)

ENGLAND.

365

this company sold out, and the property was purchased by Bev. Mr. Yernon
for a new company, which consisted of Dr. John Wall, William Davis, sen
ior, William Davis, junior, Bev. Thomas Yernon, Bobert Hancock, the en
graver, and Bichard Cook. Hancock remained in the works till 1774. In
1783, they were sold to Joseph and John Flight. In 1793, Martin Ban-
was taken in, and the firm name was Flight & Barr. In 1807, another
Mr. Barr coining in, it was Barr, Flight, & Barr.
In 1783, on the sale to the Flights, Bobert and Humphrey Chamber
lain, who has been employed, left, and established a rival factory.
In 1840, the two were united under the firm of Chamberlain & Co.
In 1852, Messrs. Kerr & Binns became owners ; and in 1863 a joint-stock
company, The Worcester Porcelain Company, was organized, which now
produces work of world-wide reputation.
The early porcelain of Worcester was, according to Mr. Binns, of what
is called a " frit " body. He thinks that although Dr. Wall's recipe is un
known, it was about this : Sand,
120 parts; gypsum, 7; soda, 7;
alum, 7 ; salt, 14 ; nitre, 40. This
was fritted together in bricks.
(To frit is to melt into a mass
which is afterward broken and
pulverized.) To 75 parts of the
frit were added 15 of whiting and
10 of pipe-clay. This composed
the body. The glaze contained
38 parts of red-lead, 27 of sand,
11 of powdered flint, 15 of pot
ash, 9 of soda. The ware thus made has a greenish tinge, the ordinary
steatite body being creamy and not so dense.
The earliest Worcester decorations were blue, like the Chinese, some
times under the glaze, sometimes enamelled on the glaze. Bobert Han
cock, who had been at Battersea, seems to have introduced printing on
Worcester porcelain as early as 1757. The earliest dated specimens are
mugs and cups and saucers, having a portrait of the King of Brussia, with
the signature of Hancock, and the date 1757 (111. 260). A curious confu
sion arose at the time, and is perpetuated, of the work of Hancock with
that of Bichard Holdship and Josiah Holdship, his brother.
Bichard Holdship was one of the founders of the works with Dr.
Wall. His brother Josiah was concerned with him in the ownership of
property, but nowhere appears in connection with the factory business.

259. Teapot: Worcester porcelain.

366

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

Bichard was business manager of the works, and appears to have become
familiar with the art of transfer printing, as he subsequently offered his
services at Derby in that work. Some of the early Worcester prints are
signed with a combination of two marks, a monogram of B. H. and an an
chor. The anchor has apparent reference to the name, Hold-ship, while
the letters are the initials of the engraver, Bobert Hancock. There is
evidence that Hancock had engraved prints for transfer to Battersea en
amels, but we have no knowledge that Hancock was acquainted with the
process of transferring the engravings to the
enamels. It is probable, therefore, that at
Worcester, the twro, Hancock and Holdship,
worked together on this department of the
decoration, one, doing the engraving, the oth
er the transferring, or both working on the
transfer, and the work was therefore signed
with the marks of the two. How far Josiah
Holdship was interested in this printing we
have no means of knowing.
In the Gentleman's Magazine for Decem
ber, 1757, appeared a poem attributing to Jo
siah Holdship the new invention of printing
on porcelain. This reappeared in the Worces
ter Journal, January, 1758, and (as Mr. Binns
states) with some alterations. Berhaps the author had himself made the
changes, and, having learned that he was mistaken in addressing the com
pliments to Holdship, added an " impromptu," which followed the poem
when it appeared in the Worcester Journal, in these words :
" Handcock, my friend, don't grieve, tho' Holdship has the praise ;
'Tis yours to execute, 'tis his to wear the bays."
Hancock's Worcester print of the King of Prussia differs from Sad
ler's at Liverpool. The Worcester print represents the king in armor, the
Liverpool in court costume.
After 1757, Worcester prints were in considerable variety, and, as at
Liverpool, they were occasionally painted over with color. Among the
prints are George IL, George III., Pitt (Earl of Chatham), ruins, Chinese
subjects, swans, haymakers, various masonic designs.
Bat-printing was introduced somewhat later. This consisted in using
oil instead of ink, and taking the-*oil print on a bat of prepared glue, with
which it was transferred to the porcelain. The oil lines thus laid on the

260. Jug : early Worcester print.

ENGLAND.

367

porcelain were dusted with powdered color. The engravings for bat-
prints were generally in stipple work, and the difference is easily rec
ognized. The designs of the best artists were sometimes used for
these. Worcester white porcelain was bought and decorated by artists, who
made it their business to decorate and sell pottery and porcelain. Speci
mens of artistic work are known by John Donaldson ; and one Giles, of
Kentish Town, advertised to supply Worcester porcelain painted in any
pattern. Tokens were issued for two shillings, one shilling, and sixpence, with
the letters w. p. c. on one side ; and on
the other, " I promise to pay to the
bearer on demand 2s. W. Davis, at the
China factory."
The early porcelain of Worcester
has a cold and coarse look ; the glaze
is not white, but gray ; and the ware
has no beauty. Later, the wares were
whiter, and the glaze became very pure.
Color decorations became very fine. A
rich dark blue was used freely. Brill
iant colors in birds, flowers, and other
paintings appeared. " Exotic birds " in
bright plumage were common, resem
bling no known birds, but looking
pretty enough on porcelains. From 1768 to 1780, Sevres styles were
used. When the Flights took the factory, they began with patterns that
were very simple, a few flowers or sprigs, and a little gilding. Fluted
cups were liked. About 1790, a style which Mr. Binns calls " Worcester
style" was in vogue. Bich patterns in gold, copied from architectural
ornaments then in favor, made elaborate services gorgeous with gilding.
The Japan style succeeded this, and was popular in various English fac
tories. All England abounded in wretched imitations of Oriental wares.
After this a simple classic style of borders came into vogue at Worcester
with plain bands of color. Yases had embossing, well-modelled handles
and knobs, and rows of white beads. The colors were nearly all that are
known — shades of blue from dark to light, maroon, pink, salmon, greens,
and ivory. The ivory ground was used for flies and flowers. Of the ar
tists, Astles painted flowers ; Davis, exotic birds ; Webster, landscapes and
flowers ; Barker, shells ; Brewer, landscapes ; Billingsley, flowers ; Baxter,

261. Jug. (Worcester.)

368

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

subjects on plaques. The styles of Worcester were more brilliant than
tasteful, and the patterns in general were stiff and devoid of grace.
Many noted services, made for royal orders, were superb in color and
gilding, but not pleasing to the modern educated eye. Oriental pattern
work was hideous alike to Oriental and Occidental good taste. Neverthe
less, the popularity of these wares must be accepted as an important and
trustworthy measure of English taste in the period of their manufacture.
The Chamberlains were at the same time producing similar work,
and executing royal orders. Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton visited
their factory in 1802, and gave an
order for a full service. The break
fast service only was completed be
fore Nelson's death. Another ser
vice was made for the Duke of Cum
berland in 1806, and a celebrated ser
vice for the Brince Begent in 1811.
All these and the general products
of the Chamberlains were as brill
iant, in as poor taste, as those of the
other factory, though their porcelain
was lighter and more translucent
than the other.
Thomas Grainger founded a porcelain factory in Worcester in 1800,
which has continued under various firm names, some of which were used
as marks — Grainger & Wood to 1812; Grainger, Lee, & Co. after 1812;
George Grainger, Boyal China Works, Worcester, after 1839 ; G. Grainger
& Co. at present.
Bockingham. — Various kinds of pottery were made at Bockingham
from about 1757. It was celebrated for brown, chocolate - colored, and
mottled services, known as Bockingham ware. The teapots, chocolate-
colored of various shades, white inside, were very popular. They were
sometimes ornamented and gilt in Chinese and other designs. The " Ca-
dogan " was a teapot with tight top which filled from the bottom, orna
mented with raised flowers. In 1820, soft-paste porcelain was made. The
marks on pottery are impressed, Bockingham, Brameld, Mortlock, Mort-
lock's Cadogan, and sometimes a griffin, the Bockingham crest.
Newcastle and Sunderland, near together, were old seats of pot
teries. White wares were made by a Mr. Warburton before 1750, and
numerous other potters were established here and at Southwick, St. An
thony's, and, later, at Stockton. The wares made in this neighborhood

262. Worcester Teapot and Stand.

ENGLAND.

369

were of similar class, potteries for common use, often decorated with pur
ple and pink metallic lustre, transfer prints, and coarse paintings. Verses
and mottoes abound on specimens. Baised figures are common. At St.
Anthony's white wares in basket and other patterns were produced. The
Newcastle mug is notable, in which a frog was so placed that one drink
ing saw him emerge as the liquor became low. The principal names
which occur on pottery of this district, impressed or printed, are :

Phillips & Co., Sunderland.
Phillips & Co., Sunderland Pottery.
J. Phillips & Co., Hylton Pottery.
Dawson.Scott. Dixon, Austin, & Co., Sunderland.
Dixon, Austin, & Co.
Mooke & Co.

Newcastle Pottery.
T. Sewell & Donkin.
Sewells & Doxkin.
Sewells & Co.
Fells, Newcastle.
Fell.Fell & Co. (over an anchor).
T. Fell & Co.

Derbyshire. — We have already spoken of the early wares of Heath,
made at Cock -pit Hill. In 1770, at Wirksworth, a potter named Gill
made wares like Nottingham ware, and afterward soft-paste porcelain, dec
orated with poorly painted flowers and shells. No mark is known.
Belper & Denby, Bournes Potteries Derby shire, is a stamped mark
found on stone-ware bottles, in the form of well-known statesmen of the
time of William IV. The Denby pottery makes other wares. There
were various other unimportant potteries in Derbyshire.
The Derby porcelain factory was established in 1751, by William
Duesbury. The work was not remarkable until, in 1769, Duesbury pur
chased the Chelsea factory. He man
aged the two works separately till
1784, when he closed the Chelsea fac
tory, transferring the material to
Derby. In 1788, he died, and Wil
liam Duesbury, his son, succeeded
him, having a partner, Michael Kean,
who, after the death of the younger
Duesbury, managed the works for
his widow till about 1815, when they 263. Chelsea-Derby Cup and Saucer. (Museum
were sold to Bobert Bloor. They of Practical Geology.)
remained the property of Bloor, and were managed by or for him till his
death, in 1849, when they passed to Locker & Co., who worked them till
1859, when Stevenson & Hancock took them ; and on Mr. Stevenson's
death, in 1866, Mr. Hancock became sole proprietor. A pamphlet, " The
24

370

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

264. Crown-Derby Cup and Saucer.

Pottery and Porcelain of Derbyshire," by A. Wallis and William Bemrose,
junior, contains particulars of the history ; and a large volume by John
Haslem, " The Old Derby China Factory ; the Workmen, and their Pro
ductions," abounds in facts relating to the works and those employing and
employed in them.
The porcelain of Derby was a pure white soft paste, the decorations
tasteful and sometimes beautiful, in great variety. The vases which had
been made at Chelsea were largely
reproduced, as well as the figures
and groups, while new forms were
added. A favorite pattern for a
vase was the Greek krater form,
wide open at top (111. 265). A deep
blue, used as a ground, and deco
rated with flowers, landscapes, and
figures in open medallions, with rich
gilding, often in scale patterns, was
a characteristic style. Billingsley,
the flower-painter, worked at Derby
as an apprentice and decorator for
about twenty years. Numerous other artists were employed for flowers,
landscapes, birds, insects, Oriental subjects, and figures. Bibbed or fluted
wares, with gilt edges decorated with flowers, were made in the second
period, after the purchase and before the closing of the Chelsea factory.
This is known as the Chelsea - Derby period, down to 1773; and the
Crown-Derby period is that immediately following it. The great variety
of patterns used at Derby renders it wholly impossible to give any char
acteristics which would be of practical use to the collector. Mr. Binns, of
Worcester, has in his possession one of the old Derby pattern-books, and
Mr. Haslem has in his volume reproduced many of these in color, which
may be studied with advantage.
The marks were various, in the successive periods. The oldest pe
riod is indicated by a letter D or Derby, and after this follows the D
with an anchor of the Chelsea - Derby period. Next to this, following
a royal visit to the factory, in 1773, the mark with a crown was adopted,
of which the earliest examples are in blue, puce, or gold, and the later in
red. In earlier times the mark was made with some care ; but in later
work it is careless, the crown and letter being barely indicated by dashes
of the brush-point.
The Derby porcelain of the highest class was always expensive.

ENGLAND.

371

265. Crown-Derby Vase.

Dr. Johnson visited the factory in 1777, and complained that it cost as
much as silver. Like many other people, he had no appreciation of the
truth that silver is valuable for wdiat it will
buy, and that art adds a hundred-fold to the
value of silver itself. Dr. Johnson's com
plaint is well placed on record as an illus
tration of a common class of thinkers, who
measure the value of beauty by mediums
of exchange or weight in exchangeable
metal. In contrast to this is the truth that
money has no value except for its purchas
ing power. He who can command silver
and gold, and knows its true value, uses it
for his own good and happiness and the
good and happiness of others. There is no
greater and more common absurdity than
is exhibited in the criticisms made on col
lectors. A lump of gold kept in a fire
proof safe is absolutely worthless. Large
investments, accumulating income to be reinvested, are worth no more
than waste -paper unless reserved for future uses in the way of getting
good or doing good. The man who has money and knows its worth has
right, and is sensible, in using it to purchase works of art, works of histor
ical importance, pictures, sculpture, laces, pottery — whatever he please;
and that critic is exceedingly foolish who imagines that his idea of what
ought to be done with money is the only correct idea. Learned men like
Dr. Johnson are often very poor judges of the value of money, and
equally of the value of art. For many reasons an artistic piece of porce
lain is worth more to keep than an unartistic piece of silver or gold, what
ever be the weight of either.
At Binxton, in Derbyshire, John Coke, with William Billingsley, the
flower painter, established a factory for soft-paste porcelain about 1793.
Billingsley managed the making of the paste, which was a good translu
cent body, and was largely decorated with the Chantilly sprig pattern,
copied from the French — a small blue flower edged with gold. Billings
ley left about 1800, and Coke carried on the works, succeeded by his fore
man, Cutts. The factory was closed in 1812.
George Haynes established a pottery at Swansea about 1750, making
ordinary wares. Towards 1800, he introduced a paste called "opaque
china." In 1802, Lewis W. Dilwyn bought the works. W. W. Young

372

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

266. Plate : Nantgarrow porcelain.
earthenwares was continued.

was afterward employed to decorate the opaque china. He painted birds,
butterflies, shells, etc., with skill and taste. His work is valued by collec
tors. His paintings of hawks and eagles
are remarkably truthful. About 1813,
Billingsley, who had started his works at
Nantgarrow, was engaged by Dilwyn to
superintend his establishment also, and
from this time till 1817 a very fine soft-
paste porcelain was produced, decorated
with flowers, insects, natural -history and
other subjects. The porcelain of Swansea
is regarded as the finest English product
made up to that time, and good examples
are prized by collectors. After the close
of the porcelain business, the making of
The "Etruscan wares," pottery in Greek
forms and styles, are among the best products of Swansea in the last cen
tury. A fine white salt-glazed stone-ware of superior beauty was made
here, and is occasionally found with the mark Cambrian Pottery. Among
other marks are Cambrian, Opaque Porcelain, Swansea, Dilwyn & Co.
In 1813, William Billingsley, the flower-painter, suddenly left Worces
ter, where he was employed, and with his son-in-law, Walker, started a
porcelain factory at Nantgarrow, or Nantgarw, in Wales, where for a
few years they made porcelain, which is occasionally marked with the
name Nantgarw and the initials G. W., painted in red. The porcelain,
when not marked, can be recognized by its great softness and granulated
fracture, like loaf-sugar. Vases of beautiful form, plaques, and services,
decorated with flowers and subjects, birds and insects, on tinted grounds,
are prized by collectors. A frequent
decoration was a centre sweetbrier rose,
with a border covered with trefoils (111.
266). Mr. Bose bought the works about
1820, and transferred them, with Bil
lingsley and Walker, to his establish
ment at Coalport.
Bow. — The first soft-paste porcelain
factory in England was established at
Stratford -le- Bow, commonly known
by the simple name Bow, about 1730 ; but nothing is known of its prod
ucts till 1744, when Edward Heylin and Thomas Frye received a patent

267. Bow Teapot : reliefs and flowers.
(T.-P. Coll.)

ENGLAND.

373

for making ware equal to imported china or porcelain. A punch-bowl in
the British Museum has a document attached to it, which is signed T.
Craft, 1790, and states :
This bowl was made at the Bow china manufactory about the year 1760, and
painted there by Mr. Thomas Craft. My cipher is in the bottom ; it is painted in
what we used to call the old Japan taste, a taste at the time much esteemed by the
then Duke of Argyle ; there is nearly two pennyweight of gold, about fifteen shil
lings ; I had it in hand at different times about three months ; about two weeks'
time was bestowed upon it; it could not have been manufactured, etc., for less than
four pounds. There is not its similitude. I took it in a box to Kentish Town, and
had it burnt there in Mr. Gyles's kiln ; cost me three shillings  Tbe above
manufactory was carried on many years under the firm of Messrs. Crowther &
Weatherby, whose names were known almost over the world. They employed
three hundred persons ; about ninety painters (of whom I was one), and about two
hundred turners, throwers, etc., were employed under one roof. The model of the
buildings was taken from that at Canton, in China.

Mr. Weatherby died in 1762. Mr. Crowther went into bankruptcy in
1763, and there was a sale of the estab
lishment and stock in 1764 ; but Crowther
continued its management till 1775 or
1776, when Duesbury, of Derby, bought
and closed it.
The Bow porcelain products are very
unequal in quality, but some of them are
not only among the first, but are also
among the best, of English products. Ser
vices, vases, and candelabra, shell and rock
work, salt-cellars, animals, and a variety of
statuettes and groups, were made. The
glaze used was thick and somewhat milky,
a characteristic being that the glaze fills up
the finer lines in reliefs. The decorations
were generally in delicate colors, admira
bly combined for beautiful effect, without
gaudiness, in birds, insects, hunting, and other subjects. The statuettes
are sometimes very poor, sometimes admirably modelled ; some have
square holes in the back, indicating that they were intended as supports
to candelabra or attachments to other articles. Scroll patterns for the
pedestals of figures and groups are common to Bow as to Chelsea; but

268. Bow Candlestick : group, Autumn.

374

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

in the Bow, Mr. Chaffers says, the scrolls are more commonly painted
blue or crimson, and on dresses the Bow flowers are generally yellow or
crimson, with gold leaves.
Embossed ware, decorated in blue with small Chinese subjects, weep
ing-willows, birds, and flowers, was large
ly produced. When Sadler invented
transfer printing, Bow wares were sent
to Liverpool and printed. Embossed
wares in pure white were common. The
most characteristic relief pattern of Bow
porcelain is the hawthorn blossom (111.
270), which is found frequently embossed
on pieces, usually more or less filled up
with the glaze. Vases were frequently
covered with flowers in relief work, and
insects and flowers were painted on the
flat surfaces.
The paste varies in hardness. Cook-
worthy, of Plymouth, in a letter written
1745, says he had seen a person "who
has discovered China earth. He had
with him several samples of the China
ware which, I think, were equal to the
Asiatic. It was found on the back of
Virginia." This American clay seems
to have been offered to Heylin, the pat
entee at Bow, who, in his application for a patent in 1744, says, "The
material is an earth, the produce of the Cherokee nation in America,
called by the natives UnakerP The speci
mens shown to Cookworthy were probably
Heylin's experimental pieces, made with this
American earth, and among the early prod
ucts of Bow some specimens are hard paste,
indicating the use of kaolinic clay. But the
American supply was not kept up, and the 270. Hawthorn Pattern: Bow deco-
subsequent porcelains were soft paste. They ration-
are usually heavy for their size, the paste thick and compact.
pitcher, on the front of which is a bee in full relief, is one of the es
teemed specimens of Bow porcelain.
Thomas Frye, who was the artist of the early Bow fabrics, was a por-

269. Bow Cream-jug, with the Bee.
(Bandinell Coll.)

A small

ENGLAND.

375

trait-painter, born in Dublin in 1710. He came to London with Stoppe-
laer, the Irish artist who painted the scenes and spoke for the puppets in
the plays of which Dibdin wrote the songs and music. Frye was a suc
cessful painter, and also engraved portraits in mezzotint, which are re
markable for vigor and good drawing. His two daughters assisted him
in painting porcelain, one of them, Mrs. Wilcox, afterward going into the
employ of Wedgwood, where she was highly esteemed, until her death in
1776. There is considerable doubt overhanging the classification and the
marks of Bow porcelain. There was no regular factory mark used, and
arrow -marks, bows, daggers, and other designs scratched or painted on
specimens are numerous. It is better to rely on acquaintance with the
ware than on the marks. Many of the statuettes were reproduced at
Chelsea and Derby, and can only be identified by familiarity with the
ware. More than one of the marks often occur on specimens. We have
found a long scratched cross, a waving line, and various undescribed
marks, which it would be of no use to the collector to reproduce. The
impressed triangle, formerly assigned to Bow, is now regarded as a mark
of Chelsea. The Chelsea works were founded about 1745.
were the Duke of Cumberland and Sir Everard
Fawkener, and the manager Nicholas Sprimont, i
who, in 1755, became proprietor. In 1769, Dues- j
bury, of Derby, bought the Chelsea factory, and
continued its management in connection with
Derby till 1784, when he removed the materials
to Derby. The best period of Chelsea was from
1750 to 1765. The story is told that in those
times the London dealers stood in crowds to
purchase pieces at the times for taking them
out of the furnaces.
The products were of all classes — vases, ser
vices, statuettes, and groups, many of very great
beauty and excellence; candelabra, with foli
age and groups of figures ; animals under trees,
and other objects. The paintings were also of
great variety — birds, flowers, insects, and sub
jects. From 1760 to 1763 the colored grounds
of Sevres were repeated with success, the turquoise, deep blue, crimson,
apple -green, and the claret color, which is the most highly esteemed.

The first proprietors

271. Chelsea Figurine : Minerva.

376

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

272. Chelsea Figurine : girl playing on pas-
torella. (Museum of Practical Geology.)

Among the statuettes may be named Milton and Shakspeare, two which
were repeated at several factories, Britannia seated on a lion, Falstaff
(often reproduced), Minerva, Neptune, Di
ana, shepherds and shepherdesses, pastoral
groups, Cupids* Oriental decorations were
used on the earlier wares.
The glaze of the Chelsea ware is not
so thick as that of Bow, is of a soft milky
white, and sometimes has run down on
lower rims in tears. The three support-
marks are found on some Chelsea dishes,
as on those of many other factories. The
under rims have often been ground, remov
ing the accumulations of glaze. There is
some slight resemblance between the wares
and the anchor-mark of Chelsea and those
of Venice ; but this will not deceive the
collector after some experience. Counter
feits were made at Coalport.
The early marks of Chelsea are not fully understood. The impressed
triangle has been now assigned to Chelsea because found on one specimen
which has also the name Chelsea. We have it on
a cream-ware teapot, decorated with flowers, and
having a daisy knob, and have seen it on other
pottery. The anchor on an embossed oval is
an early mark. The anchor, painted in various
forms, was used later.
Hard-paste porcelain was made, in exception
al instances only, at several English factories, but
none produced it as a regular manufacture ex
cept the factories at Blymouth, Bristol, and
Lowestoft. William Cookworthy, of Plymouth, discov
ered that in Cornwall both kaolin and petunse
were to be found, and thereupon established a
factory about 1760, at which he made true hard-
paste porcelain. The product was never very
large nor very beautiful, although a Sevres deco
rator — Soqui — was employed. The wares were mostly blue-and-white, im
itating the Chinese.

273. Plymouth Coffee-pot
(Prideaux Coll.)

Belief work in shells, flowers, and embossed work

ENGLAND.

377

were employed on vases and on services. Many figures and groups were
produced, mostly in white, and these as wrell as other specimens of
Plymouth ware bring high prices in England, perhaps on account of their
scarceness — certainly not on account of their beauty.
Many of the figures were reproductions of the work of other factories.
Blue-and-white wares for table use ; salt-cellars in shell forms ; sweetmeat
and other dishes on rock-work or coral bases ; services painted with flow
ers, birds, and insects in gay colors, with much gilding, were made until
1773, when Champion, of Bristol, bought the Cookworthy patent. The
porcelain was of varying hardness, according to the proportion of Corn
wall clay used in the paste.
Much of the first work was warped and fire-cracked, the glaze often
impure, and the painting decidedly inferior. These difficulties were par-

274. Sauce-boat : Plymouth porcelain.
tially overcome, and the later work was better. From 1768 to 1770, a dis
tinguished enameller — Bone — was employed, and introduced the brilliant
" exotic birds," as they are called, which were favorites at Sevres. The
glaze on Plymouth ware is often poor, and the blue, which is the decora
tion color of a majority of specimens, is cold and blackish. The only
known mark is the chemical sign for tin, which Cookworthy adopted, pos
sibly because his materials came from the tin-producing district.
Bristol. — Mr. Hugh Owen has given us a ponderous volume on " Two
Centuries of Ceramic Art in Bristol," with abundant information and an
ecdote. The only portion of the two centuries in which there is special
interest is included between 1768 and 1782, during which time Bichard
Champion made hard-paste porcelain. Champion was a merchant at Bris
tol, whose sympathies, during the American war, seem to have been with
the American colonies, and who finally came to South Carolina, where he

378

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

died, and was buried at Camden, in 1787. In 1768, according to Mr.
Owen, he commenced work in a company in which several others vent
ured some capital. It does not appear that they actually made porcelain
for sale until 1773, when Champion bought out Cookworthy, of Plymouth,
engaging to pay him a royalty.
After this purchase, Champion applied to Parliament for an extension
of the Cookworthy patent. This aroused Josiah Wedgwood and the Staf
fordshire potters to strenuous opposition, and brought out the usual char
acteristics of patent contests. Wedgwood conducted the opposition, and
in the course of the proceedings appears as the shrewd commercial pot
ter, looking to personal interest as the primary motive, and determined
that he as well as others should enjoy, without cost, the benefits of Cook-
worthy's discoveries. The decision was substantially against Wedgwood and
his friends, the patent being extended, with the proviso that the Cornish
clays and stone might be used by others for pottery, but not for porcelain.
Champion continued the works
until about 1781, when he transfer
red the patent to a Staffordshire
company. The decorations as well
as the shapes were copied exten
sively from Dresden and Sevres,
and Champion used the Dresden
mark. Vases were made of which
Champion was especially proud,
sometimes hexagonal, painted with
"exotic birds," having flowers in
relief, and painted with Chinese sub
jects, or with birds and butterflies,
on shagreen or blue salmon -scale
grounds. A vase, sold in 1874 for
three hundred and five pounds, had
two sides decorated in blue, the oth
er four in colors. Oval and circular
plaques, with flowers in relief sur
rounding arms or emblems, were
well executed. One of these, with
a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, brought one hundred and fifty pounds
at the same sale with the vase above referred to.
Champion was a warm friend of Edmund Burke, aud he and his wife
presented to Mrs. Burke a service of Bristol porcelain. Burke, while con-

275. Bristol Vase. Height 12 inches. (Fry Coll.)

ENGLAND.

379

testing the election in Bristol, formed a friendship for Mr. Joseph Smith,
a merchant, and ordered from Cham

pion a service, unlimited in expense,
which he presented to Mrs. Smith.
This service has been dispersed, and
occasional specimens have come into
sales. At the same sale above men
tioned one cup and saucer of the
service brought ninety-three pounds.
The festoon style of decoration on
this service, a piece of which is here
illustrated (276), was somewhat char
acteristic of Bristol porcelain. Nu
merous bubbles or pin-holes are visi
ble on some specimens ; and another
characteristic (marking Blymouth
ware also) is a series of spiral ridges,
formed by the fingers of the work
man in turning the piece on the
wheel. Fire -cracks, warpings, and
other defects mark Bristol wares.
No artistic merit is visible to justify
the high prices paid for specimens,

276. Bristol Cup and Saucer.
service.)

(The Burke-Smith

but the scarceness of the good wares, and the rarity of the Plymouth and
Bristol hard-pastes, may account for them.
Cheap wares, known as " cottage china," were made, which were dec
orated, without care, in scattered flowers, green, red,_ lilac, gray, and pale
blue, roses predominating. Borders of ribbons in festoons, with bows and
small bunches of flowers at the knots, are characteristic of this as well as
the better class of Bristol porcelain. Marks are very rare on the cottage
china. Decorators' numbers are on the bottoms roughly painted.
It was sometimes the practice to bake the paste and glaze at one firing,
instead of first baking the unglazed ware. Champion also used glaze not
fritted (that is, not first melted, powdered, and reduced with water to a
creamy consistence). This produced, by the escape of gas from the inte
rior, the peculiar bubble or pin-hole appearance in the glaze which has
been mentioned as a characteristic. The wares, like those of Plymouth,
are of unequal hardness, but usually very hard, and the glaze is not always
pure or perfect.
The marks on Bristol porcelain are a study. Many of the best speci-

380

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

mens, notably the vases, are without mark. The ordinary mark is a
simple cross in blue or slate color. Numbers which accompany this are
said to be those of decorators. They are not found above 24. If in gold,
the number indicates the gilder. No. 1 is supposed to be Henry Bone, the
enameller ; No. 2, William Stephens ; but no others are identified. The
lefter B is another mark, but not to be always depended on. It occurs on
other porcelain as a decorator's mark. The Dresden crossed swords, the
Blymouth mark, and various combinations were used.
Beyond the quality of rareness, there is little in Bristol porcelain to
attract the notice of the collector.

277. Bristol Porcelain. (Owen.)
Pottery was made at Bristol from early times. Tiles were made after
1700 (being known with dates from 1703 onward) at a pottery owned
by Bichard Frank. Joseph Bing, in 1784, founded the Bristol Bottery,
which name appears on its wares, and sometimes a simple blue or lead-
colored cross. This cross mark, however, is common on pottery, proba
bly as a workman's mark; and it is not always easy to distinguish Bris
tol from other English pottery. It is not important, as the wares were
chiefly ordinary commercial potteries.
Copper-lnstred wares were made at Brisllngton in the last century,
of coarse and uninteresting character.
Lowestoft. — In 1756, a factory was founded at Lowestoft, which, after
considerable difficulty, went into active operation in 1757, under the man
agement of Walker, Brown, & Co., and for twenty years made pottery and
good soft-paste porcelain. This ware was not remarkable for beauty, but
the porcelain was of fair quality, decorated in blue and in colors, with Chi
nese patterns, views of Lowestoft and the neighborhood, marine subjects,
and flowers. Bed and gold bands and morone or scale-pattern borders

ENGLAND.

381

Whether hard-paste porcelain was or was not made at Lowestoft has
been in doubt ; but the researches of Mr. Chaffers have gathered such an
amount of evidence that, until it is overthrown, we are compelled to ac
cept the fact that in or about 1775 the factory began to produce true por
celain, and thereafter made large quantities, quite closely resemblino- the
Chinese in paste and quality.
This hard-paste porcelain was decorated usually in very simple, some
times Oriental, styles, and seems to have been sold in the markets as Ori
ental porcelain. The only possible explanation of the existence of a large
class of wares is that they were produced at Lowestoft, or that the Lowes
toft makers had some means of ob
taining from China or Japan an abun
dance of white ware, which they dec
orated. There is no probability of
the latter suggestion being true. An
undecorated white Chinese teapot or
cup and saucer is such a rarity in Eng
land and America that probably no
reader of this ever saw such a speci
men. There is no evidence that such
wares were ever imported into Eng
land, but abundant evidence to the
contrary. Some of the decorations
of the Lowestoft wares are so thor
oughly characteristic that no doubt
can exist as to their being European and of one locality. All Chinese
wares were subject to a heavy duty in England in 1775-1800, and it was
impossible to import and decorate them, and compete with other English
factories in their sale.
Many of the decorations were by Thomas Bose, a Frenchman, who
painted roses without stems, or with hair-line stems, small bouquets lying
in mass on the surface, festoons of small roses and green leaves. The
pieces were rarely profuse in decoration. More frequently a single flower,
or a small bunch, was the only decoration. The borders were frequently
decorated with a band of deep rich blue, with gold stars, meander and
other patterns on it and under it. This blue, which is sometimes a thick
enamel, is quite characteristic. Bed and russet-brown borders are also fre
quent. The scale pattern, in a purplish pink, abounds. On vases a run
ning border of flowers is sometimes raised on the surface in opaque white,
and a raised border of vine - leaves, with foxes, squirrels, and other ani-

278. Saucer : Lowestoft porcelain.

382 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
mals, sometimes surrounds landscapes in brown monochrome, or Chinese
figures. Large quantities of this porcelain came to America, and it is now more
plentiful here than any other kind of porcelain of the last century. In
most families possessing it, there are traditions, firmly believed, that it was
brought from China by aii*ancestor. In several cases, where such tradi
tions were told us, we have been able to obtain from old persons the evi
dence that the services came from England. Thus, in one case, some
years ago, where a service in our collection had been procured from a
family who believed and had repeated to us such a tradition, we showed a
specimen to a lady of clear intellect and memory, who was then eighty-
three years old, and asked her if she remembered it. She replied instantly
that it was a piece from a breakfast service presented to her sister by her
husband as a wedding gift. " Do you remember wdiere it was bought ?"
" Of course I do. We young people talked a great deal about it, and I
remember perfectly that  ordered it from England, and that it came
out in a Liverpool ship ; and I remember when it arrived, and how we
admired the pattern (which had special reference to the name of the lady),
and the monogram in gold on each piece. Porcelain," added the lad}-,
" was not so common in my young days as now, and such a service was
something to be remembered." It will probably be found in many sim
ilar cases that family porcelain supposed to be Chinese is of English
manufacture. Crests, initials, and arms are common on Lowestoft wares. Shields
containing initials, with birds as supporters, escutcheons with delicate pen-
cillings in deep blue, are also frequent. Pieces are sometimes very un
even on the surface, especially large pieces, as if from unequal contraction
in the paste when baking, or rude work in the moulding.
There is a large class of porcelains decorated with beautiful, but gen
erally stiff, bouquets, and with vine borders in high relief, sometimes with
small animals also in high relief, which are Oriental, and are classed by
some collectors as " Porcelain of the Indies." These are supposed to have
been made on special patterns furnished to the Oriental factories by the
East India companies. They resemble European work in the decoration,
and many of the Lowestoft paintings seem to be imitations of these.
It is necessary, therefore, to be very cautious in classifying wares as of
Lowestoft fabric. Although no undecorated porcelain was imported into
England, we do not knowT that the same was true in Holland, whose India
company brought out great quantities of porcelain. We have in our col
lection a number of examples which we believe to have been decorated in

ENGLAND. 383

Holland. Many specimens of the Chinese blue-and-white have addition
al color decorations, chiefly in red, and we know that at Delft this deco
rating of Oriental wares was abundantly practised. Tbe presence of a
simple decoration like a flower, or sprig of flowers, in European style on
a porcelain apparently Oriental is not a sufficient reason for classing the
porcelain as European. Many such pieces were painted in Japan and in
China. And others are possibly the work of decorators in Holland.
A large bowl in our collection is of the finest Chinese porcelain. The
decoration consists of a subject repeated on opposite sides, and executed
by an artist without superior in Europe, so exceedingly delicate and ex
quisite are the drawing and finish. The subject is a caricature, the figure
of a man, his right half dressed in clerical costume, his left half in the
uniform of a soldier carrying a musket. He stands before a house, in a
garden, an orange-tree behind him, which a pig is about to attack. At
his feet, on the clerical side, lies an open book, on which we read Cate-
chismus ; on his military side, a scroll headed Priviligien. This specimen
illustrates a class of ware of which the porcelain seems unquestionably
Chinese, while the decoration was certainly executed by a skilful Eu
ropean artist of the highest class. Some Lowestoft wares are of peculiar
paste and glaze, clearly not Oriental, and these are easily assigned ; but
specimens of the class now referred to must be examined with caution.
The Lowestoft works were closed in the early part of this century,
about 1804, or possibly somewhat later. No marks are known. Speci
mens must be selected by the paste and decorations. The blue-and-white
are exceedingly like Oriental. A few specimens, with raised hawthorn
blossoms or with pierced sides, are known. The glaze is not always of the
same color, varying from a tolerably pure white to a light shade of buff,
and sometimes having a pearly character, like that produced by the use of
bismuth. At Yarmouth, towards the end of the eighteenth century, the business
of decorating potteries made elsewhere was carried on by a potter named
Absolon. Views of Yarmouth, marine and other subjects, arms, inscrip
tions, and mottoes are on the wares, which are generally stamped with an
arrow, the mark of an unknown pottery, and signed Absolon Yarmd, or
TF". Absolon, Yarm. The name is also found on wares marked Turner,
impressed. Between 1665 and 1728, Mr. Francis Blace, of the Manor House, York,
made some experiments in pottery, producing cups and mugs. Horace
Walpole says, " I have a coffee-cup of his ware ; it is of gray earth, with
streaks of black, and not superior to common earthenware."

384 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
In 1760, at Leeds, two brothers named Green made black wares ; and
about 1775, Humble, Green, & Co. made cream - colored ware. In 1786,
Hartley, Greens, & Co. published a catalogue of articles of queen's or
cream-colored ware made by them at Leeds Pottery, with a great variety
of other articles, and " the same enamelled, printed, or ornamented with
gold to any pattern ; also with coats of arms, ciphers, landscapes, etc." A
German edition of this catalogue is known of 1783, and a French edition
of 1785, indicating a large Continental trade. The manufacture has con
tinued down to the present. The Leeds white wares are of the general
kinds made- in Staffordshire, the surface appearing somewhat softer and
more milky. Perforated and basket or wicker work was made in great
variety, and embossed masks, flowers, and other patterns abound. Paint
ings of flowers and insects and transfer prints are not uncommon, and
figures and groups are known. Marks are uncommon, and when found
are usually Leeds Pottery, Hartley Greens & Co., Leeds Pottery, im
pressed. C G, for Charles Green ; G under a crown, and an arrow-head,
are also Leeds marks.
Don Pottery, so called, was made near Doncaster by John Green, in
1790 ; and this seems to have been a branch of the Leeds pottery, its prod
ucts being in all respects similar. The marks were Don Pottery, or
Green Don Pottery, impressed. In 1834, these works became the prop
erty of Mr. Samuel Barker, who adopted for a mark the forepaw of a
lion holding a flag inscribed Don, and underneath, Pottery, and occasion
ally his own name.
Castleford, near Leeds, was the seat of a pottery, founded in 1770,
by Mr. David Dunderdale, where black ware in Wedgwood's style was
made, and also a very fine white stone-ware, of which much seems to have
come to America, where specimens are numerous. Teapots were made,
sometimes having sliding lids, or lids hinged on by metal pins. Table
wares were made with the surface divided into compartments by patterns
in raised lines, which are sometimes colored blue, and with raised figures
and groups in medallions on the white ground, or on blue, brown, or
black grounds. Liberty, the American eagle, and other raised-work de
vices relating to this country were used. Specimens are occasionally
marked D. D. & Co., Castleford ; others have two long lines crossing
each other in raised slip ; and others the number 22 impressed, but more
have no mark. Some of these Castleford wares are exceedingly pretty.
William Tomlinson had a pottery at Ferrybridge, in 1792, in which
Balph Wedgwood, a relative of Josiah, became a partner in 1796, and the
mark Wedgwood & Co. was adopted. The wares are poor imitations of

ENGLAND.

385

the genuine Wedgwood jasper and queen's wares. Other Wedgwoods
were potters in Yorkshire, and the name F. Wedgwood occurs impressed
on crearn-ware. The following list, which we take from an excellent little book (" Eng
lish Pottery and Porcelain," London : the Bazaar office), will be found con
venient for reference. It includes many potters not elsewhere named in
this volume, some of whose works are good, but of no great historical or
art importance.

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES AND INITIALS FOUND ON ENGLISH WARES.

Absolon, W. — Yarmouth; 18th century.
Adams (William) — Tunstall, Staffordshire ; 1 8th
century.
Adams, J. — Tunstall, Staffordshire; 18th oentury.
Aynsley, J. — Lane End, Staffordshire; 18th oen
tury.
Bailey and Batkin — La End, Staffordshire ; 19th
century.
Birch — Staffordshire; 18th oentury.
Booth, Enoch — Tunstall; 18th century.
Bolt and Co. — Staffordshire.
Bournes Potteries — Belper and Denby, Derby
shire ; 18th and 19th centuries.
Brameld — -Rockingham; 19th century.
Bridgwood and Son — Staffordshire ; 19th century.
Bulkeley and Bent — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
C. and G. (Copeland and Garret) — Stoke- upon -
Trent; 19th century.
C. G. (Charles Green) — Leeds, Yorkshire; 18th
century.
C. and H. (Cookson and Harding) — Staffordshire ;
18th century.
Cadogan — Rockingham, Yorkshire ; 1 8th and
19th centuries.
Chaffers, Richard — Liverpool ; 18th century.
Child — Tunstall, Staffordshire; 18th century.
Clews — Cobridge, Staffordshire; 18th century.
Close and Co. — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.
Copeland — Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire ; 19th
century.
Copeland, late Spode — Stoke-upon-Trent, Staf
fordshire ; 19th century.
Crystal ware — Staffordshire; 18th century.
D. D. and Co. (David Dunderdale and Co.) — Cas
tleford, Yorkshire; 18th and 19th centuries.

Davenport— Longport, Staffordshire; 18th and
19th centuries.
Dawson — Sunderland ; 19th century.
Dillwyn and Co. — Swansea ; 19th century.
Dixon, Austin, and Co. — Sunderland; 19th cen
tury.
Don Pottery — Donoaster, Yorkshire ; 18th and
19th centuries.
Doulton — Lambeth; 18th and 19th centuries.
Dudson — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Dwight, J. — Fulham; 17th and 18th centuries.
Eastwood — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Elers — Staffordshire ; 17th and 18th centuries.
F. G. — Unoertain.
Fell — Newcastle-upon-Tyne; 18th and 19th cen
turies.
Fell and Co. — Newcastle-upon-Tyne; 19th cen
tury.
Freeling and Co. — -Staffordshire.
Fulham Pottery — Fulham ; 19th century.
Gordon, R. G. — Staffordshire; 18th century.
G. (Green) — Leeds, Yorkshire ; 18th century.
G. and orown — Leeds, Yorkshire ; 18th century.
Green, Don Pottery — Doneaster, Staffordshire;
18th century.
Green, Stephen — Lambeth; 18th and 19th cen
turies.
Gunther and Co., S. B. B.— Staffordshire ? (Prob
ably not potters.)
H. and S. — Uncertain — Staffordshire ?
Hackwood — Shelton, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Hackwood and Co. — Shelton, Staffordshire ; 19th
century.
Harding — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Harley, T. — Lane End, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.

386

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

Harrison, G. — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Hartley, Greens, and Co. — Leeds, Yorkshire ; 18th
century.
Heath— Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Herculaneum — Liverpool; 18th and 19th centu
ries.
Hollins, S.— Shelton, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Hollins, T. and J. — Shelton, Staffordshire; 18th
century.
I. E. B. — Uncertain.
J. Y. (J. Yates)— Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Jobson — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Keeling, J. — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Lakin — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Lakin and Poole" — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Leeds Pottery — Leeds, Yorkshire ; 18th century.
Lockett, J. — Lane End, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.
Lowesby — Leicestershire ; 19th century.
M., and a number (Thomas Miles) — Staffordshire ;
18th and 19th centuries.
M. N. (Mayer and Newbold) — Staffordshire ; 18th
century.
Marshall and Co. — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Mason, M. — Lane Delph, Staffordshire ; 18th and
19th centuries.
Mason's patent Iron-stone China — Lane Delph,
Staffordshire; 18th and 19th centuries.
Mason's Cambrian Argil — Lane Delph, Stafford
shire; 18th and 19th centuries.
Mayer, E., Hanley — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Mayer, Joseph, and Co. — Hanley, Staffordshire ;
18th century.
Meigh — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th and 19th
centuries.
Meigh, J., and Sons — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th
and 19th centuries.
Miles — Hanley, Staffordshire; 18th century.
Milson — Bristol ; 19th century.
Minton — Stoke - upon - Trent, Staffordshire ; 1 8th
and 19th centuries.
Minton and Boyle — Stoke-upon-Trent, Stafford
shire; 18th and 19th centuries.
Mist, London — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Moore and Co. — Southwick; 18th and 19th cen
turies.
Mortlock Cadogan — Rockingham, Yorkshire ;
19th century.
Moseley — Staffordshire; 18th century.

Myat, T. — Lane Delph, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.
Neale, J. Hanley — Hanley, Staffordshire; 18th
century.
Neale and Co. — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.
Neale and Wilson — Hanley, Staffordshire; 18th
century.
Neeld — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Nell — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Newcastle — Newcastle; 18th and 19th centuries.
Opaque Porcelain — Swansea ; 1 9th century.
P. (Pennington) — Liverpool ; 1 8th century.
Palmer, Hanley — Hanley, Staffordshire; 18th
century.
Palmer and Neale — Hanley, Staffordshire; 18th
century.
Palmer and Voyez — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th
century.
Pearl- ware — Lane End (Messrs. Cheatham and
Wooley), Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Phillips, E. — Longport, Staffordshire; 18th cen
tury.
Plant, B. — Lane End, Staffordshire; 18th century.
Poole, R. — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Pratt, F. and R. and Co. — Fenton, Staffordshire;
19th century.
Richus and Toft — Staffordshire; 19th century.
Ridgway — Shelton, Staffordshire; 18th and 19th
centuries.
Ridgway and Sons — Shelton, Staffordshire; 18th
and 19th centuries.
Riley's Semi-china — Staffordshire; 19th century.
Rockingham — Yorkshire; 18th and 19th centu
ries.
Rogers — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
S. (Salopian) — Caughley, Shropshire; 18th and
19th centuries.
S. and B. — Sibury and Bridgwood, Staffordshire ;
19th century.
S. and Co. (J. Shore and Co.) — Isleworth ; 19th
century.
Sadler — Liverpool; 18th century.
Sadler and Green — Liverpool ; 18th century.
Salopian — Caughley, Shropshire ; 18th and 19th
centuries.
Salt — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Sans, William — Staffordshire; 17th century.
Scott — Sunderland ; 18th and 19th centuries.

ENGLAND.

387

Sewell — Sunderland; 18th and 19th centuries.
Sewell and Donkin — Sunderland; 18th and 19th
centuries.
Sewells and Co. — Sunderland; 18th and 19th
centuries.
Sharpe — Swadlincote, Burton-on-Trent ; 19th cen
tury.
Shorthose — Staffordshire; 18th and 19th centu
ries.
Shorthose and Co. — Staffordshire ; 18th and 19th
centuries.
Shorthose and Heath — Staffordshire; 18th and
19th centuries.
Sneyd, T. — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 19th century.
Snitzer — Lambeth ; 18th century.
Spode — Stoke - upon - Trent, Staffordshire ; 1 8th
and 19th centuries.
Spode, Felspar porcelain — Stoke-upon-Trent,
Staffordshire; 18th and 19th centuries.
Spode, Son, and Copeland — Stoke-upon-Trent,
Staffordshire; 18th and 19th centuries.
Steel — Burslem, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Stephenson, A. — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Swansea — 18th and 19th centuries.
Swansea, Dillwyn and Co. — 18th and 19th centu
ries.
T. — Staffordshire; 18th century.
T. H. and 0. — Uncertain.
Talor, William — Staffordshire ; 17th century.
Toft, Ralph — Staffordshire ; 17th century.
Toft, Thomas — Staffordshire ; 17th century.
Turner — Lane End, Staffordshire ; 18th centu
ry.
Turner and Co. — Lane End, Staffordshire; 18th
century.
Turner's Patent — Lane End, Staffordshire ; 18th
century.

Turner, Ralf — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Twyford, J. — Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Voyez — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Voyez, J. — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 1 8th century.
W (* * *). — Leeds, Yorkshire; 18th century.
W. R. and Co. — Etruscan, Staffordshire; 19th
century.
W. S. and Co., on Stockton ware ; 19th century.
W. T. and Co., on Fulham ware ; 18th century.
Wagstaff — Vauxhall; 18th century.
Walton — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Warburton, J. — Staffordshire; 18th century.
Wedgwood — Burslem and Etruria, Staffordshire ;
18th century.
Wedgwood, Etruria — Burslem and Etruria, Staf
fordshire; 18th century.
Wedgwood and Bentley — Burslem and Etruria,
Staffordshire; 18th century.
Wedgwood and Bentley, Etruria — Burslem and
Etruria, Staffordshire; 18th century.
W. and B. (Wedgwood and Bentley) — Burslem
and Etruria, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Wedgwood and Co. — Ferrybridge, near Pontc-
fract ; 18th century.
Wedgwood, F. — Stockton; 19th century.
Wedgewood — Stockton; 19th century.
Wilson — Hanley, Staffordshire ; 18th century.
Wood, Enoch — Burslem, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.
Wood, Enoch, and Sons — Burslem, Staffordshire ;
19th century.
Wood, Ralph — Burslem, Staffordshire ; 18th cen
tury.
Wood and Caldwell — Burslem, Staffordshire;
19th century.
Wright, John — Staffordshire; 17th and 18th
centuries.

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF
AMERICA.

I.-ANCIENT AMERICAN POTTERY.
The history of ceramic art in America prior to the discovery of the
Western Continent by the people of modern Europe is buried in obscu
rity. For the present nothing is known about it, except from the nu
merous specimens gathered in public and private collections, which are ar
ranged only as remarkable illustrations of
an unknown civilization, without order of
date, and without classification of styles.
There is much reason to hope that careful
investigation of the localities in which an
cient potteries are discovered, and of the cir
cumstances surrounding them, will yet shed
light on the history of this art, and that
pottery will in America, as elsewhere, prove
to be of importance in ethnological studies.
A descriptive account of the vast vari
ety of American potteries would require
too much space for the limits of this work,
nor would it be of as much practical bene
fit to the reader as the illustrations of some of the most interesting and
characteristic specimens which are here presented.
Ancient pottery, in greater or less quantity, has been discovered, usu
ally in tombs, in the western part of the United States, in Mexico, Cen
tral America, and Peru, while the Atlantic coast has yielded very few
specimens, and those of an uninteresting character. From Peru north
ward to Alaska, on the Pacific side of the continent, the character of the
potteries is of much interest, as they sometimes exhibit remarkable artistic

279. Indian Vase : incised decoration.
(Found in Ohio.)

ANCIENT AMERICAN POTTERY.

389

qualities. The same general styles of color decoration occur on potteries
found in Peru, Central America, Mexico, Colorado, and eastward to Mis
souri, while a class of art decidedly different in characteristics and prob
able origin prevails in the pottery of Alaska,
its influence apparently extending southward
and eastward till it meets that of Peru. In
dications of both styles are found in the west
ern portion of the United States ; but, with
our present amount of information, it is im
possible to affirm whether this is due to local
manufacture, or to the importation of the
Works of the North and the South into the 280. Indian Vase : incised decora-
central regions. tion- (r°und in ohia)
All the specimens hitherto found are apparently Soft Pottery. On
the Southern products we frequently find a thin polish, closely resem
bling the lustre of the ancient Greek, possibly produced by a varnish.
Color decorations are abundant, not more rude than those of the Pheni
cian and Egypto-Phenician potteries. Mouldings and modellings vary
from rude and barbarous works up to a high art standard.
There is such a relationship between specimens of the potteries found
in Pern, Central America, Mexico, and thence northward to Missouri, that

281. Bottle : Peruvian pottery.

282. Bottle : Peruvian pottery.

no reasonable doubt can exist of a community in the art. At the same
time there are characteristics of local fabrics which indicate peculiarities
of taste at those localities. But nothing at present known enables us to
form any idea of the point of origin of the art on this continent, nor do

390

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.

283. The Caballito. (Found at Chimu.)

the numerous specimens afford indications of a progressive art in any
locality. Specimens of ancient American wares show close resemblances to an
cient European fabrics, and theories
of their origin in Greek sources have
been based on these resemblances.
Such theories may be dismissed, for
the plain reason that the American
potteries bear equally close resem
blance to a great variety of wares,
ancient and modern, and are, in fact,
often more nearly related to the mod
ern fabrics of Europe than to the an
cient fabrics of Phenicia. Occasional
specimens are like the Phenician in
decoration ; others, equally remarka
ble in resemblance to the Greek ; others, like the Italian of the sixteenth
century. If this resemblance proves anything, it would indicate a late
derivation of art instruction from Europe, an instruction which included
hints taken from the whole history of ceramic art. A vase illustrated by
Tschudi ("Antiguedadas Peruanas," plate 27) has a decoration in hollow
crosses and hollow squares, connected in reg
ular patterns, colored white, black, and red,
which might have been (and perhaps was) ex
ecuted by an Italian.
Other specimens, illustrated in the same
volume (plate 36), are decorated in black, red,
and white, in bands, lines, and patterns so
Phenician in character that they might have
come from the temple-vaults of Kurium. A
Central American head in the Trumbull-
Prime collection has for a cap a lizard, the
head in front, the feet on each side, the body
and pendent tail behind, precisely like the
panther or lion skin cap of the ancient Greeks.
On a black Peruvian bottle in our collection,
the sole ornament is a lizard winding aroimd
284. Bottle : Peruvian pottery. the ^^ holding hig tail in hig moufa.
The meander pattern, a scroll drop pattern, and other familiar Greek
decorations abound in colors on Peruvian potteries. But these are in all

ANCIENT AMERICAN POTTERY.

391

eases such patterns as are the natural result and growth out of combina
tions of straight lines in checks, and circles crossing each other and crossed
by straight lines.
The colors used are red, black, yellow, and
white. Elaborate paintings are occasionally ex
ecuted. The illustration (286) is from a vase in
possession of Mr. Squier, this being only an ex
tract from the extensive design, which repre
sents a procession approaching a king. This
class of paintings presents no features which
give any hint of a foreign origin of the art.
It may sound like an exaggeration, but it is
nevertheless true, that at some period the Peru
vian potters have made as bold artistic work as
the Egyptians, Phenicians, or early Greeks, in
models of the human head and countenance.
Specimens are frequent which are of a very high order of merit. The
vase which is illustrated (285) is marvellously like a Greek head in the
Trumbull-Prime collection. Many Peruvian works of this class are noble
expressions of thought.

285. Jar : Peruvian pottery.

286. Painting from a Peruvian Vase.

392

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.

When were these artistic works produced ? Are they original Peru
vian art, or do they belong to the period after the
arrival of Europeans in Peru %
Some scholars assign to all the Peruvian and
Central American potteries an extreme age. One
ceramic authority dates his specimens thousands of
years ago. The entire question of the period of
that civilization which produced these works of art
is involved in such gloom, and hitherto so little has
been offered to elucidate the mystery, that these
dates are wholly arbitrary, without support.
It is to be observed that the works of high art
of which wo have spoken are exceptional specimens,
and do not form a class, nor are there known speci
mens of inferior and improving work in the same
styles. They stand as wholly distinct from the gen
eral mass of American pottery as if they
had been the work of a Greek artist
temporarily resident among the Peru
vian potters. They are not the cul
mination of any known school of art.
The three specimens from Cuzco, shown
in 111. 289, exhibit the extraordinary in
termingling of the artistic with the bar
barous, which characterizes all collec
tions of Peruvian pottery. The head
on the right of these three specimens
is, however, important, as we shall presently see in considering the age of
. this style of work.

287. Vase from Santa.

289. Pottery from Cuzco. (Collection of Sefiora Zentino.

In examining such pot
teries, it is important to
avoid the hasty conclusion
to which many students
come who find in the iden
tity of simple forms and
decorations convincing ev
idence of relationship.
Bound objects in pottery
of various patterns are com
mon to all peoples, savage

ANCIENT AMERICAN POTTERY.

393

and civilized, because the most easily made. Incised decorations are
equally common for the same reason. Circles, straight lines, herring-bone,
check, diamond, and other simple patterns, are universal. Out of these
early decorations grow others, which are quickly perceived by the artist's
eye, whether Greek or Beruvian. The coincidence of such simple forms
of pottery and patterns in the decoration of works of different nations is
of no value in determining relationship. But when a peculiar form has
long been in common and favorite use by one nation, and occasional speci
mens of the same form are found among the works of another nation not
accompanied by preceding forms from which it might have grown, there
is a slight ground for suspicion that the latter
may have been suggested by the former.
The old Italian form of water-pitcher is
perpetuated in the most common modern
form of ewer. This is derived from ancient
patterns, but came into a peculiar shape in
Italy in the fifteenth century. An illustra
tion is given at page 171 of a boccala, deco
rated at Gubbio, in the early part of the six
teenth century.
In the Trumbull-Prime collection are two
large ewers, from Central America, of similar
form, one in black, the other in red, pottery.
We illustrate the latter (111. 290). The deco
rations are incised or impressed, circles and
semicircles being produced with the end of a
reed, or a half reed, used as a stamp. The
form is not common in American pottery. It
is substantially that of the ewer which was
common in Italy and Spain when the Span
iards came to America. We incline to be
lieve these ewers made after the Conquest, on European models. The
decorations are similar to those found on potteries of different form. If
the ewers are later than the Conquest, the other specimens are of a period
not far distant.
In a collection of Peruvian pottery in St. Louis, Missouri, which we
have not had opportunity to examine, but of specimens of wdiich we have
photographs, is a bottle or vase in the shape of a head. Whatever be its
period, it is a wonderful specimen, worthy the hands of any sculptor. It
is a noble and perfect work, with the expression and the very smile of

290. Ewer : Central American pot
tery. (T.-P. Coll.)

394

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.

life. Every feature is admirably modelled. But the head is that of a
negro. The flat nose, the thick lips, the whole face, the very smile and
expression, are the type of the African, and
it is probably a portrait. If this be so, the
vase is, of course, later than the Conquest.
If the model of whose head this is a por
trait was an Indian, he must have been one
of those who are so numerous on the Isth
mus, in whose features the African type
has become superior from the admixture of
African blood ; which we know, as an his
torical fact, occurred extensively about a
century ago, when large numbers of negroes
went from Cuba to Honduras and united
with the Indians. In that case the vase is
.quite modern.
Among a number of pottery figures which
came into our possession as a collection of
ancient Mexican work, one has the inscrip
tion Caldtormia, on the front of the pedestal.
This is, of course, comparatively modern.
If our ewers were made since the discovery of America, there can be no
doubt that many other objects in our own and in other collections are of
date not far distant from them. The
relationship, in style and general char
acter, is plain.
Mr. Ewbank ("Life in Brazil,"
1856) gives a series of illustrations of
ancient Peruvian pottery from a col
lection formed by General Alvarez,
commandant of the province of Cuzco,
which passed into the hands of Senhor
Barboza, of Bio Janeiro. We have re
produced some of these illustrations
(111. 293). Mr. Ewbank devotes an ex
tended notice to the bottle, which is in
the form of a human head with long
curls. This, he says, " represents the
head of the famous cazique Bumin-
hauy." The portrait seems to be identified, even to a scar on the cheek.

291. Peruvian Bottle : Coast pottery.

292. Peruvian Coast Pottery.

ANCIENT AMERICAN POTTERY.

395

Buminhauy, or Bumminaui, was a celebrated chieftain at the time of the
conquest of Peru, mentioned by De la Yega. He schemed to succeed
Atahualpa, and, after fighting with the Spaniards, and accomplishing vari
ous barbaric murders, was overcome, and driven into the mountains.

293. Peruvian Vases. (From the collection of General Alvarez. Ewbank.)
The vase before referred to, from Cuzco (111. 289), is another portrait
of the same person, with the same scar on the cheek. If these vases be in
deed portraits of a man who lived in 1532, it is greatly to be lamented
that we have no information of the
places and attending circumstances I

of their discovery. These are typi
cal heads, many which closely resem
ble them being found among Peru
vian potteries. We have quite sim
ilar heads in our own collection.
They resemble a large class of pot
tery, and the character of the tombs
in which these were found might
serve to date other specimens found
in other tombs with similar accom
paniments. Mr. Squier (to whose work we are
indebted for many of the illustrations of Peruvian pottery here given)
describes the contents of some Peruvian tombs in which pottery was
found (" Peru," etc., by E. G. Squier, 1877, pages 73-81). The perfect
preservation of the large variety of perishable objects in such a tomb at
Pachacamac, the cloths and blankets the patterns of which are given, the
undecayed condition of the wrappings of the bodies, the household uten
sils and articles of personal use and adornment, made of perishable mate
rials, but found in good condition, would be wonderful in any other coun
try than Egypt, if four hundred years had elapsed since the burial. With-

294. Peruvian Coast Pottery.

396

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.

295. Nicaragua Pottery.

out information as to the peculiarities of the climate of Peru, we cannot
form an opinion as to the probable duration of cloths in colored pat
terns, aud other articles found in such tombs. But
all the facts which we at present possess fail to
give any evidence of extreme age for any of the
Peruvian potteries. On the contrary, the indica
tions are opposed to theories of great antiquity,
and rather lead to the belief that the period of
the best Peruvian art was not long before or after
the beginning of the sixteenth century. This idea
is safe, and sustained by what few facts we pos
sess. It will be ample time to adopt ideas of great
antiquity when facts are known to justify them.
The forms of Peruvian pottery are many. Double jugs are common,
and jugs with two spouts, the latter form being regarded as characteristic
of the potteries found on the coast, which are often quite different in style
from those found in the interior. Birds, fish, animals, fruit, vegetables,
shells, were all used as forms of vases. The entire human form was never
well modelled, while heads and busts were often excellent. The vase
(111. 287) found in one of the largest pyramidal mounds in Peru, near
Santa, affords an illustration of the expressive style of countenance which
Peruvian sculptors were able to produce.
In the Trumbnll-Prime collection is an interesting vase, discovered on
the isthmus of Tehuantepec by an ex
ploring party of railway engineers (111.
296). It is of red unglazed pottery, the
surface giving indications of a polish
which resembles that of the Egyptian
red wares, and approximating to the lus
tred surfaces of Greek vases. It former
ly stood on high feet. Its present height
is 12 inches, and greatest diameter 10
inches. The decorations are relief masks
and figures, rudely but expressively ex
ecuted. The important feature of this
specimen is a peculiar stamp impressed
in four fac-similes, on raised lumps or
bosses, on four sides of the vase. This
stamp (111. 297) is evidently intended to express ideas by signs, and is one
of the very rare examples of early American language in visible characters.

296. Vase from Tehuantepec, with inscrip
tions in circles. (T.-P. Coll.)

ANCIENT AMERICAN POTTERY.

397

Similar signs have been supposed to express dates. On a vase in the
Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, a similar mark occurs, also im
pressed as on our specimen, and very closely resembling the one-half of

297. Stamped Inscription (exact size) on Tehuantepec Vase. (T.-P. Coll.)
this device, many of the signs being identical. The size is precisely the
same. But on the Smithsonian vase only one-half of the circular stamp
appears (111. 298). Certain signs are missing which are on our specimen,
and the number of circles at the right is not the
same. The impression is better on the Smithsonian . t
specimen, and enables us to complete forms of signs Jg
which are imperfect on the Trumbull - Brime vase.
These marks have been the subject of careful study
by learned gentlemen, but as yet they have not been
satisfactorily translated. On a pottery image from
Cuzco (111. 289), and on a figure (111. 281) will be
seen some marks of character similar to these.
In our collection we have preserved, out of in
numerable specimens of Peruvian, Central American,
and Mexican potteries which have been brought to
New York, only such objects as seemed illustrative
of the history of the art in America, and positive aids Z£S°^t
in endeavoring to determine age. While there are
distinctions in the forms of the raised decorations, which characterize dif-

398 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
f erent localities, the art is one, in all cases, from Peru, in the south, to Mis
souri, in the north. The same pottery, the same forms, the same color
decorations, the identical patterns of colored ornamentation, are found in
Peru and in the mounds recently opened in Missouri. A peculiar style
of relief work in prominent sharp points, sharp features of human faces,
sharp projecting noses, sharp flanges on head-dresses — in short, what we
may call high sharp-pointed relief — appears characteristic of some Mexican
work. In Missouri, considerable quantities of pottery have been found in
burial-mounds, showing two classes, the one the ordinary local ware, re
sembling that of New England and of many savage tribes ; the other ap
parently imported from regions to the south - west ; or, if made where
found, made in paste and decoration like the potteries of Mexico, Central
America, and Peru. Some specimens, at least, seem to have been im
ported, and exhibit a commercial intercourse in former years.
Still farther westward, in Arizona, potteries have been found of two
classes — the one allied to those of the southern countries, the other to
those of Alaska.
The potteries of Alaska are of a better quality in paste and baking
than any others on the American continent. Some of these are in large
vases, the paste compact and firm, covered with a grayish - white wash,
which is polished, much in the style of many of the Phenician wares,
on which bold devices in black and dark red are painted in firm, accurate
lines. In the mounds of Ohio some interesting specimens have been found,
showing rude decoration in incised work (Ills. 279, 280).
The potteries of the Atlantic coast have little artistic interest. They
are of the simplest forms, and such as savages often produce. In New
England, perfect specimens are exceedingly rare. Fragments found in
various localities indicate the bowl as the most common form. In the
pastes of the Connecticut valley we find mica often mingled with the clay,
as in the Celtic wares of Ireland and in the black wares of Etruria, possi
bly for the brilliant effect produced by the particles which remain bright,
as the heat of the baking was not great ; possibly only because the clay
from which they were made was micaceous.

ruiTERY AND PORCELAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. 399

II.-POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
After the settlement of America by Europeans, coarse pottery was made
in various parts of the country, but no artistic work was attempted. Our
ancestors used pewter and wooden dishes. Pottery was not common in
American houses until the middle of the eighteenth century, and few of
the people of Bevolutionary times had seen porcelain. Tea was not used
in Europe until the middle of the seventeenth century, and was not
known in America prior to 1710. Teapots and tea-services were not
made in Europe until the latter part of the seventeenth century. It has
been questioned whether the porcelain teapot is a Chinese or a European
invention. When Delft pottery began to be used for table and house
hold purposes in England, it is probable that small quantities found their
way to this country, but neither crockery nor porcelain took the place of
pewter and wood on American tables, and the importations increased but
slowly with the increase of population and wealth. Wooden trenchers,
pewter dishes, mugs, water-pitchers, etc., continued in general use until the
present century.
By an examination of early newspapers, we are enabled to learn much
of the character of the table furniture which dealers advertised for sale,
and this was probably alike in all parts of the country. We find pewter
always prominent. In the New Haven Gazette of September 30th, 1784,
a druggist advertises Wedgwood mortars and pestles. In the same paper,
October 21st, a dealer advertises " blue-and-white stone- ware, consisting of
butter-pots, jars, and cans ;" also " quart, pint, and half-pint water-flasks ;
matted ditto ; spaw ditto ; Bristol ditto." In the same paper, November
25th, a dealer advertises "queen's-ware in small crates, well assorted,"
which had been imported direct to New Haven ; and December 2d, he ad
vertises "English china cups and saucers." On November 4th, 1784, the
same dealer advertised " a large assortment of coarse stone-ware in crates,
large round bottles holding near two quarts, in small convenient ham
pers, and quart, pint, and half-pint flasks " — with a discount to those who
buy large quantities. This last advertisement may refer to wares made in
America. In 1785, we find advertised " Nottingham, queen's, china, and
glass ware." " Nottingham ware " had long been a popular name in Eng
land for brown potteries, originally made at Nottingham, and the name
continued in use here until a very recent date.

400 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
Bricks and ruder forms of pottery were made in New England in the
eighteenth and possibly in the seventeenth century. Josiah Wedgwood,
in a letter written 1765, speaks of a pottery then projected in the Caro
linas, of whose work he had great apprehensions ; and he seems to desire
some government interference to prevent the colonies from making their
own pottery, and thus injuring the home business. Before the end of the
eighteenth century many potteries were established in various parts of the
country, but, so far as is now known, no articles were produced except the
ordinary coarser kinds of household utensils in stone-ware.
"A Brief Examination of Lord Sheffield's Observations on the Com
merce of the United States," by Matthew Carey, was printed in succes
sive numbers of the American Museum, in 1791, and collected in a vol
ume, published the same year, at Philadelphia, with a supplementary note
on "the present state of American manufactures," etc. On pages 126,
127 are the following observations:
Manufactures of glass, of earthenware, and of stone, mixed with clay, are all in
an infant state. From the quantity and variety of the materials which must have
been deposited by nature in so extensive a region as the United States, from the
abundance of fuel which they contain, from the expense of importation, and loss by
fracture, which falls on glass and earthenwares, from the simplicity of many of these
manufactures, and from the great consumption of them, impressions of surprise at
this state of them, and a firm persuasion that they will receive the early attention
of foreign or American capitalists, are at once produced. Coarse tiles and bricks
of an excellent quality, potter's wares, all in quantities beyond the home consump
tion, a few ordinary vessels and utensils of stone mixed with clay, some mustard
and snuff bottles, a few flasks or flagons, a small quantity of sheet-glass and of ves
sels for family use, generally of the inferior kinds, are all that are now made.
Hamilton's return of Exports of the United States from August, 1789,
to September, 1790, printed in the Appendix to Carey's book, gives, for
earthen and glass ware, nineteen hundred and ninety dollars.
In Miss Caulkins's " History of Norwich," chap, xlix., it is stated that
in 1796 "a pottery for the manufacture of stone-ware was established at
Bean Hill, which continued in operation far into the present century, sel
dom, however, employing more than four or five hands." In Morse's
" Gazetteer," 1797, we read, under Norwich, that the inhabitants manufac
ture " stone and earthen ware." In the Norwich (Conn.) Gazette, Septem
ber 15th, 1796, we find this advertisement of a pottery, which appears to
have been in operation by a Mr. Lathrop prior to 1796, and is, without
doubt, the one referred to by Miss Caulkins and Dr. Morse :

jtuhjsmx AJSD PORCELAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. 401
C. Potts & Son informs the Public, that they have lately established a Manu
factory of Earthenware at the shop formerly improved by Mr. Charles Lathrop,
where all kinds of said Ware is made and sold, either in large or small quantities,
and warranted good.
A memorial of Samuel Dennis, dated New Haven, October 9th, 1789,
to the General Assembly of Connecticut, shows : " That he is acquainted
with the potter's business, and is about to erect a stone pottery ; and there
is in this country a plenty of clay which he presumes of the same kind
with that from which the queen's-ware of Staffordshire is usually made ;
and that he wishes to erect a pottery for the purpose of manufacturing
the finer kinds of ware usually made in Staffordshire, particularly the
queen's-ware," and he asks the aid of the State in founding the works.
His memorial was negatived, and it does not appear whether he went on
with his project.
Isaac Hanford, of Hartford, Connecticut, took out a patent, January
20th, 1800, for a new method of making bricks, tiles, and pottery ware in
general, and of discharging the moulds. Nothing further is known of his
work ; but coarse pottery has, from the beginning of the century, been
made in Hartford. Prior to 1800, a pottery was in existence at Stoning
ton, Connecticut, managed by Adam States, who was succeeded in the
business, after 1804, by his sons, Adam and Joseph. They made jugs,
butter-pots, jars of all sizes, and some small wares with handles, uniformly
of soft pottery, usually gray in color, with salt glaze. Contemporary with
this was a pottery at Norwalk, Connecticut, which made red wares of soft
pottery in many forms. We learn from a lady, whose memory extends
back to 1804, that it made jars and pots of all sizes, teapots, mugs, and
large milk-pans, then in common use among the farmers in Connecticut.
A specimen in our collection is glazed with a lead glaze, the color deep
red, with flashes of black, probably caused by smoke in the firing. Other
potteries produced wares similar to the Stonington and Norwalk.
From a report of the Secretary of the Treasury (Mr. Gallatin), made
in 1810, it appears that the exports of " coarse earthenware " exceeded the
imports. In this report the Secretary says that progress has been made
in the manufacture of "queen's and other earthenware," and that "a suf
ficient quantity of the coarser species of pottery was made everywhere.
Four manufactories of a finer kind had lately been established, which
made ware resembling that of Staffordshire." Dr. Dwight, in his travels
(1822), after quoting the above, states that he had gained access to the Be-
ports from Massachusetts and Connecticut, upon which the Secretary's
Beport had been founded, and gives among the manufactures of Connec-
26

402 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
ticut for the year, "potteries, twelve;" "value of earthen and stone ware,
$30,740 ;" and for Massachusetts, " earthenware, $18,700."
Before the end of the last century, direct trade had been established
between the United States and China, and Oriental porcelain began to
make its appearance in America. The English trade increased rapidly in
the early part of the present century, and English manufacturers had be
gun to decorate pottery with American subjects for the American market.
Porcelain seems to have been decorated at Lowestoft with American de
signs, for special orders, before 1800.
It does not appear that any attempt has hitherto been made to manu
facture pottery of the higher classes. The " queen's-ware " referred to in
the Beport of the Secretary of the Treasury in 1810, if made at all, was
probably not the ware known by this name in England. We find, by in
quiry from elderly persons now living, that they understood queen's-ware
to be a heavy, white pottery, which was used for baking and similar pur
poses. A paragraph in the Edinburgh Weekly Magazine, in January, 1771,
says : " By a letter from Philadelphia we are informed that a large china
manufactory is established there, and that better china cups and saucers
are made than at Bow or Stratford."
We are indebted to a gentleman of Bhiladelphia for the following in
formation concerning this manufacture :
" China works " were established in Philadelphia, and in operation, in 1770. I
discovered this fact about two years since while examining some old papers, which
led me to examine the newspapers of the day, and there I found an advertisement
under date December 29th, 1769, headed " New China Ware." It states that " Not
withstanding the various difficulties and disadvantages which usually attend the in
troduction of any important manufacture into a new country, the proprietors of the
China Works now erecting in Southwark have the pleasure to acqnaint the public
they have proved to a certainty that the clays of America are productive of as
good Porcelain as any heretofore manufactured at the famous factory in Bow,
near London," etc., etc. Subsequently there is an advertisement for " shank bones"
delivered at the China factory in Southwark, signed G. Bonnin and G. A. Morris.
Then, in April, 1772, there is an advertisement for " several apprentices to the paint
ing branch," etc. In addition to the fact of the existence of the manufacture, I
have found also some few undoubted specimens of the work, which are now depos
ited at the Franklin Institute on exhibition.
Another porcelain factory was established in Philadelphia at a later
period, as appears from the following Extract from the proceedings of the
"Historical Society of Pennsylvania " at their rooms, May, 1868.

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. 403

Miss Peters presented a beautiful pitcher, made at the porcelain establishment
of Messrs. Tucker & Hemphill — a very creditable specimen of American manufac
ture. At the request of the society, Thomas Tucker, Esq., prepared the following
paper on the manufacture of porcelain in the United States, which was read by the
secretary, and ordered to be published (in the papers of the day).
. Philadelphia, May 13th, 1S6S.
lo the Historical Society of Pennsylvania :
Gentlemen, — Herewith please find a small account of the manufacture of porcelain in the
United States.
William Ellis Tucker, my brother, was the first to make porcelain in the United States. My
father, Benjamin Tucker, had a china store in Market Street, in the city of Philadelphia, in the year
1816. He built a kiln for William in the yard back of the store, where he painted in the white
china, and burned it on in the kiln, which gave him a taste for that kind of work. After that he
commenced experimenting with the different kinds of clays, to see if he could not make the ware.
He succeeded in making a very good opaque ware, called queen's-ware. He then commenced ex
perimenting with felspar and kaolin to make porcelain, and, after much labor, he succeeded in
making a few small articles of very good porcelain. He then obtained the old water-works at the
north-west corner of Schuylkill, Front, and Chestnut, where he erected a large glazing kiln, enam
elling kiln, mills, etc. He burned kiln after kiln with very poor success. The glazing would
crack, and the body would blister ; and, besides, we discovered that we had a man who placed the
ware in the kiln who was employed by some interested parties in England to impede our success.
Most of the handles were found in the bottom of the seggars after the kiln was burned. We
could not account for it, until a deaf and dumb man in our employment detected him running his
knife around each handle as he placed them in the kiln.
At another time, every piece of china had to be broken before it could be taken out of the seg-
gar. We always washed the round O's, the article in which the china was placed in the kiln, with
silex ; but this man had washed them with felspar, which of course melted, and fastened every arti
cle to the bottom. But William discharged him, and we got over that difficulty.
In the year 1827, my brother received a silver medal from the Franklin Institute of Pennsyl
vania, and in 1831 received one from the Institute in New York. In 1828, 1 commenced to learn
the different branches of the business.
On the 22d of August, 1832, my brother William died. Some time before, he connected him
self with the late Judge Hemphill. They purchased the property at the south-west corner of
Schuylkill, Sixth, and Chestnut streets, where they built a large storehouse and factory, which they
filled with porcelain. After the death of ray brother, Judge Hemphill and myself continued the
working of porcelain for some years, until he sold out his interest to a company of Eastern gentle
men ; but being unfortunate in their other operations, they were not able to give the porcelain at
tention. In the year 1837 I undertook to carry it on alone, and did so for about one year, making
a large quantity of very fine porcelain, many pieces of which I still have. The gilding and paint
ing is now as perfect as when first done.
I herewith present you with a pitcher which I made thirty-one years ago. You will notice the
glazing and transparency of this specimen as equal to the best imported china ; but the gilding,
having been in use so many years, is somewhat injured. I would like to give you a larger article,
but I have but few pieces left. Very respectfully yours, etc., Thomas Tucker.
We have specimens of the Philadelphia ware of Tucker & Hemphill
which are of excellent porcelain, but the decoration indicates want of ex
perience.

404 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
In 1847, a factory was established in Bennington, Term ont, by Messrs.
Lyman & Fenton, and continued in operation till about 1860. Bottery
was made in various forms, with good enamel ; bisque or Parian wares
were produced, and soft -paste porcelain of good quality, well decorated.
So far as is at present known, this was the first American factory which
has attempted to make figures of men and animals. We have a pair of
lions in pottery, with tortoise-shell enamels, an eagle and child in white
bisque, and other figurines. A peculiar enamel seems to have been pat
ented by Mr. Fenton of this firm, which was used on some of the pot
tery. The impressed mark on pottery of this class was arranged in a cir
cle, " Lyman, Fenton, & Co., Fenton's Enamel, patented 1849, Benning
ton, Vt."
Some time prior to 1829 a factory was established in Jersey City, New
Jersey, by persons not now known (said to be French), which made hard-
paste porcelain. No mark was used. We have specimens of this ware,
which is of fair quality — pure paste, white with gilded rims, without color
decoration. The enterprise was not successful, and in 1829 David Hen
derson & Co. bought the works, and carried them on under the name of
the American Pottery Company. They made white and brown potteries,
decorating the former with prints, and the latter with colored enamels and
raised work ; and also a translucent pottery, which is apparently a natural
soft-paste porcelain. Their mark was "American Pottery Co., Jersey
City, N. J.," in a circle, stamped in the paste. They executed work for
druggists and other dealers in New York, printing labels on their jars,
boxes, etc. A favorite pattern was a brown pottery pitcher, the handle a
hound, the surface covered with a raised representation of a hunt. It was
made in various sizes, and is still produced, with a changed form of the
same decoration. In 1855, Messrs. Bouse & Turner became proprietors
of the factory, and have since carried it on with much success, producing
granite, Bockingham, and stone wares, plain and decorated, for table and
general use. They use clay obtained from Woodbridge, New Jersey, and
another clay from South Carolina ; and occasionally a clay from Glen Cove,
Long Island, which contains silex. They use no mark on their fabrics.
Important works are now in operation at Baltimore, Maryland, and at
Trenton, New Jersey, making varieties of pottery, plain and decorated, and
stone-wares of good quality.
A porcelain factory has been established at Long Island City, opposite
New York, by T. C. Smith & Sons, which is in successful operation, mak
ing excellent commercial work of various kinds and styles. The kaolin
in use here is imported.

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. 405
This sketch of the history of ceramic art in America is necessarily im
perfect, and subject to correction when more full information can be ob
tained. It is, however, manifest that hitherto America has been content
to depend on Europe, China, and Japan for her supplies of beautiful pot
tery and porcelain. Within the past two years an increased demand has
been visible for the higher qualities of decorated porcelain. To meet this
demand, some of the New York merchants have employed foreign artists
to decorate wares here, and admirable work has been produced. White
hard-paste porcelains are now imported from Continental factories of Eu
rope, and painted in New York, chiefly in the styles of the decorators of
Berlin, Limoges, and other foreign factories. No attempt at original pat
terns has been made, nor is it probable that purchasers are always aware
that they are buying porcelains decorated in America. Ground-colors, es
pecially shades of claret and of green, are executed with quite as perfect
evenness and beauty of tint as the best commercial works of Europe.
Occasionally are seen in the shops modern Sevres porcelains, with the
cut mark, which have been decorated in New York by persons of some
skill, and hard -paste cups and saucers of Limoges ware, prettily orna
mented with portraits and other designs. These are the work of indus
trious women and others, and are to be noted as among the first efforts in
America in decorative ceramic art. As such, they deserve hearty encour
agement. We have also met with very good faience decoration, executed
here for sale by various individuals.
The exhibitions of the Metropolitan Museum of Art have exerted a
manifest influence in elevating the taste of the people in domestic crock
ery and china, and this influence is felt in the increase of the importation
of really artistic wares. The general subject of ceramic art is attracting
more and more attention. Brivate collections are increasing in number.
Bublic exhibitions in various cities and towns have shown the wealth of
beauty which rests in old pantries, and revealed to many, what they had
regarded as an inexplicable mystery, the fascination of beautiful pottery.
The money value of art is beginning to be recognized. The utility of
beauty, as a commercial article, an object of industry, a means of employ
ing labor, will soon be more appreciated. Then, let us hope, our laws will
cease to prevent the American, as they now do, from competing with the
European in purchasing the priceless examples of old art industries, and
museums in every city and village will grow up, to teach the artisan and
his family, first, the pecuniary value of making useful things beautiful,
and next, the civilizing, refining, and elevating influences of beauty in all
things.

406 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.

IIL-COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA.
Having thus far endeavored to furnish such a condensed account of
the history of ceramic art as may serve him for reference, and introduce
him to the study, I propose, in this concluding section, a free talk with
my reader, without order or method, on the general subject, and matters
related to it.
If he has but turned over the pages of this volume, without attempt
ing to master the details of the long history of this, the oldest and most
widely extended of human arts, he cannot fail to have been impressed
with this fact at least, that the fabrication and ornamenting of baked clay
is one of the most important of the industrial arts practised among men.
If he had formerly wondered at the enthusiasm with which collectors
have gathered specimens of this art, he may now be able to appreciate in
some sort the fact that the objects in their collections are not mere curios
ities, but are examples of human industry, and illustrations of artistic skill
in various times and countries; that the finger-marks of the Bhenician
potter on a vase are as legible records of Bhenician thought as inscriptions
on stone ; that the enamel on an Egyptian bowl is the recorded evidence
of an ancient inventive mind ; that the paintings on French, German, and
English porcelain are beautiful ideas, and sometimes ideas which are char
acteristic of great branches of the human family.
The collecting of specimens of ceramic art has been the enjoyment
and profit of the most accomplished men and women in ancient and mod
ern times. The Greeks, in the days of their art glory, valued pottery ; sur
rounded themselves with the best specimens, ancient and modern ; knew
no greater treasures with which to reward victors in the games ; so thor
oughly loved their noble vases, that, when they died and were buried, sur
viving friends found pleasant solace for grief in placing these cherished
works of art in the tombs of the dead lovers of art, thereby to make the
grave seem less lonesome.
When the Bomans found in the Greek graves at Corinth the fine old
vases of the previous centuries, they admired the marvellous relics of
an art not then long lost, but apparently forgotten, and began to gather
Greek pottery as the illustration of old skill and artistic ability.
The modern collector finds himself in excellent company. Men and
women of note, poets, artists, authors, statesmen, soldiers, kings and queens,

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 407
are among the known collectors of the present and the last century.
Boyalty elbows Bepublicanism in a bric-a-brac shop, seeking old china.
I have seen an American lady purchase a rarely fine specimen of Dresden,
and five minutes later, a grand duke, a renowned soldier, trying to induce
her to yield the purchase to him. A greater man — Mr. Gladstone — has,
by his judicious collections in ceramic art and his thorough appreciation
of the subject, been of marked service to the industries of England. The
Duke of Wellington appears in the list of English collectors as an admirer
of Sevres and Dresden. Lord Nelson was celebrated as a lover of fine
porcelain, and factories are proud to place on record his visits and pur
chases. Eight members of the Rothschild family have collections, some
of which are among the finest in the wofld. The Queen of Holland pre
serves the works of the old factories of her country. The Queen of Eng
land heads the list of English collectors in all departments of ceramic
art, and her personal loans to the public exhibitions of England are of no
small importance. Mr. Marryat catalogues nearly three hundred private
collections of pottery and porcelain in Europe, and doubtless omits many
thousand which are not known to the public.
The " idea " of a collection of ceramic art is just what suits the fancy
of the collector. Whatever be his idea, a collection cannot fail to be of
some service to him, and to those who inspect it. It is only in great pub
lic museums that the art in all its departments can be properly illustrated.
But the private collector need not be deterred by the apparent magnitude
of the field on which he enters. Ho may cultivate small tracts, and reap
rich harvests, harvests which will be stores of food and refreshment.
Knowledge and educated taste in pottery and porcelain are of the
highest domestic importance. If one does not desire to study the history
of ceramic art, and make a collection of beautiful specimens, he or she
may at least learn to adorn home life and the home table. The log-cabin,
in the northern mountains, in which this concluding section is written,
furnished simply as a fishing-lodge on the bank of Lonesome Lake, shines
like a palace in the light of the blazing logs on the hearth, with the glow
of an old pottery dinner service arranged on the shelves. Its decoration
is one of those strange patterns of mingled print and painting which such
English manufacturers as Minton' and Miles Mason and others produced in
the early part of the century, on which they lavished color, and thus ob
tained the finest results of their art. For a grand beauty of pottery and
porcelain is color. It makes comparatively little difference how it is put
on, if the color be pure and rich, and then it shines as on no other work
of art. Therein the Orientals excel. Who cares what high art there is in

408 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
the decoration of a Chinese dish, so the colors be good ? No house, bridge,
man, or flower on an Oriental plate looks like a house, bridge, man, or
flower ; but if the objects are indicated in the gleaming colors in which
the Oriental porcelain has its triumphs, that is enough, and every one ad
mires, and has right to admire it.
The cabin dinner service is odd and queer, and wonderful for mixture
of colors without harmony or contrast. There is a very rich dark blue
abounding in the decoration which was never excelled at Worcester ; but
it looks lost in a chaos of pagodas and trees and houses painted in brick-
red, and is singularly set off with touches of yellow. One might think
the service was made by Mason at Lane-Delph but for the unknown mark,
which is simply " Beal Iron-stone China," under a large crown. Now, al
though this is not a remarkably rare service as pottery, it may serve as a
text whereon to discourse a little in regard to table services in general. It
has a history of its own, and that adds to its interest in the cabin among
the mountains. I found it long ago in a second-hand shop, and paid the
ignominious sum of eight dollars for the lot, some forty pieces remaining
whole. When it was sent home, a servant recognized it as a familiar din
ner service. "Ah, many's the dinner I've seen served on them dishes,
sir." " You have ! Where ?"
" Why, sir, didn't you know it yourself? That was one of Mr.  's
dinner services."
And so it was ; and that is what sometimes makes porcelain wonder
fully curious to a man of imagination, though it does not materially add
to its value for a collection. To think what dinners those were ! What
stories the plates could tell ! Forty years ago there was no dinner-table
in America around which a more brilliant company gathered. The host
was a man of taste. He found these old brilliant colors, and they lighted
up the board more than the richest porcelain with flower or landscape
decoration. He was sensible enough to use iron-stone china for state din
ners when it was what he admired.
There is perhaps less good taste displayed in our country in this mat
ter of table services than in any other household adornment. Men who
expend money freely in superb furniture, have grand drawing rooms and
dining-rooms, rich glass and heavy silver dishes, exercise no sort of taste
in the porcelain on which they serve their meals. It is very rare to see a
set of porcelain which is out of the ordinary lines of French or English
decoration for the market. Few know how easy it is to make a breakfast
or dinner table bright and cheerful by selecting and varying the crockery

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 409
and china. I say crockery as well as china, for the great factories of the
world make earthenware which is amply beautiful for royal tables.
A very simple rule for the guidance of those who wish to have their
tables admired is to avoid, in successive courses, the endless repetition of
the same service. Select sets of plates only, instead of buying full ser
vices. Have a number of sets of plates, and use a different set for each
course. Then buy plates, no two of which are alike except in shape, and
thus make harlequin services to vary the entertainment. The importers
are always ready to supply such varieties. The most delicious after-dinner
coffee services that eyes ever rested on can be made up by choosing the
exquisite cups and saucers of Copeland, Minton, Worcester, or other Eng
lish factories, in a dozen shades of color, making a collection which, when
standing on a tray, is as gay as a bouquet of flowers. This idea of harle
quin services seems to shock some persons, as if it were impracticable.
But let them be assured it is the proper thing. In the old factories,
Sevres, Dresden, Berlin, Hochst, and in short in every first-class factory, it
has always been customary to make costly services with no two plates or
cups alike in decoration, except perhaps a border line. The most charm
ing after-dinner coffee service that I have ever seen is a set of old Dres
den and Sevres cups and saucers, all of the same shape, but all differing
in color and decoration.
It is not at all necessary that table pottery or porcelain should be old
to be beautiful. Doubtless, as a general rule, old porcelain is more artistic
in decoration than modern, and this proceeds from the fact that in the last
century the artists who worked in the potteries were of a class who now
seek higher pay than the trade can afford. Modern porcelain as well dec
orated, and as artistic as old, can be bought, but it is costly. Printing has
come to such perfection that one can find abundance of really wonderful
art in decoration at very low prices. And it must be a difficult taste to
satisfy which cannot find among the cheap earthenwares of our day an
abundance of color and decoration such as will meet the most fastidious
demand, to say nothing of the superb work of Berlin — now the leading
Continental factory — or of Copeland and Minton, who in all varieties, ex
pensive and cheap, are surpassing the world. But it would be a great step
in educating the popular tastes if we could expel from all tables, hotels,
restaurants, and private houses the white stone -wares, cups a half -inch
thick, and go back to such blue-and-white as almost every family in the
country used forty years ago. The suggestion need not seem startling
that a table would look well with a blue - and - white service of printed
earthenware, representing a milk -maid at work among the cows, or the

410 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
impassable bridge on Turner's Caughley willow -ware, or the Victory on
Lake Champlain, or the Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden. The
farmers' wives of New England and New York fifty years ago had, as a
class, more good taste in table furniture than many persons in our cities
now have ; and any one who can procure a few of those old crockery
plates may be proud to serve a course at dinner on them, and will win
praise from all guests who have correct appreciation.
In the next place, let us talk of pottery and porcelain for decorative
uses. Color adds cheer to rooms. Of course taste is to be exercised in
the use of color, and some rooms may be so furnished that variety of color
on the shelves and walls will be in bad taste. Such rooms are very rare.
Wherever a picture can be hung, decorated pottery can be hung. Fewr
pictures are to be had which so illuminate and gladden a room as paint
ings or bright colors on enamelled wares. These rich and gleaming deco
rations will often make a miserably furnished room look inhabitable and
cheerful, and pottery and porcelain decorations are within the reach of all
purses. It is not the most costly specimens that are the most decorative.
Here the blue Staffordshire prints have a mission which they are well
fitted to perform.
I once turned from a trout-stream to ask for a drink of milk at the
door of a small farm-house in a lonely neighborhood. It was given to me
with hearty good -will, in a dark -blue Staffordshire bowl, which, being
praised, the farmer's wife confessed was not in common use, but had been
taken from a pantry where it rested with the remains of an old service.
The kitchen was somewhat ancient, its walls smoky, its general appear
ance dingy. When the good woman heard the praises of her crockery
she brightened up, and expressed her affection for it, so that the natural
thought of a lover of such wares was to suggest to her a way of making it
useful and enjoyable. In two minutes a twist of wire had made a frame
to hold a plate, resplendent with blue shells and roses, a dove in the mid
dle, and it was hung on the wall above the mantel over the hearth. Two
years afterward I fished the same stream, and asked for milk at the same
house, and saw the kitchen fresh and bright, the hard-wood panels shin
ing, and a dozen or more blue plates making it as superb with color as any
city mansion.
It is unnecessary to consult a decorator about such adornment. Much
that is very plausible has been said about the arrangement of faience and
porcelain on walls. Exercise your own taste ; and your taste, if not al
ready good, will improve. A room will grow into order and beauty by a
natural process, and plates and dishes will arrange themselves into fine

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 411
contrasts and combinations satisfactory to all good tastes, though possibly
not quite agreeably to the notions of those who are bound by conventional
rules of house decoration. There is a great charm in the freedom from
uniformity, and the luxuriance of color, which can be exhibited on a wall
decorated with plates and dishes, but it is a lamentable fact that few pro
fessional upholsterers or decorators have any conception of the proper
uses of such color decoration. Hang your bits of beauty where you like
to see them. Please yourself, and scout arbitrary rules which produce
constant repetitions of a few conventional ideas, and make every room to
look like every other. Listen to suggestions ; accept advice ; cultivate a
teachable disposition ; study effects of color and arrangement ; never be
confident that your tastes will remain any more steadfast than have the
tastes of educated people in any country ; but do not yield the delight of
your eye because of notions of other people about harmony of colors or
orderly arrangements.
Harmony for you is in your own eye, ear, and mind ; and no other
mind can make that harmonious to you, in the decoration of your room,
which is not pleasing to your own taste. Perhaps you may be laughed
at, but the chances are that yon will set a good example to your friends
by following your own free fancies.
Hang a beautiful object where you can see it. This is the first rule
of wall decoration. Mingle your beautiful objects in whatever confusion
you please. Change them when you like. Your notions of the beautiful
will change from time to time, with conversation and the reception of
new ideas. But if you attempt to follow arbitrary rules in arranging
your pictures and pottery and porcelain, the chances are that you will
never advance a step beyond stiff conventionalisms, and your rooms will
maintain forever a cast-iron rigidity of color decoration.
The study of ceramic art and the collection of specimens, whether for
cabinet purposes or for home decoration, should lead to freedom and in
dependence of taste. The collector who follows the opinions of others,
and guides himself by what others consider good in color or art, will get
small good to himself by collecting specimens in any department. No
man should admire the Apollo Belvedere because the world admires it.
It must compel his admiration by its own power. Every man of taste
and education should be free to consider the Transfiguration of Raphael
the first picture in the world, as some think it, or to regard it as inferior
to many, as others think it.
He who looks at works of art and enjoys them should, for the sake of
others as well as himself, be independent of other minds in forming aud

412 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
expressing opinions, and should not hesitate, whatever may be the taste
and judgment of others, to regard the marvellous works of Turner as
wonders of the highest art or as mysterious daubs. The decadence of art
begins with loss of independence, and slavery to arbitrary rules which fet
ter it. The very life of the beautiful in all art is in freedom.
This subject opens up at once the question whether there is any per
manent standard of the beautiful. Is there any fixed law of beauty, or is
beauty purely and only a matter of notion, education, personal prejudice,
fashion, custom ? It is an old subject of difference of opinion, but the
student of ceramic art in all ages, and all its styles, cannot avoid the con
viction that there is no standard, and that in all matters of beauty, in art
as in nature, the old proverb holds good, De gustibus nil disputandum,
whether the taste be that of the palate, or the nose, or the eye, or the ear.
The first and strongest protest against this conclusion is aroused by
the use of that word " ear." It comes from those who insist that in music
there is a fixed standard of high art, and that to doubt or deny the supe
riority of this, that, and the other passage in the music of Mozart or Wag
ner, Beethoven or Chopin, is to write one's self down destitute of taste in
music. We will not stop to discuss the subject. The claim of a few
scores of people among the millions of modern civilization to be the sole
judges of what ought to be admired in music, is too absurd to be dis
cussed. What is called musical taste is a mere matter of education. We
can grant all that is claimed as to the greatness of favorite composers and
favorite operas, provided only it be remembered that this greatness is
measured by a standard of to-day, and that a few years hence the standard
may be changed, and the great musical works of this day may, and proba
bly will, be regarded as poor stuff by the people who will claim then to
be the only judges.
Very much the same thing is true of all works of art. No civilization
can boast of superiority to that of ancient Egypt, and probably no nation
that has existed since the days of the Bharaohs has been as highly edu
cated. Yet if you could recall to life that long buried social system
which shone with all possible brilliancy of intellectual culture in Mem
phis and Thebes three thousand years ago, and submit to it the works of
Baphael and Domenichino, you would not find prince, priest, noble, or
peasant who would give a silver ring or a lamb for the Communion of
St. Jerome, or for the Seggiola or the Sistine Madonna. And why not \
Surely not because they were not people of refinement and taste, but only
because their standards were other than ours, and what we think beautiful
they would not admire.

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 413
Or, again, if you could summon from his grave in the Bantheon the
great Baphael himself to be foreman, and choose from among the giants
in art a jury to try the issue, though Correggio, and Giulio Bomano, and
Guido, and Andrea del Sarto, and Murillo, and Albert Diirer, and Titian,
and other mighty men of fame, of varied tastes and differing styles and
standards, were on the panel, and to such a jury you should submit the
issue, Are Turner's works high art or not? are Madrazo's pictures works
of beauty ? is Meissonier an artist of enduring fame and power ? is this or
that favorite of the modern schools a painter ? the verdict would be unan
imous against them all. And why? Not because the taste of modern con
noisseurs is vicious and their judgment wrong, but only because the arbi
trary standards of the cinque-cento period are not the standards of our
tastes and times. If Baphael were painting to-day, he might possibly ed
ucate taste to his standard ; but if he came unknown and unheralded by
his old fame into the artistic field, he would not be estimated as highly as
many modern painters ; and Claude, painting as a new artist now, might
not easily earn his bread.
This seems extravagant, when so many eminent writers insist on
standards which they affirm to be everlasting standards in art. But these
standards are pure imaginations. New styles, bold violations of old rules
and conventionalisms, struck out by vigorous and daring artists, effect sud
den and radical changes in popular taste, because they educate the taste ;
and this they do precisely as a great cook produces a new dish. Men
might write volumes against the absurdity of liking roast lamb with mint
sauce ; but when a cook first served the abominable mixture, some one
liked it, and it won its way, and no one can prophesy how many millions
of dollars will be paid for the mint and the lamb in ages to come, or when
the dish will be classed among the relics of barbaric taste.
Do not think this illustration degrading to art. It is a fair and good
illustration, for the pleasure of the eye and the pleasure of the palate are
alike free, and both refuse to be guided by arbitrary instructors. One
may learn to like dishes that are at first disliked, and one may learn to
like pictures that are at first displeasing. But no one can like a picture
or a dish because Mr. A or Mr. B says it ought to be liked, or dislike it
because Mr. C or Mr. D condemns it. It will do no harm to repeat here
an illustration already noticed in an early section of this volume. To us
and our modern taste black is a symbol of sorrow. When it became such
is perhaps unknown. But it has become so by arbitrary taste. The old
Greeks of the fourth century before Christ were one of the most accom
plished races of men the world has known. Judged even by our own

414 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
standards, their civilization was of as high an order as ours. In architect
ure and sculpture we are proud of our approximations to their standards.
Their literature is the study of our schools. But the Greek drank his
wine at feasts from cups of brick-red or pale yellow, adorned with paint
ings in jet-black ; and when art in Greece reached its culmination, he only
changed them for cups of jet-black with pictures in brick-red. Who of
our puny modern race shall dare to say that the builders of the Barthe-
non and the temples on the banks of the Ilissus lacked good taste, because
black was with them a color of festal gayety ?
Whether an object is or is not beautiful can never be a subject of dis
cussion. No argument touches that question. It is a pure matter of as
sertion. For example, you stand before an object of art, or you hear a
passage of music, and you turn to your friend and say, " It is very beauti
ful." (For we have gotten to affirming beauty of sounds as well as sights,
and some people even talk of a beautiful odor, or a beautiful boat or
horse race.) Your friend says, " No, it is not beautiful ; it is wretched."
There the difference between you may as well end, for no discussion will
help you to agree. If you are sensible, you will say to yourself or to him,
" It is beautiful according to the arbitrary standard which I have been
educated to use, but it is not beautiful according to the standard he has
been taught to apply, and each of us has perfect right to his standard."
I know a man who by birth, education, personal character, and ability
is entitled to rank with any man in Europe or America. He lives in the
mansion or palace in which his fathers have lived before him for more
than seven hundred years, and his pedigree is stainless. He is a repre
sentative man, of a civilization not like ours, whose standards are wholly
different from ours, to which civilization we Christians owe very much in
all the arts, both useful and ornamental. He is an Arabian, of the blood
of the Prophet. In his house is a wealth of beauty, even by our stand
ards. There are walls whose arabesque decorations in enamelled pottery
are superb. There are lattices by wdiich the outer light enters through
lace-like meshes of wood-work which are bewildering in beauty. But this
accomplished gentleman, and his friends, men of Oriental culture, prefer
the nasal drone of the Arabian vocalist to the songs of the prima donnas
who successively reign in the Khedive's new opera-house, and would not
give a piastre for the finest paintings on the walls of all Italy. Not be
cause they are not men of taste and refinement, nor because their music
and decorative arts are better than ours, but because their standards of
beauty are arbitrary, precisely as are ours. And who are you or I that we
should assume higher powers of judgment, and assert the superiority of

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA.

415

our standards of taste over that civilization to which almost every dec
orated church and private house in New York owes more or less for the
most effective designs in color? I can imagine a critic undertaking to
teach those men what constitutes true beauty in art !
I have lingered on this subject, because it is of the highest practical
importance, especially in America, where as yet we have no characteristic
art. Independence of taste and judgment is the right and the duty of the
American student, and lover, and patron of art. Hitherto we have been
content to follow guides, adopt established tastes, buy what of the beauti
ful bears the stamp of European approval, judge our native work by rules
prejudged and determined in other countries. The time is surely at hand
when there may arise American schools of art, and it may well be hoped
that they will rise with freshness, vigor, individuality, and independence.
If Grecian schools of art had adopted the rules and tastes of the Phenician
schools, the glory of the Phidian age would never have shone through all
the centuries.
But let us pass on to a practical portion of the subject. We were
speaking of wall decoration. How to hang a pottery or porcelain dish on
a nail is a puzzle to many. Bound frames are easily made of wood to
hold costly and fragile pieces. These should be of no color as bright as
the color on the pieces. Gilded frames are rarely suitable. A plain dark
color is generally the best, and leaves the enclosed object more con
spicuous. Clasps or light frames of tin are sold which are equally secure. But
any one can, with a piece of brass or copper wire, make a
holder, with three or four ends turned over the rim of a
plate, which will hang it safely. Here is a pattern of a
holder (111. 299) which I have invented, and which any vil
lage can find a workman to make, which costs but a trifle,
and which, since it was invented, has led to the hanging of
many hundred beautiful plates formerly reposing in dark
closets. It consists of two pieces of annealed brass-wire, the size
of the wire varying according to the weight of the dishes
to be hung. A quite small wire is used for plates of din
ner size. The ring and the two lower arms are one piece
of wire, twisted together for three inches, more or less, be
low the ring. The two upper arms are one piece of wire,
wound in the middle in a spiral cylinder, just large enough
to slide freely up and down the twist of the lower arms.

299. Wire Frame
to hang Plates.

The play of

416 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
three inches determines the extremes of size, in dishes, which this frame
will hold ; and, of course, other frames can be made for larger or smaller
objects. Bend the four arms to fit the shape of the back of the plate ; fit the
lower loops on the rim ; slide the upper loops down to clasp the rim, and
tie them tight with a bit of string. The plate can then be hung, no part
of the wire being visible except the ends which clasp the rim.
And now to speak of cabinet collections. Within a few years many
persons in America have commenced the formation of these, and not a
few collections exist in private hands which are of great value, beauty, and
interest. The formation of a small collection of pottery and porcelain in
this country is not a difficult, though it may be a slow, process. But it is .
vastly better that a collection should grow slowly in the hands of a student
of art, than that he should acquire numerous specimens at one time. It
is not only a greater pleasure, but it leads to closer study, to gather piece
by piece. Many errors will naturally be made. Specimens which the
collector fancies rare will turn out, after resting awhile in the cabinet, to
be of small account. Experience will cost something : it is always worth
more when well paid for. But if the collector is guided by his love of the
beautiful, instead of a desire to possess rare varieties, his experiences will
be less costly and the benefits resulting will be greater.
America is much richer in good works of old art than is ordinari
ly supposed. Many families of respectability, education, and former
wealth came to this country in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
bringing with them more or less of their household treasures. Americans
have been for a century past extensive travellers, and have brought home
much of the artistic work of various countries. Bric-a-brac shops are, in
deed, unknown here. There is not one, so far as we know, in America,
which can be properly so called. But they will soon appear, and the coun
try will supply them with abundance of bric-a-brac. When our legislators
are wise enough to appreciate the educational value of works of art, and
to see that no principle of protection is involved in admitting duty free
all articles manufactured more than fifty years before the date of importa
tion, we may reach the end of the present barbarism which places a duty
on old armor, old porcelains and potteries, old engravings, paintings, and
other art products. This duty at present forbids the American collector
to compete with Europeans at auction sales in Europe, and especially ex
cludes the rarest and most important examples in all departments of art ;
for these are more costly because of their greater educational importance,
and the American ad valorem duty is greater precisely in proportion to

uujumuxuiCS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 417
the educational value of the article. Private collection is essential to the
formation of public museums. The latter grow rich only by absorbing
private gatherings.
I have an object to accomplish, in this free talk with my reader, whom
I believe to be a lover of art and willing to aid in this purpose, and I am
therefore persistent in directing his attention to it.
I have said that bric-a-brac shops are unknown here. They form no un
important part of the commercial business of other countries. When Eu
ropean bric-a-brac can come to us to be sold, hundreds of women will find
in our large towns pleasant and profitable business, and then the articles
already in America, now going to ruin in garrets and closets, will be gath
ered where collectors and museums can obtain them. Every European
town of a few thousand inhabitants has more or less such shops. It is an
important industry, not alone to those- who keep the shops, but to those
wdio have articles worth selling, and who need the money they will fetch.
With permission to import articles of virtu, we might hope to see Amer
ican dealers purchasing them in European markets, and American travel
lers, no longer fearing the annoyances of custom-houses, bringing home
with them illustrations of beautiful art, which will first be the delight of
local circles of friends, and finally gravitate into public museums.
I have no hesitation in begging the intelligent reader, man or woman,
to use personal effort in this behalf, to the end that at least works of old
art in all departments may be admitted duty free. Those who are not fa
miliar with the subject from sad experience have no idea of the impedi
ments which a custom-house places in the way of importing small art
treasures, and this in spite of the most courteous officers, and a hearty de
sire on their part to facilitate the process of importation. My own sor
rowful experience would, if recited, move the compassion of all lovers of
beautiful objects. Once a custom-house carpenter, in reclosing a case of
rare glass from Germany, drove a long nail through a priceless specimen,
whose cost and value were greater than that of all the other objects in the
case, and the replacement of which was impossible forever. Another case,
containing carved wood from Italy, was reclosed without restoring the in
terior guards and packing; and on the Government cart, in the streets of
New York, every object in the case was more or less damaged, and several
pieces were totally destroyed. I say nothing of the melancholy disappear
ance of beautiful things, leaving no fragments to be mourned over. One
cannot say how these disappearances occur.
Nor does the provision of our law admitting " cabinet collections of
antiquities" duty free in any manner aid us, since the Treasury Depart-
27

418 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
ment has made two interpretations of this 'provision, substantially annul
ling it. The Department has decided that the provision was not intended
to apply to private importations, and that "antiquities" are to be con
sidered as distinct from "modern" and "mediaeval" products, neither of
which last two can be admitted free. The technical distinction between
ancient and modern faience and porcelain has been long established as
after and before the beginning of the nineteenth century. It is so de
fined in all the scientific books. But our present system classes antiquities
in ceramic art as only the Egyptian, Phenician, Greek, and Boman ; and a
glazed Norman vase, or a Saracen tile of the fifteenth century, or an Ital
ian majolica dish, or an old Sevres plate, is subject to a duty equal to about
one-half its cost — not its intrinsic value as pottery, but its educational
value and cost as an illustrative specimen of art. It is, of course, clear
that the American collector who desires to purchase at European auction
sales cannot compete with European bidders, since he must add the heavy
customs duty to the price he pays for his specimen.
Americans are noted for their abundant willingness to purchase costly
articles in Europe. They will outbid all other purchasers in an open mar
ket, and America would become rapidly wrealthy in examples of art in
dustry, but that the market is closed by our own laws. In plain money
terms, this is the case : A lot of specimens of old faience and porcelain
is valued by European experts at £1000. A "foolish" American, who
wants the beautiful objects more than his money, is willing to give that,
or even £1250, for them. But if he bids £1000 and buys them, they will
cost him, delivered at his home in America, £1500 ; and if he gives £1250
for them, the cost will rise to £1875. A German, Frenchman, or Eng
lishman, of course, gets them for £1000, for there is no duty on them in
any European custom-house.
It is surely unnecessary to say that the question of protection of home
industry is not involved in this subject. The solitary argument which
has been uttered in favor of the existing law was the sweeping assertion
of a senator, in reply to several public institutions and private citizens
wdio asked a modification of the tariff on this point, that " it is only rich
men who want to buy such articles, and the revenue wants their money."
On tbe contrary, not alone a few rich men want the articles, but thousands
of citizens of moderate means desire to possess them, and to gather them
in cabinets ; and every thinking man wants them to come to America,
where they will, in time, fall into the possession of village, town, and city
museums, to become, as we have elsewhere in this volume shown clearly,
of inestimable importance to national wealth and industrial production.

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 419
The American collector is for the present confined to such articles as
are now here. The old potteries and porcelains which are most abun
dant in America are, of course, those which were imported for domestic
use in the last and present centuries. Among these were many of great
beauty, which would be treasures in any collection. They are chiefly Chi
nese, Japanese, and English wares. Of the Chinese porcelains of the last
century, great quantities were imported after the close of the Bevolution-
ary War. The blue-and-white is generally of ordinary character; but
many polychrome services of the manufacture of the time of Thang were
brought out, either by merchants or by ship-masters, for special gifts, and
specimens of much beauty are to be found in the possession of American
families. Besides these, many exceptional pieces of the rarer old Chinese wares
have found their way to America within the past century, and are some
times met with in the most unexpected places. Bow, Chelsea, and Derby
contributed very little to American home furniture in the last century,
but the remains of occasional services are met with. Wedgwood wares
are frequent. Lowestoft porcelain is more common than any other. It
seems to have been very largely exported hither, and three families out
of four who had porcelain at the beginning of the present century were
supplied with that ware. Next to this in quantity we have found the
New Hall. It abounds in old houses, and very beautiful specimens are
not uncommon. Turner's Caughley wares were sold to America in con
siderable quantity, both porcelain and pottery, but in general of the more
ordinary class. His pottery with blue printed decorations is often well
worth preserving. Cream-colored wares and salt-glazed stone-wares of
the latter part of the last and beginning of this century are abundant in
America ; and of the latter, many very beautiful and quaint old specimens
are to be found, moulded with good reliefs, colored and plain. It is gen
erally impossible to say at what factory these were made, but that is of
small consequence. The old teapots, graceful in form, well decorated,
queer and ancient in their very aspect, with borders of green leaves em
bossed, bouquets in colors, orange bands — odd combinations, but pretty
withal — are not to be despised as works of art, nor, when collectors begin
to appreciate them, will they be found sufficiently abundant for all. Cas
tleford teapots, with pretty relief lines in blue, or with well-executed me
dallions, are quite often found in old houses.
The printed Avares of England, from 1810 to 1825, were very largely
sold to America, and collectors here should not fail to gather specimens.
Staffordshire potters, especially Clews, of Cobridge, the Bidgways, Enoch

420 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
Wood & Sons, Bogers, and Biley, found an American market, and sent
not only their regular patterns, but produced a great many special patterns
of American subjects. The common notion that these printed wares are
valueless crockery leads collectors to neglect them. They are becoming
more and more rare, and will soon be highly prized. Some of them are
wonderfully good specimens of color.
I have mentioned these as the old wares most frequently met with in
American houses. It may, perhaps, be said that, as a general rule, an
American family accumulates a greater variety of porcelains and potteries
than a European family. This is due to the fact that Americans have al
ways purchased in markets supplied from various manufacturing sources.
For example, I know an old family wdiose porcelain and crockery, which
has come into the possession of the family by inheritance, includes ser
vices in Chinese, blue-and-white and polychrome, Japanese, Bow, Lowes
toft, Worcester, and New Hall porcelains ; and Jackfield, Liverpool, Cob
ridge, Shelton, and some other potteries. Thousands of American houses
have similar pantries, containing specimens of other and a great variety of
fabrics. I have purchased good specimens of old Sevres and Bouen from
French families in this country ; of Dresden, Hochst, and other German
factories from German families.
The frontispiece to this volume shows the decorative value of a few
old plates. It is not a fancy sketch, but a photographic copy of the
fireplace and chimney in a room in an old New England country-house.
The mantel is of plain wood, in old style, without ornament, and the ex
cellent taste of a lady who loves art has made it brilliant with enamels.
We only regret that we cannot give the colors to exhibit the charming
effect. The tiles which surround the fireplace are blue-and-white, deco
rated in quaint old patterns at Delft, except the corners, which are Vene
tian. Above them hangs a row of five ancient blue-and-white Chinese
and Japanese plates, of various patterns, all superb in color. On the man
tel stand from time to time such ornaments as suit the taste or the mood
of the lady. To-day there are two old square bottles of Chinese porce
lain, a pair of Sevres cups of very delicate work, a drug vase of Italian
majolica, and two tall vases of German glass, graceful in shape and rich
in color. On the wall hang both paintings and plates. The paintings
are water- colors, which generally harmonize better than oil-paintings
with enamels. None of the plates hanging here are painted with sub
jects. It is not often that pottery or porcelain with subject paintings can
be hung with other paintings. But each of these plates is a gem of color.
The lower one of the three in the middle is a wonderful piece of old Jap-

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 421
anese splendor, a wild intermingling of every color known to ceramic art,
in leaves, flowers, and emblematic designs around the arms, or insignia, of
a prince. Above it is a plate of " porcelaine des Indes," which might be
mistaken for Lowestoft, and above this a large Delft dish. The plate at
the right is by Wedgwood, and (a rare occurrence) on its back is the name
of the person for whom the service was made — a New Englander of the
last century. There are some very rare and very beautiful ceramic treas
ures in cabinets on the other sides of the room ; but this chimney is impor
tant to our purposes, as well as beautiful, for many of the plates are rep
resentatives of old services in the family, and all the specimens here visi
ble, including those on the mantel, excepting only the Venetian tiles, were
obtained in this country. There is no one specimen which for beauty
and decorative effect is not worth much more than its weight in silver.
It is a very easy matter for any one, with patience and taste, thus to
make a room brilliant, cheery, and full of bright thoughts. There is prob
ably no New England village, dating its settlement from the last century,
which could not furnish material for many such decorations.
One or two personal incidents will serve to afford encouragement to
the American collector. Some years ago an aged German gentleman in
New York, about to return to Europe, asked me to call at his house and
examine, with reference to purchasing, a small collection of porcelain,
which he had formed in his youth in Germany. The result was the acqui
sition of some delicious figurines of Dresden, Frankenthal, Ludwigsburg,
and notably several beautiful works of Melchior at Hochst. These formed
a cabinet collection purchased for that purpose. But when about to take
my leave, I jocularly asked the wife of my old friend if she also had not
some china in her pantry to sell. She replied, with a laugh, that she had
plenty of old crockery, but not of a sort any one would care for. Would
she show it ? " Certainly." And in a few moments a servant covered
the floor of the room with Fiirstenberg porcelain, Niderviller faience of
Beverly's time, Delft dishes, large and small, decorated in queer old pat
terns, Leeds pottery baskets and dishes, Wedgwood cream -ware, an old
Chinese dish of great beauty, and a miscellaneous lot of other specimens.
Driving through the country in pleasant Octobers, we have sometimes
found our way into pantries of old houses, and not always without reward.
Chatting on the portico of a village inn one day with a man who seemed
to know the neighborhood, we heard the family histories of most of the
inhabitants, and, among other things, the account of a house out of which
the old folks had died, and which the young folks were refurnishing.
" What did they do with the old furniture?" "But it all in the garret."

422 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
" Why not sell it ?" " Who to ? They'd be glad enough to sell it if any
body would give anything for it." " Could we see it?" "I s'pose so. If
you want to look, I'll go and ask him." The result was a visit to the gar
ret, not far away. It was a wonderful place, that garret. The house was
old, the family one of property and position for nearly two hundred years.
The garret contained piles of ancient furniture, and a wreck of pottery
and porcelain that was sad and solemn in the eyes of a collector. Old
blue-and-white Chinese wares were literally trodden underfoot, for the
floor was covered with fragments of an immense service, crushed into
thousands of pieces, and mingled with the similar relics of an old English
cream-ware service delicately painted. Out of that wreck we rescued in
good order some rare Chinese plates with polychrome decorations, the
Liverpool mug with portrait of the Honorable John Hancock, elsewhere
illustrated, a good old Wedgwood cup and saucer, and a few other pieces
of English fabrics. The want of a bric-a-brac shop in the neighborhood
had led to the destruction of much good porcelain in that garret, where
it was treated as worthless trash.
These are not uncommon incidents. We have found fine specimens
of Bouen, Nevers, Delft, Dresden, Sevres, Bow, Derby, and many other
factories in New York "second-hand" shops, and no country in the world
presents better opportunity for the gathering of Chinese and Japanese
wares of polychrome decoration, which are fully as interesting and beau
tiful as any other class.
A word of advice to the beginner who is gathering specimens. It
should not be necessary to give such rudimentary advice, but the experi
ence of every collector who is consulted by beginners will confirm its ne
cessity. Your first question, iu examining a specimen, should be, " What
is it ?" Determine the material first of all. Is it pottery or porcelain,
hard-paste or soft-paste ? Hold it up to the light. If it is thick, use a
strong light. Endeavor to see the shadow of your fingers through it. If
any light comes through it, it is porcelain. Do not be hasty in deciding.
Many colored porcelains and many thick porcelain pieces are nearly
opaque. If it be porcelain, next determine whether it is soft -paste or
hard-paste. Your touch will need experience before you can depend on
it. If permitted, try the bottom rim with a file. If the glaze covers the
bottom rim, it is probably soft-paste, but this is not' always the case. The
determination of the character of the ware is preliminary to looking at
the mark, if there be one on the piece. Consult the Tables of Marks in
this volume for the meaning of any mark you may find. Berhaps it will
not be in the Tables. No index of marks is yet complete. Every year

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 423
adds information on this subject. Nor are the marks of very modern fac
tories given here, except in connection with ancient marks of the same
factory. Experience will soon teach you to recognize most modern colors
and styles as distinct from the old. Do not ask an experienced collector
for information about a piece, unless you show it to him, or can give him
an exact description, stating the material and the definite characteristics
of the specimen, with a fac-simile of the mark, if there be one, and a copy
of the decoration, if it cannot be clearly described in words.
Let us now talk about the cost of specimens. The value of old pottery
and porcelain depends on many circumstances. The rivalry of collectors,
and the temporary run on certain factories, whose works it is, for the time,
the fashion to collect, may change entirely the auction prices. ' Specimens
of Bristol, Dresden, Chelsea, Sevres, China, Worcester, may be at one time
sought, and the prices rise ; a year or two may change the mania, and the
prices fall. But fine artistic works, of whatever fabric, have always a
tolerably well-maintained value. In America prices are wholly unestab-
lished, and in general absurd. The few dealers who sometimes sell old
china do not profess to much knowledge of the subject, and fix prices
which are ridiculously cheap on some articles and ridiculously dear on
others. We have seen an ordinary specimen of a common German fac
tory worth a dollar or two marked $15, and by its side a beautiful Sevres
dejeuner service of 1782 decorated by Baudouin, with factory and artist's
signatures, priced at $12.
In general, however, the American prices are much higher than the
value of the articles, for the reason that dealers, and too frequently pur
chasers also, value specimens because of factories, and not because of their
artistic merit. The mere presence of an old Worcester, Dresden, or other
mark is thought to make any specimen highly valuable. A little com
mon-sense advice may do good. Antiquity adds nothing to the value of
a specimen unless it has some historical or artistic value apart from its
age. Beautiful art, of whatever factory the product, is valuable. Beau
tiful art of rare old fabrics is more valuable because such specimens are
sought. But a beautiful work of an uninteresting factory is worth more
than a poor work of a renowned factory. Specimens of common products
of Sevres, Dresden, Capo-di-Monte, Chelsea, and other celebrated factories
are desirable, in large collections, as illustrations of ordinary commercial
work. But in small private collections the wares of the most renowned
factories are valuable only when they are specimens of beautiful work.
The value of Italian majolica depends wholly on the merit of the
pieces. A rapid rise in the prices of these fabrics has occurred within a

424 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
few years, since they first began to interest collectors. Specimens sold by
auction for £10 a few years ago became worth £100. High prices, how
ever, are paid only for works of high art. The range of prices is from £1
to £100, exceptionally fine specimens only bringing the latter price, and
a very few exceedingly rare and fine pieces bringing whatever higher
prices the desire of collectors may lead them to pay. The large majority
of specimens are not the high-priced; few are worth £50, much fewer
worth £100.
The prices of Faience d'Oiron are limited only by the fancies of col
lectors. The specimens of this ware known are all catalogued, at esti
mated valuations ranging from £100 to £1500.
Extracts from a few catalogues of recent sales in England will show
the range of prices of some wares, and the great variation. It is difficult
to obtain an idea of the real value of articles from such catalogues, without
personal inspection of the objects. Condition, color, quality of decoration,
the presence or absence of a mark, numerous unexplained circumstances,
vary the prices. These extracts will suffice to show the collector that
much caution is needed in purchasing expensive pieces, different examples
of the same piece (such as a Bow milk-jug with the bee) bringing very
different prices, according to condition, quality, and the circumstances of
the sale. PRICES OF SEVRES: BERXAL SALE, 1855.
In March, 1855, the collection of works of art of the late Ealph Bernal, Esq., in
cluding a large amount of pottery and porcelain, was sold at auction in London.
The prices obtained for Sevres wares were supposed to mark the highest limit
which they would be likely to attain, and the prices of fine specimens of such kinds
as are more commonly met with have not materially advanced ; while vieux Sevres
vases of fine character have since that date advanced enormously. £ s d.
Cup and saucer, blue-ribbon border, roses in compartments  5 5 0
" apple-green, exotic birds in compartments  1 17 6
" gros bleu, with Cupids  17 17 0
" green, Venus chastising Cupid, and a dog, in landscape  26 00
" two children, etc., painted by Leguay  22 10
" green, figures, etc., painted by Chabry and Merault  55 0 0
" gros bleu and green, with Cupids  18 11 6
" gros bleu and green, children, painted by Viellard  27 6 0
" turquoise, exotic birds  9 9 0
" gros bleu, figures in landscape, pah.tjd by Chabry  32 11 0
" gros bleu, nymph reposing, painted by Chabry  6 60
" Rose Du Barri, landscapes, 1757  22 0 0
" white, Cupids in blue, painted by Dodet, 1763  19 19 0
" gros bleu, exotic birds  4 4 0

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 425
JL I. (1.
Cup and saucer, deep-blue borders, wreaths of roses  5 0 0
" " gros bleu and gold, seaports and figures, painted by Morin, 1770  95 0 0
" " jewelled, gros bleu, medallion portraits suspended from gold wreaths,
ruby and pearl border above, painted by Leguay  80 0 0
" " white, peasant-girl, etc., in landscape, painted by Noel  54 12 o
" " gros bleu, two soldiers carousing, painted by Morin, 1772  160 0 0
" " gros bleu, groups of Oriental figures, painted by Leguay  107 0 o
Ecuelle, cover and stand, gros bleu, six subjects of Cupids, painted by Chabry, 1771 .... 125 0 0
Plate, gros-bleu border, white spots, exotic birds, flowers in centre  4 15 0
" turquoise border, flowers and grapes  2 15 O
" green border, medallions of birds, flowers  3 18 0
" borders imitating Limoge enamel, figures and arabesques  3 50
Vase, handles goats' heads, gros bleu, medallion of Fame recording events of Time, bou
quet of flowers on reverse, mounted on plinth, 14 inches high (bought for £17)  127 1 0
Vase, gros bleu, Venus, Adonis, and Cupid, painted by Pavon, 16-J- inches high  223 13 0
Vases (a pair), gros bleu, pencilled with gold stripes, medallion of sacrifice to Venus
and Bacchus, mounted on ormolu plinths, 14 inches high  700 0 0
Vase, gros bleu, richly ornamented handles and festoons of leaves raised, medallion
painted with a peasant and girls gathering cherries, a donkey, etc., in landscape,
group of flowers on reverse, 18 inches high  871 10 0
Vases (a pair), gros bleu, handles ornamented with foliage, resting on masks, paintings
by Gremont, nymph at a bath; on reverse, flowers, fluted stems, square plinths, 15-J-
incheshigh  900 0 0
Vases (a pair), Rose Du Barri, groups of Cupids in medallions, 14^ inches high  1942 10 0
Vases (a pair), turquoise, medallions of a shepherdess with sheep and a dog, and a
girl bathing her feet, 18 inches high  1417 10 0
Later sales have indicated a great increase in the passion for vieux Sevres. At
Mr. Angerstein's sale, three green jardinieres and stands, with pastoral figures after
Boucher, and fruit and flowers, brought 475 guineas. At Lady Truro's sale, three
eventail jardinieres, white and green ribbons, with Cupids, date 1757, brought 1750
guineas. At P. Solomon's sale, a cup and saucer brought 81 guineas, another 105,
another 110, and another 140 guineas. At Captain Rickett's sale, a bleu-de-roi
vase, 16| inches high, painted with figures fishing, brought 1350 guineas; and a
cup and saucer, with Chinese figures, £161.
PRICES AT SALE OF THE COLLECTION OF A. MORSE, ESQ., LONDON, MARCH, 1876.
Bow : £ >. i.
Figure of Winter  6 7 6
Two dogs in an arbor  2 10 0
Milk-jug, form of two goats, bee in relief  ° 5 0
Figure of Neptune, 9 inches high  8 15 0
Butter-boat  ° 13 °
Bristol :
Pair of butter-boats, embossed and painted with flowers  4 15 0
Mug, flowers and insects  *> ^ f)
Pair of figures, shepherd and milkmaid  126 0 0

426 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.

Chelsea : £ s d.
Pair of pastoral figures  I2 15 °
Figure, Romeo, 12-J- inches high  27 ° 0
" Milton, 12 inches high  8 10 0
Pair of figures, pedlers  52 0 0
Teapot, flowers  1 5 0
Coffee-pot, flowers  3 15 °
Cup and saucer, gold and flowers  3 9 0
Plate, flowers  2 ° °
Fruit-dish, fruit, flowers, insects  3 15 °
Figure, girl by urn, 8£ inches high  6 0 0
Vase, florid rococo style, raised flowers, medallions of Cupids  25 4 0
Chelsea Derby :
Four figures, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, 13 inches high  74 11 0
Derby :
Plate, medallion of hunting subject  2 4 0
Cream-ewer, helmet shape, gold and blue  0 15 0
Vase, 13 inches high, landscapes  11 0 0
Vase, medallion, birds  2 0 0
Cup and saucer, flowers  0 9 0
Pair of vases, mask handles, bird  3 3 0
Plymouth :
Pair of groups, Cupids and goats, 8 inches high  28 7 0
Open-work basket, white, with raised flowers  4 0 0
Salt-stands, pair, encrusted with shells  6 16 0
" rustic groups, foliage, etc  42 0 0
Swansea :
Cup and saucer, flowers  2 0 0
Plate, large bouquet  5 5 0
Pair of plates, fruit, flowers, birds  2 15 0
Worcester :
Mug, parrots and fruit  0 15 0
Two cream-jugs, Chinese figures, etc  0 7 0
Pair of coffee-cups, print, garden party  2 15 0
Cup and saucer, flowers in blue  1 5 0
" " turquoise borders, flowers  3 12 0
" " green border, flowers  1 5 0
Mug, turquoise border, flowers, etc  5 15 0
Two plates, blue and gold border, birds  6 10 0
Teapot, salmon-scale ground, medallions of flowers  5 15 0
Cup and saucer, salmon-scale ground, medallions of flowers  3 30
Mug, Hancock print, Marquis of Granby  5 5 0
Half -pint mug, Hancock print, birds  3 14 0
Jug, 8 inches high, exotic birds, square mark  36 0 0
Five cups and saucers, blue, crescent mark  1 17 0
Mask jug, blue and gilt, crescent mark  3 15 0
Plate, birds and insects in compartments, square mark  14 0 0
Plate, print, the garden party, square mark  2 5 0
Six mugs, blue, crescent mark  4 8 0

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 427
Worcester, continued : £ 8 d
Two mugs, blue, crescent mark  I 0 0
Jug, 9 inches high, mask lip, canary ground, painted flowers and insects, panels with
prints  37 10 0
Miscellaneous :
Pair of New Hall plates  1 16 0
Pair of plates, roses and gilt, signed Rose Coalport  2 00
Spode vase, landscape in lake  1 2 0
Spode basket, beautifully painted view in Surrey  2 0 0
Two Pinxton mugs, landscapes  1 10 0
Battersea enamels, boxes, etc., from £1 to  2 6 0
Capo-di-Monte, white group, lovers  6 6 0
Dresden group, lovers  13 13 0
Another Dresden group  16 0 0
Wedgwood & Bentley vase  10 5 0
Another, black ware  3 17 6
Wedgwood medallion of Napoleon  1 0 0
SALE OF COLLECTION OF PHILIP P. COTHER, ESQ., LONDON, FEBRUARY, 1875.
Bow: £ .. d.
Cream-jug, goats and bee  25 10 0
Cup and saucer, pine-cone surface  3 15 0
Bristol :
Two cups and saucers, blue  1 10
Cup and saucer of the celebrated Champion-Burke service  83 0 0
(One sold at the Walker sale for £90, and at Edkin's sale for £93.)
Two figures, shepherd and shepherdess  31 16 0
Figure of Spring, white (engraved in Owen, Plate SI.)  54 0 0
Capo-di-Monte :
Cup and saucer, with Triumph of Neptune and Rape of Proserpine in relief  22 10 0
Another, classical subject  7 10 0
Another, later period  3 3 0
Group, a satyr and Cupid on a goat  2 2 0
Derby :
Four figures, the Elements  31 0 0
Pair of groups, mother and child, and Doddridge and his mother  20 0 0
Vase and cover, views and river-scenes in sepia  3 12 6
Turquoise vase, birds  5 10 0
Dresden :
Cup and saucer, Marcolini, gros-bleu ground, nymphs after Angelica Kauffman  14 0 0
Cup and saucer, subjects after Watteau  8 5 0
Teapot, landscape in pink  »  1 15 0
Cup and saucer, landscape and seaport  1 18 0
Plymouth :
Mug, gold chain border, exotic birds in a landscape  41 10 0
Another, smaller, birds in landscape  7 5 0
Nantgarrow :
Plate, impressed borders, in centre flowers  4 4 0
Pair of vases, blue, flowers by Pardoe  6 10 0

428 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
Miscellaneous : je ». j.
Sevres cup and saucer, Venus and Adonis, by Taillandier  7 10 0
St. Cloud cup and saucer, Trou's mark  1 6 0
Tournay cup and saucer, battle scenes  4 6 0
Menecy sucrier, landscape and river scenes  7 5 0
Vienna plate, Eneas and Dido, gold and floral border  18 0 0
Vienna cup and saucer, rose ground, nymph and Cupid  8 0 0
Herend tankard, serpent and lizard handles, perforated, and enamelled in colors .... 11 00
Worcester hexagonal vase, salmon-scale ground, exotic birds, square mark  158 0 0
Worcester oviform vase, blue, birds and plants in Japan style, square mark  32 0 0
Cup and saucer, bouquets, Dr. Wall's mark  13 15 0
Cup and saucer, gros bleu, animals in rich gold borders, square mark  20 15 0
At this sale, among other property, six plates, gold borders, painted with plants,
marked " Leeds pottery," brought £2 4s. ; Chelsea groups brought from £3 to £29.
SALE OF COLLECTION OF DR. F. GIBSON, LONDON, MARCH, 1877.
[This collection was exclusively fine old Wedgwood ware.]
Wedgwood : x , d
Thirty-seven medallions in black basaltes, Roman emperors  15 4 6
Erasmus, black basaltes medallion  4 4 0
Others in same ware, from £1 to  2 2 0
White biscuit medallion of Thomas Bentley  5 0 0
" " Sir William Hamilton  4 10 0
Others, from £1 Is. to  1 17 6
Blue jasper medallions, by Wedgwood & Bentley, of Sully, £6 6s. ; Pataologos,
£7 17s. 6d. ; Dr. Franklin, £12 12s. ; Admiral Keppel, £8 18s. 6d. ; Captain
Cook, £15 15s.
Blue jasper medallions, by Wedgwood, of Shakespeare, £16 16s. ; Garrick, £17 17s. ;
Reynolds, £9 9s. ; William Franklin, £5 15s. 6d. ; Josiah Wedgwood, £10 10s. ;
Benjamin Franklin, in fur cap, £11.
Venus Callipyges, medallion oval, white on purple  15 15 0
Flora, the companion oval  18 18 0
Apollo and the Muses, ten oval blue-and-white plaques  79 16 0
Twenty-three medallions in a frame  . 94 10 0
Eighteen medallions in a frame  _ 99 15 0
Thirty-seven medallions in a frame  . . 115 10 0
Blue jasper flower-pot, reliefs  7 j q
Blue jasper vases, £8 18s. 6d. and  10 10 0
White biscuit bust, Voltaire  28 7 0
Oviform vase, pale-blue jasper, white reliefs  90 6 0
Oviform vase, blue jasper, white relief, Hercules in garden of the Hesperides, 14
inches, by Flaxman  120 15 0
Another, similar, by Lady Beauclerc  _ 100 16 0
Companion to last  105 0 0
Head of Medusa, medallion, blue-and-white jasper, 5£ inches diameter, by Wedg
wood & Bentley  52 10 0
Plaque, Apollo and four Muses, blue-and-white jasper, 15£ x 6J inches, by Flaxman. 131 5 0
Companion plaque, Muses  .131 5 0

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 429
Wedgwood — continued: £ „, d.
Offering to Peace, by Flaxman, 10J X Si inches  99 15 0
Achilles dragging body of Hector around Troy, 18-J- x 5f inches  121 16 0
Priam begging body of Hector, 15X6-J- inches  136 10 0
Other plaques, £44, £46, £98, £25, £19, £50, £5 5s.
Vase, black jasper, reliefs in white, Apotheosis of Homer, head of Medusa, Pegasus
on the cover, other rich relief ornaments, 25 inches high with pedestal, on which
sacrifice to Flora and to Cupid, etc  735 0 0
It is quite impossible to give the collector any definite information of
the value of Oriental porcelains without the presence of examples. A
slight variation in the shade of color in a blue, or red, or other specimen
makes a vast difference in its rarity. Fashion among collectors, also, con
trols the prices of Chinese and Japanese wares more than those of any
other fabrics. Old blue-and-white is now much sought, and very costly if
fine. Nor is there any established rate of prices. In the Centennial Ex
hibition at Fhiladelphia (where very few good specimens of old Chinese
ware were shown), we saw in the Chinese department a vase of a rare
shade in blue marked as " sold " for one hundred and fifty dollars, and on
the same day a much finer specimen of the same shade offered in a deal
er's window for seventy dollars. There are specimens of Chinese color
which are excessively rare, and the makers did not exaggerate when they
compared them to gems. These are costly, and worth whatever the ad
mirer can persuade himself to give for them ; for to possess these speci
mens of enamel color is worth more than money to one who has money
to expend. They are unfading beauties. Such are some of the blues,
and some rarely seen specimens of iridescent liver-color. But among Eu
ropean dealers I have found the prices of even the most rare colors vary
ing fifty per cent, in shops, and almost never approximating to uniformity
in different 'cities. The collector must therefore be left to bargain with
the dealers for Oriental porcelains, and to bid at auction sales, just accord
ing to the force which his admiration of an article exerts on his purse.
The prices which have been quoted will serve to show the American
collector the great difference in the estimated value of different works of
the same factories. This, as in all other classes of art, is a mere question
of the merit of the work. An old Sevres cup and saucer may be worth
one pound or a hundred and fifty pounds, precisely as a piece of painted
canvas may be worthless or priceless.
It would be quite useless to enter into discussion with lovers of paint
ing who think that there is no possible merit in decorations on enamels
considered as paintings. This is a pure question of taste and education,
and we who admire the work of some artists on pottery and porcelain

430 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
have as good right to our preferences, and as ample justification of our
expenditures, as they who buy canvas and panel. I have flower paintings
on porcelain which I would not exchange for any canvas I have ever seen ;
nor would I part with some heads and subjects in miniature, on Dresden,
Sevres, and Capo-di-Monte, for any miniature work that I have seen of
any artists on ivory, paper, or panel. My friend laughs at me, and points
to his gems of modern European art as the illustrations of a correct taste
in paintings. And I laugh at him, pitying his inability to appreciate what
I admire, and so we are even. And both are right, for both love the beau
tiful in different developments.
If art study be guided aright, with deference to the varying tastes
and the different constitution of men's minds, with hesitation in forming
opinions, but independence and firmness in opinions when formed, it will
have perhaps a greater influence on personal character than any other or
dinary study. As the more men know in general, the more they appre
ciate their own ignorance, so increased knowledge of art history and the
study of examples makes men more teachable, increasing constantly that
humility which regards great artists and great works of art as masters and
books from which we are to learn, and not as objects of ignorant discus
sion and criticism.
The judicious student will keep in mind the truth that every work of
art is an embodiment of thought; that examples of art are, like books,
some worse than worthless, others volumes of truth ; that collections are
libraries of reference, condensations of artistic learning, not without occa
sional instructive examples of artistic ignorance or folly, sometimes assem
blies of the whole art mind of a century or an age. Thus the study can
not fail to become elevating and refining, expanding the mind and teach
ing it sympathy in thought and feeling with the whole race of man, which
has from all time found expression for its emotions in these examples
which we collect and study.
The mere possession of and constant association with things beauti
ful, without study, will have good influence on character. The presence
of fine-art products exerts a power over the rudest intellect. The crowds
who sometimes attend art exhibitions on public days, as in the Metropoli
tan Museum of Art in ISTew York, including all classes of society, are in
variably orderly, kindly disposed to one another, readily yielding posi
tions, each anxious that all should see and enjoy beautiful objects. This
influence is no mystery. Examples are exceedingly rare of persons who
desire to monopolize the knowledge and sight of beauty. On the con
trary, it seems to be innate in all men to desire that others should share

wiijiwwM AND COLLECTING IN AMERICA. 431
with them the pleasure of looking at beautiful scenes or objects. Berhaps
it is because the beautiful, in nature or in art, never wastes, becomes no
less rich, however many eyes and minds feast on it. But I prefer to
think that men have, in the presence of the beautiful, more than in ordi
nary life, the sense of universal brotherhood. Beyond cavil, museums of
art are educational institutions of the highest value, and have at least as
great civilizing power in communities as high schools and colleges.
But if my reader insists on a utilitarian view of art, and asks what is
the practical value of beauty in a community or a nation, I refer him to
what has been said of the history of ceramic art in England, and the in
dustrial results which have there followed the making of collections of
pottery and porcelain within a century.
The great industrial value of this art is hardly known in our country.
The ability to make beautiful things is here, and thousands of men and
women would find employment fitted to their talents in the decorative
arts if the market were created which would justify the establishment of
potteries of the higher class Every collection of " old china," however
small, helps towards the education of the people and the creation of the
desire to possess beautiful porcelain and pottery for home use. Thus, and
thus only, the market is to be established. Here and there, all over the
country, these small influences will unite with each other ; and at length
the great object of the sensible political economist will be accomplished,
and beauty in household potteries will furnish a new employment among
the industrial pursuits of our country. A collection of beautiful ceramic
specimens has in it a power similar to that which reposes in the water of
the lake before my cabin, which sparkles in the light of the August moon
as I write these concluding pages. Bretty, charming, even grand in scen
ery, but in the forest, thousands of feet above the sea, it is apparently a
very useless bit of beauty. But the stream that flows from it, receiving
and uniting with streams from springs and lakes scattered here and there
among the hills, becomes the Merrimac, turns the wheels of innumerable
mills, and gives employment, bread, and clothing to a hundred thousand
people. It is a trite illustration, but the utilitarian or the political econo
mist has perhaps never applied it to beauty in art, as a power to be ex
erted among the industries of a people. Nevertheless, the history of our
subject is full of evidences of the truth that beautiful art is a very good
thing to cultivate for the market, never supplying, but, on the contrary,
always increasing the demand.
As I approach the end of my work, I desire to impress on the minds
of collectors, especially young persons, the importance of making their col-

432 POTTERY AND PORCELAIN IN AMERICA.
lections useful, and not mere gatherings of rarities. It is a waste of time
and money to collect articles only because other people wish them, and
they are therefore prized. To one who collects pottery and porcelain only
because it is the fashion, and who buys rarities only for the sake of pos
sessing them, a collection of postage- stamps would be more useful. Lie
might from that learn at least something of geography, while from his
ceramic collection formed on such principles he is certainly not the per
son to learn anything whatever. Collect for art study, or for historical
study, or for the love of the beautiful, the study and enjoyment of the
beautiful. But what shall one do with a collection of beautiful works of art when
one can no longer enjoy them ? For the day comes when the delight of
the eye fades, and the beautiful things of human art become of no account
to us. Art outlasts the artist, and remains, the perpetuation of thought,
for good or evil influence. The collector has a mission, not only in gath
ering for his own enjoyment and instruction, but in handing down to his
children or to succeeding generations the means of pleasure and profit.
It is something to have left behind one in the world that which will give
even a moment of happy rest and refreshment to one of the weary labor
ers of times to be. It is something more to have left that which will in
struct, improve, and benefit others. Whoever he was that showed the
enamelled cup to Balissy had small thought of the vast consequences to
follow. There are museums of art in many American cities, and histor
ical and other museums in hundreds of our large and small towns and vil
lages. Make your will, and if you have no children who will be educated
and benefited by your art collections, in whatever department, give them
to a museum of art or other public institution. No matter how few they
are, or how apparently worthless. Every drop of water on the mountain
helps to form the mill-driving river.

PAET VI.
MARKS ON POTTERY AND POR
CELAIN.

Three classes of marks found on pottery and porcelain are important: 1. Fac
tory marks ; 2. Artists' marks ; 3. Dates. These are either painted, printed, sten
cilled, impressed, embossed, or scratched in the paste. Some factories used no mark.
At all factories it was common to mark only the larger pieces in services, sometimes
the sugar-bowl only, and but one of a set of vases. Frequently the mark was en
tirely omitted. Workmen's marks — scratches, letters, numbers — are rarely impor
tant, having been made only to identify work for payment by the piece. Names
of special patterns on printed wares, and private numbers for reference to factory
pattern-books, are common. The same factory used different marks at different
periods. Several marks sometimes occur on the same piece. One factory mark
indicates the maker of the ware, another the place of decoration. So, too, a speci
men, as often with Sevres, has factory, artists', and gilders' marks, each with its
date. Artists' signatures are sometimes in full on the painting, generally in initials,
monogram, or adopted device, on the bottom of the piece.
The marks in the following tables are mostly fac-similes from specimens ; but
when painted or scratched, the form often varies greatly, and sometimes a mark
must be studied out with hard labor, or even guessed at, by the aid of characteris
tics of the work. New marks are found from year to year, both of known and
unknown factories. Thus our list of marks on Sevres porcelain, being the latest, is
the longest hitherto published, but will extend in future works.
The same device was often used by different factories, and care must be taken
in distinguishing the specimens.
The mark is usually on the bottom of the piece, sometimes on the bottom rim,
occasionally on the side, as in some pieces of Chelsea and of Liverpool wares.
Marks, including the names of potters and of places, vary in form, and it has not
been regarded as necessary to give all the forms.
In consulting these tables, it is important to refer to the text in the volume,,
where, in many cases, information is given concerning the marks of factories.
28

434 MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

ITALY. 435

POTTEEY OF ITALY.
1-25. Caffagiuolo. The most frequent form of mark is that seen in Nos. 1, 4, 5,
6, 7, in which a P has a dash across the upright, while the curved line at top is
continued upward to make an S, thus forming a monogram which includes S.
P. F. (Senatus Populus Florentinus ?) or S. P. R. (Senatus Populus Romanus ?).
Both these inscriptions are of frequent occurrence in Caffagiuolo decorations.
The form of this mark varies greatly, sometimes being little more than a P,
the lower part crossed by a waving line. It is found in one instance on Da
mascus ware.
3. Doubtful. Mr. Fortnum says Faenza. (S. K. Cat., p. 492.)
5. On a plate also marked In Chaffaggiuolo.
6. On a plate also marked Cafagioli, and on a dish marked In Caffagiuollo.
9. The usual mark, with C or G, and under it In galiano nell ano 1547 ; under this
the artist's initials, A F / (ecif). Galiano is a village near Caffagiuolo, where
the artist, perhaps, worked.
11. An undeciphered mark on an early plate with the Virgin and Child. This is
not certainly of Caffagiuolo, but possibly of Faenza. (S. K. Cat., 90, and Mar
ryat, p. 104.)
12. Three marks, uncertain. One on a plate in the collection of Baron Gustave de
Rothschild is dated 1507.

436

MARES ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

21 22 23

r°9

a©

2!)

31

32

tf

IP

34
PISA

RAFAELLoGlROLA/WO FECIT
TPE ^ p©

39

bOHSIORSTO 14X9

42

/uV

43
!)27
ITALY. 437
21-30. Caffagiuolo. Marks 24, 28, 29, 30 are doubtful. 26 occurs in very large
size on a dish attributed by Delange to Faenza, by Mr. Fortnum to Caffagiuolo.
31, 32, 33. Siena. 31 is on a plate painted in blue " a porcelan," and is a mark of
Maestro Benedetto, chief potter artist there. 32 has been mistaken for a mark
of Pesaro. 32 and 33 are also assigned to Benedetto, but Mr. Fortnum thinks
them initials of owners of the objects. See page 449, mark 200.
34. Pisa. See text.
35. Unknown. On a box with emblems of Cosmo de' Medici.
36, 37, 38. Monte Lupo. 38 is on a dish dated 1663, and has been assigned by
some to Monte Feltro.
39-47. Gubbio. These are various forms of the signature of Maestro Giorgio An-
dreoli ; 43 is, perhaps, most frequent. These fac-similes do not give size. The
marks are frequently very large. The upper initials in 39 are, perhaps, those of
the owner.

438

MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

ITALY. 439
47-61. Gubbio.
47. Mark of Maestro Giorgio in very large size on dish with bathing scene, called
"Diana and her Nymphs surprised, etc.," described in text, p. 167.
48. A similar form of mark was used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on
goods, etc., by merchants ; also found on merchants' seals. More commonly the
top forms a figure 4. Perhaps it is a trade-mark of a merchant. A similar
form occurring in mark 52 is thought by Jacquemart to indicate ecclesiastical
dignitaries, or pharmacies attached to monasteries. The mark 48 occurs on
several pieces.
49, 50. Maestro Giorgio.
51. G. A., for Giorgio Andreoli.
52. Maestro Giorgio, with mercantile or religious sign. See mark 48, above.
53,54. Maestro Giorgio : some read Maestro Gillio.
55. Gubbio, supposed later than Giorgio.
56. On a dish by Giorgio, dated 1518.
59-61. Marks assigned to Maestro Vincenzio, or Cencio.

440

MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

m. i , 64 65 06

¦1 r

OS

TI

Am 6'

¦Mfr

73

t

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HyH

¦y *fa,f u t (a fkef fcu to.y

82

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S5
CONPOL-DISCASA

e la 6 ate
nol/layA^o

ITALY. 441
62. Gubbio.
63. Gubbio. Mark of the Master Prestino, whose signature also occurs in full.
64. Gubbio. Probably Maestro Vincenzio.
65. Gubbio.
66. Gubbio or Diruta. Uncertain.
67. Gubbio.
68. Gubbio. Jacquemart thinks the letters mean Mater Gloriosa, not Maestro
Giorgio.
69. Gubbio. Probably Prestino.
70, 71, 72, 73. Marks found on Gubbio wares.
74-85. Castel-Durante.
74, 76, 77, 78, 79. Trade-marks, perhaps of dealers, found on Castel-Durante wares.
See above, No. 48.
75. Mr. Fortnum thinks this probably the mark of the owner of the piece.
81. Signature of Giovanni Maria, vasaro, and date 12 Sept., 1508.
83. Doubtful. Castel-Durante or Fabriano. Mark of painter or owner (S. K. Cat,
p. 314).
85. On cups, etc., made of dust of the Santa Casa at Loretto. See text.
86. Urbino. Mark on inferior work. Mr. Fortnum thinks of a young artist.

442

MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

S8
/ S » 3

02

04

95
« i ¦ I'm.

olrl -<

F<F

•V'

~ - II ¦_
SB

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97

98

100

*^- rx-

0 **> hVrhin*. ^0U;

W3 _ _
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3u ^a0-0

111

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u
c I a,
110
-UP

ITALY. 443
87-111. Urbino.
87. Attributed to Flaminio Fontana.
88. Unknown artist, on a plate with St. Luke.
89, 97. Nicola da Urbino.
90. Orazio Fontana.
91. Attributed by Passeri to Orazio Fontana, but 93 is on work much later.
92. Unknown artist.
94. On work of Orazio Fontana.
95. Orazio Fontana.
96. Orazio Fontana. The Greek Phi may be a monogram of 0/ and the Delta
mean Durantino.
98. 99, 100, 106. Signatures of Francesco Xanto.
101. On one of the pieces of the Gonzaga-Este service, by Nicola da Urbino.
102. On a dish painted with St. Jerome.
103. Francesco Durantino.
104, 105, 109, 112. Found on Urbino work.
107. Initials of Gian. Maria Mariani, dated 1542.
108. Attributed to Luca Cambiasi.
110. Alfonso Patanazzi.
111. Citta di Castello. On a plateau sgraffiato.
113. Viterbo. Date 1544.
114,115,116,117. Diruta.

444

MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

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ITALY. 445
118,119,120. Diruta.
121. Fabriano.
122,123,124. Rome.
125-141. Faenza. 125 and 126 are typical marks of the Casa Pirota. 127 is a
frequent mark. 131 is the date 1491 between the letters M and G, which may
imply Mater Gloriosa. 134, 135, 136, and 144 (next page), are all of the same
workshop.

446

MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

151 152

w

SALO
mom:

d

14S

150

154 155

& AVENGE

/

fjfnt/mtos

103

HOE'Xl J ^^

105

108

D^h^-JU twine

ITALY. 447
142-156. Faenza.
142. On a plate with allegorical subject. B. M. for Baldasaro Manara.
143. Casa Pirota. A frequent mark in similar form.
144. On a plate representing Solomon. Lazari reads the mark as G. I. 0., but Mr.
Fortnum thinks it T, M. in antique letters.
145. Doubtful. Faenza or Caffagiuolo.
155. Said to be on a piece with the name of Giovano of Palermo, and the words in
Faenza. Doubted by Jacquemart.
157. Forli. On a plaque dated 1523.
158, 159. Forli. Signatures on Forli wares are known also of Mo iero da Forli,
and Leuchadius Solobrinus 1564.
160. Ravenna.
161. In arimin. Rimini.
162. Rimini.
163-168. Venice.
165. On a plate from the botega of Mo Ludovico. Other Venice pieces are marked
In Botega di Mo. Jacomo da Pesaro ; and Jo Stefano Barcello Veneziano pinx.
Candiana, 1620, is a mark on a plate. See text. There is no such place as Can
diana. The work may be Venetian.

448

MARKS ON POTTERY OF ITALY.

176

183
189 f I f — ^^— ' ¦ ¦  ¦¦¦" ™
rfeouuyony £Jj
190 191

7^7

a^sp

196 200

205 204 199 /^"T") /^
B.c s -a?

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207 -%y*

/oesaro

X

209

O'C M T

51^ ^-2^2

ITALY. 449
169. Venice.
170. On a plate seemingly Venetian.
171. Cornaro.
172. Treviso.
173, 174, 175. Bassano. The Terchi family. The mark 173, which is the iron
crown, is also on other fabrics.
176. Verona. Illegible mark, the enamel being broken. It occurs on a plate
under the words 1563 adi 15 zenaro. Gio Giovanni Batista da faenza in Verona.
See text, p. 175.
177, 178. Padua.
179. Genoa. A light-house, hanging out a signal.
180. Attributed to Genoa by M. Demmin.
181. Savona. The shield mark is drawn in various shapes, often with a few dashes
of the brush, and is accompanied by a variety of letters.
182. Savona.
183. Savona. Gio. Anton. Guidobono.
184. Savona.
185. Savona. Solomon's knot.
186. Turin. Escutcheon of Charles Emanuel, 1638.
187. Turin. Escutcheon of Victor Amadeus, 1713.
188. Turin. Cross of Savoy and trumpet.
189. Maurienne.
190. Milan.
191-192. Milan. Felice Gierke?
193. Milan. Pasquale Bubati.
194. Milan.
195, 196. Lodi.
197. Treviso.
198,199. Nove.
200. Siena. Initials of Campani ?
201. Pesaro. Casali and Caligari, 1763.
202. San Quirico. Arms of Chigi. Dated 1723.
203. Naples. Vases; one inscribed Paulus Francus Brandi Pinx.
204,205,206,207. On same class of Naples vases. See text, p. 178.
208, 209. Naples. Del Vecchio fabric, impressed marks.
29

450 MARKS ON WARES OF ITALY, PERSIA, RHODES, ETC.

211 212

215

93 { ibovi

213 216
&¦* B'8'"60' JD.M.
217
A-D-P-AC. 219 220
EF. /rrr

,r«r4

222

i^i1***^^

230

^H

227

BR- (V/>
V/^/7- > VH I. U.S.

y\. 232 •

233

I 52.

234

II

239

238

^

240

¦

242

243

j^i*

ITALY, PERSIA, ETC. 451

210. Naples. Attributed to Capo-di-Monte.
211. Naples. Giustiniani, impressed. Other marks of this fabric are the name in
full ; the letter G, the name with I. N. and a vase.
212. Attributed to Naples and to Castelli. We have it on wares found in Germany.
Mr. Fortnum thinks it German.
213,214,215. Castelli; 213, Saverio Grue; 215, Liborius Grue.
216-230. Unknown marks on Italian pottery.
SARACEN POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
231. Persia. Painted in blue on a hard-paste porcelain bowl. (T.-P. Coll.)
232. Unknown. On hard-paste porcelain bowl. (T.-P. Coll.) Engraved through
the glaze.
233. Unknown. The square mark painted in blue, the characters engraved through
the glaze, on a havd-paste porcelain bowl. (T.-P. Coll.)
234. Persia. In blue on hard-paste porcelain bowl (Coll. of G. Trumbull, Esq.).
235. Persia. In blue on hard-paste porcelain vase. (Hoe Coll.)
236. Persia. In red on vase, apparently soft-paste porcelain. (Hoe Coll.) For
account of marks 231 to 236, see text, p. 119.
237. Manises, in Spain. On copper-lustred ware. (Chaffers.)
238. On a Hispano-Moresque plate, fifteenth century. (Chaffers.)
239. On a Hispano-Moresque dish, gold-lustred. (Chaffers.)
240. On a Persian or Damascus ware jug.
241. Rhodes. Given by Marryat as found on Rhodian wares, supposed to repre
sent the cross of the Knights.
242. Given by Mr. Fortnum as on a flask of " artificial porcelain-paste, perhaps en-
gobe," with design eminently Persian, but showing Chinese influence, brought
from Persia. (S. K. Cat., pp. 8, 13.)
243. Persia. Name of a maker, Hatim, on Persian pottery. (S. K. Cat., p. 12.)
A mark closely resembling the common mark of Caffagiuolo (mark 1 of Italian pot
tery) occurs on a Damascus ware bottle in Mr. Franks's collection. (S. K. Cat.,
p. 13.) Modern Persian fabrics have the names of makers with dates.

452

MARKS ON POTTERY OF FRANCE.

4 s* naff^ *s& 2 •?"

V 7 M T TJGJ 127.5" •&•
^ a* S3 :gg: fit*. ^ f
n +&i? if J? Pi ** j>$ £
^G 0$ -H GB /a. G5 3*
3*& 63 JL-^ V GS X *2#
3D M» A. U M) «<*, £T«g CO

FRANCE. 453

POTTERY OF FRANCE.
1. On a green enamelled plate are escutcheons of arms of French provinces, and
the one here given, which contains part of the arms of Beauvais and the name
Masse, perhaps of the artist. An inscription ends with Fait en Decembre 1502,
or as M. Jacquemart reads, 1511.
2. Poitou. The goose of Thouars, found on a vase ; supposed reference to Oiron.
See text.
3. Avon. Mark on the Nurse and other figures, which were formerly attributed to
Palissy.
Rouen. All the other marks, which are not numbered, on the page opposite, are
found on pottery of Rouen. Many of these are similar to marks on Delft.
The only artists' signatures known are the two, easily read, of Dieul, who deco
rated faience a la corne.
Other marks painted, sometimes rudely, on Rouen ware are as follows (these are
not in f ac-simile) :
Ro Go G3 DV Gm. M

ED GL P P Mo H C M v

P.D GMd R DL HM WGt

q.. G W S. Gi H T Mrs GuUlibeaux.

454

MARKS ON POTTERY OF FRANCE.

$d

$ T* % (ate $ ±

12

16

19 20

S5£ZA ^ ^ K X^A*. A Op S p
tt 3° " ,« 33 £ 35 ^
« 4 fry. LR fofl\. ^H,. X
37 38 *° 42 «

22
B. R.
28 29

46 47

SO 51

<N ft X * T J)r ^ V >°
«? ** /> «» m * ^f
60 G7 6S °9 70 T1
T^ J@2 ^ T£ Bt #/? $K
73 74 75 70 77 Ts
79 80 81 82 S3 M 65
^7 W Ar3, fjr J? ii # #,

FRANCE. 455

1, 2, 3. Lille. Francois Boussemart.
4. Lille. Febvrier and Boussemart ?
5, 6. Lille. Barthelemi Dorez, 1709-'15. His grandson signed N. A. Dorez, in
1748.
7, 8, 9. Lille; 7, about 1788 ;(?) 8, Petit?
10. Valenciennes. Louis Dorez.
11, 12, 13, 14, 15. St. Amand les Eaux. P. J. Fauquez.
16. Paris. Claude Reverend's mark.
17, 18. Paris. On ware resembling Reverend's.
19. Sceaux. Mark of Glot, who also marked with the word Sceaux. Prior to
1772 the mark had been S X.
20. Sceaux? or Bourg la Reine ? Doubtful.
21. Sceaux. Glot's period.
22. Bourg la Reine.
23. St. Cloud. Trou's mark.
24, 25, 26. Sinceny. 25 is signature of Pelleve, director.
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. Aprey. The factory monogram Ap, with initials of Jarry
and other artists.
33. Mathaut.
34, 35. Niderviller. Beyerle period. The mark is B N in monogram.
36, 37, 38, 39. Niderviller. Custine period. These marks must not be confounded
with Kronenburg, or Ludwigsburg.
40. Sarreguemines. Utzchneider & Co.
41. Strasbourg. Charles Hannong.
42, 43, 44. Strasbourg. Paul Antoine Hannong.
45, 46, 47. Strasbourg. Joseph Adam Hannong.
48. Strasbourg or Hagenau. Possibly Balthasar Hannong.
49. Premieres, in Burgundy. J. Lavalle. Other marks are J L P in a script
monogram.
50. Meillonas. Madame de Marron.
51, 52. Varages.
53, 54, 55. Taverne. Gaze, director.
56-86. Moustiers. The marks including a monogram of oi are attributed to
Joseph Olery. Some are his, but Jacquemart doubts many. 86 is supposed
signature of Fouque, successor to Clarissy. Names, perhaps, of Spanish artists —
Soliva, Miguel Vilax, Fo Gianzel, Cros — occur. A potter, Ferrat, about 1760
signs his name. Pierre Fournier signs work dated 1775 ; Antoine Guichard, in
1763 ; Thion, in the last century. Moustiers appears as a mark written and
also applied through pricked points. Virg, painter, signs a plate ; see text, p.
200.

456

MARKS ON POTTERY OF FRANCE.

67 88 89 0fl 91 92 93
94 97 98 99 100
05 90 . w • jm
102 104 mi 106 107
_ . 103 J. ™ -—. -_, 108 109
•R-K v? H- F J M ^
115 12° 119
16 S3 »«* S>. * v 1633 Xneutn
•HU734 ^ t/?>„(]
123 1^*

*£ ^L At (8 mav

A neuter

126
avtsseai(__

J74J

c/i^.C

^ Coytiocdc
antu6M

132

A
131 134 ,
r7T^\ 133 " 135 /¦» U'
fl CB ?• 5) r F.GT-1661
87tt ^ - ^ 139
1780 142 li0 , '" .
•J- "Fait par ODE, A™ 1761." i£ H Q 1

FRANCE. 457

87-95. Moustiers. 87 and 88 are marks of Feraud, potter. 95 is probably Olery.
The other marks are uncertain.
96-98. Marseilles. The fleur-de-lis is attributed to Savy after 1777.
99-102. Marseilles. J. G. Robert.
103, 104. Marseilles. Veuve Perrin.
105. Marseilles. A. Bonnefoy.
106. Marseilles. J. Fauchier.
107. Marans. J. P. Roussencq.
108, 109. Marans.
110. Renac. (Jacquemart.)
111. Orleans.
112-123. Nevers. 112 is the earliest known signature; 113, Denis Lef ehvre ;
114, Jacques Bourdu; 115, 116, Henri Borne on statuettes; 117, Jacques
Seigne; 119, Dominique Conrade, third of the name, 1650-72; 120, Etienne
Born; 121, Francois Rodriguez; 122, Nicholas Viode; (?) 123, from the Con
rade arms.
124. Limoges. Massie.
125. La Tour d'Aigues.
126. Avisseau, modern potter at Tours (died 1861).
127-146. Unknown marks on French pottery.

458

MARKS ON POTTERY OF FRANCE.

U1

«£6 H

149

150

151

152

i -IT

JS>

153

156

Leger

Lfl7e"o"f * A-L * E.

IBS

M wicoUsHV 01P:0p

Q£ I+P^T-AiVAd^AVf rp^ v> -j>

100 167 101^
6Z "E P°

PR.

170

(n/

171

172

JR. R

v

RL

17S

^' 5. c>.fv

T.CL

179
VM

ISO

182

w

1S3

FRANCE. 459

147-183. Unknown marks found on French pottery. On a basin is the mark
ALEX 1724. On a bas-relief is the name J. Alliot.

460 MARKS ON POTTERY OF BELGIUM AND HOLLAND.

6* *0 %& L£«- -IMi ^>

e.rj

10

^

E
^77

B.L

2

(SA

*;
•^h

14

£

lW RG v$><* ->LD
(720

22

19

'2? DC

6H

1 6*0
Mi-

S£"

23

5"0

J£

i-k

20

27

jfc "^ ^

^/

^

28 29
"J 2

30

34

203

31
IBM

37

35

J£C

39

HK

*dali'uyll^

40

WTDB

jj^lltIUM AND HOLLAND. 461

POTTERY OF BELGIUM.
1—3. Tournat. Marks, probably, of Peterynck.
4. Tervueren.
5. Malixes. Attributed by Jacquemart.
6. Bruges. Henri Pulinx.
7. Luxembourg. Mark of the brothers Boch before the French Revolution.
8. Luxembourg. Subsequent mark, impressed.
9, 10. Luxembourg.
11-19. Unknown marks on Flemish pottery.
POTTERY OF HOLLAND.
20. Amsterdam, 1780-83. Hartog v. Laun.
21-40. Delft.
21. Samuel Piet Roerder.
22, 23, 24. Suter van der Even, 1580.
28. Faetorv with sign of De Metaale Pot, 1639.
29, 30. De Paauw (The Peacock), 1651.
31. Jacobus de Milde, 1764.
32. Martinus Gouda.
33. Q. Kleynoven, 1680.
34. Cornelius Keyser, Jacobus Pynaker, and Adrian Pynaker, 1680.
37. Jan Jansz Kuylick, 1680.
38. Johannes Mesch, 1680.
39. T Fortuyn (The Fortune), 1691.
40. Widow of Pieter van der Briel.

462 MARKS ON POTTERY OF HOLLAND.

41 42
IB I&

43 «
*130 /il

45

46
IDA

47

48

50

51

52
WD

53
ITD 12

54
DE3C

55
Z -.DEX. ii I
T

CO
hid

57 CS
Hooren y^[

59

60
B. B. S.

01
GV<F

62
GVf

63
-P ft

64

65
hi

60

?

6S
HVMD

69
Thart

70
ttourt

71

G7
2

72

73
'\puyrL

74

De

75
Blompot

76

77
D. S. K.

78

79

80

81
W. V. B.

HOLLAND. 463

41-81. Marks deposited in the H6tel de Ville, Delft, in 1764, by potters, desig
nating their shop names. These are not always given in fac-simile.
41-45. De Witte Ster (The White Star). A. Kielle.
46. In der Vergulde Boot (The Gilded Boat). Johannes der Appel.
47-49. De Roos (The Rose). Dirk van der Does.
50. De Klaauw (The Claw). Lambertus Sanderus.
51, 52. De Drie Klokken (The Three Bells). W. van der Does.
53-56. De Griekse A (The Greek A). J. T. Dextra. 1765, the works passed to
Jacobus Haider Adriaensz (M. 56).
57. De Drie Porceleyne Astonnen (The Three Porcelain Barrels). Hendrick
van Hoorn.
58, 59. De Romeyn (The Roman). Petrus van Marum. The same year the
manufactory passed into the hands of Jan van der Kloot Jansz (M. 59).
60. T'jongue Moriaans Hofft (The Young Moor's Head). Widow of Peter Jan
van der Hagen.
61-63. In T'oude Moriaans Hofft (The Old Moor's Head). Geertruy Verstelle.
64, 65. De Porcelein Byl (The Porcelain Hatchet). Justus Brouwer. Occurs
frequently.
66, 67. De Drie Porceleyne Fleschjes (The Three Porcelain Bottles). Hugo
Brouwer.
68-70. T'hart (The Stag). Hendrilc van Middeldyk.
71. De Twee Scheepjes (The Two Ships). Anth. Pennis.
72-74. De Porceleyne Schootel (The Porcelain Dish). Johannes van Duyn.
75. De Vergulde Blompot (The Gilded Flower-pot). P. Verburg. The mark is
not fac-simile.
76. De Porcelyn Fles (The Porcelain Bottle). Pieter van Doorne.
11. De Dubbelde Schenkkan (The Double Pitcher). Thomas Spaandonck.
78-80. De Lampetkan (The Ewer). Widow of Gerardus Brouwer.
81. De Twe Wildemans (The Two Savages). Widow of Willem van Beek.

464 UNKNOWN MARKS ON POTTERY OF HOLLAND.

:B:- jB. BV)D § tit

ivX.

77,52
WW. HPI >B JB j,f* ID™"
^ f P N£^ JvOM ^j, g^
% '¦ ¥ ^ KF ^
— 4 MVB K^
Pv?B

;/

"R pv^

VT "^ !/• 1717
f 2 d4S ^C VK

HOLLAND. 465

UNKNOWN MARKS ON POTTERY OF HOLLAND.
All the marks on the opposite page are found on pottery apparently of Delft ; but
their signification is unknown. It is important to note that similar marks are
found on wares of Rouen, and other factories. The collector will exercise judg
ment as to paste and style of decoration before assigning specimens, and will
frequently find it impossible to decide where a piece was made.
30

466 MARKS ON POTTERY OF SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY.

6

1638

Maiibias
RoSa

3X. n
7 8 9 10 (Til

13

17

BK

IS

$. £ & ® tL»

G-Kosc/eniu/l-h. GK:

Jfteoner J. 15 tfVnj

.LL /^.^^i

W'O

28

30 32
B *? uStx ^S tt
"" J7J0

35 • 41 43

SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY. 467

POTTERY OF SWITZERLAND.
1, 2. Zurich.
3. Winterthur. On an ecritoire. Jacquemart.

POTTERY OF GERMANY.
4. Anspach (Bavaria).
5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Baireuth. Sometimes the name in full.
10,11,12. Frankenthal. 10 and 11 are marks of Paul A. Hannong; 12, of
Joseph A. Hannong. It is not possible to distinguish the first mark from Han-
nong's when at Strasbourg.
13. Goggingen, near Augsburg, established about 1750.
14. Harburg. Initials of Johann Schaper.
15, 16, 17. Hochst. 15 has the G for Geltz ; 16 the Z for Zeschinger ; 17 is the
wheel alone, the arms of Mayence. See p. 487, mark 54.
18. Poppelsdorf. Wessel's manufactory ; impressed. Also found impressed with
the name Mettlach on pottery of that place.
19, 20, 21, 22, 23. Nuremberg. M. Demmin gives a monogram of H C D, and
date 1550, as on a stove. Gluer, probably an artist, signs a dish with Nurnberg
1723. Plates are signed G. F. Greber Anno 1729 Nuremberg. Stroebel signs
a bell, with date 1724, and a dish painted, with date 1730. A stove of green
tiles, with religious subjects, has the signature of Hans Kraut, and date 1578.
Hans Kraut was the great potter of Willingen.
24. Schreitzheim.
25, 26, 27. Stralsund.
28 to 43. Unknown marks on German pottery.

468 MARKS, ETC., OF GERMANY, SWEDEN, DENMARK, SPAIN, PORTUGAL.

44

4g 50 51 C2 53 54

-

HVCE.S ^ "'V' hf0!1- 14~

m^\r

3
59 01

¦«& <&*& ^ -^ %

^v ^^ ^ ^ --^

04

60

#£,

7S
70 77

C
81 ^ S
CO> ^5£ -^ t J^' ^ ^t
txjsuuuuxx, SWEDEN, DENMARK, SPAIN, PORTUGAL. 469
44-56. Unknown marks on German pottery.

POTTERY OF SWEDEN, ETC.
57-62. Rorstrand. 61 and 62 are probably signatures of Arfinger, according to
Mrs. Palisser. Chaffers gives a mark, Storkhulm 22, 8. 1751 D H B, as of the
factory after Rorstrand was united to Stockholm. The marks include the date,
price, and signatures of artists. Stockholm is found, and also Rorstrand, im
pressed.
63. Rorstrand, or Marieberg, or Kiel ? '"
64-69. Marieberg.
70. Swedish?
71. KtjNERSBERG.
72. Kunersberg? Gustafsberg, 1820 to 1860. The mark is the name with an anchor.
Helsinburg. Given by Mr. Chaffers as on stone-wares, made from 1770.
73-79. Kiel. POTTERY OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
80, 81. Alcora.
82, 83. Attributed to Seville.
84, 85. Lisbon.
Russia and Poland. For marks on pottery of Russia and Poland, see p. 491.

470 MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF ITALY, SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL.

II

IS

M

HOUE

¥ &

** olc-f

24

0h

*

^

10

fmS1

17

V-F

16

4

AEW

21

2SC

A*

20

j3£* lb.

•iii" on
N A

32

33

4- -*-
v v
DG

+

MARKS ON PORCELAIN.

PORCELAIN OF ITALY, SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL.
1. Florence. On Medicean porcelain. The arms of the Medici, and initials of
Franciscus Medici Magnus Etruria? Dux Secundus.
2. Florence. On Medicean porcelain. Dome of the Cathedral.
3. Tablet held by a lion, in the decoration of a bowl. See text.
4, 5, 6, 7. Doccia, near Florence.
8, 9, 10, 11. Le Nove. 10 and 11 are signatures of Gio. B. Antonibon.
12, 13. Venice. Vezzi ; impressed, or in red.
14, 15, 16. Venice. Cozzi ; in red, blue, or gold. This mark must be distin
guished from that of Chelsea in England.
17. Venice.
18-26. Naples; Capo-di-Monte factory. 18 is supposed to be the earliest mark,
in blue. The fleur-de-lis was also used at the Buen Retiro factory in Madrid, as
given below. 21, 22, 23, 24, are marks of Ferdinand IV. in and after 1759.
The crowned N is often reversed in the mark. The marks are sometimes in
color, sometimes impressed.
Giustiniani of Naples made hard-paste porcelain, using the same marks as on pot
tery ; see p. 451.
27-31. Madrid. Marks of the Buen Retiro factory. This factory was' an out
growth of Capo-di-Monte in Napies, and used the fleur-de-lis mark also. 27 and
28 are the cipher of Charles III. 29 is M, for Madrid.
32. Vista Allegre, near Oporto, Portugal.
33, 34, 35. Turin, Italy; Vineuf factory of Dr. Gionetti, impressed or scratched.
The cross is also sometimes accompanied by scratched lines, forming VN in
monogram.

472

MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF SEVRES.

8
JL ^

13

14

M.Imp16 f±&

cfeS

evres.

S£YHl$

Sevres '7

30

35

M,

•?

10

11

J?.y •€»• J^yyej

or

R.E

DO

Sevres.

17

15

ge'vre:

«n

21

v!»V

27 33

22

Jrvres 25

23

Sevres 30

28

sMW

31
32

34

SG

37

V.D.

SEVRES.

PORCELAIN OF SEVRES.
1. Vincennes. The interlaced double L, the initial of the king's name, was adopt
ed by the Vincennes factory shortly after its foundation, and used till 1753.
The mark, unaccompanied by other letters, is rarely, if ever, found on porcelain
made at Sevres. After the removal of the factory to Sevres, this mark, accom
panied with date letters, as hereafter explained, continued the typical mark of
the factory down to the Revolution.
2. Vincennes. The mark was usually in this form, with a dot in the monogram.
Marks 1 and 2 should be found only on pieces made prior to 1753.
3. Vincennes and Sevres. In 1753, at Vincennes, the system of dating by letters
of the alphabet was adopted, A being 1753, B 1754, etc. See Table of Marks
used to indicate Dates. The factory was removed to Sevres in 1756. A, B, C,
D, therefore, date wares of Vincennes. D also dates work at Sevres. The date
letter is placed either within or outside of the monogram, and is sometimes a
capital and sometimes a small letter.
4. The crown was adopted over the monogram as the mark of hard-paste porcelain
after its introduction. Forms of this mark are 5, 6, and 10, showing accompa
nying signatures of artists. Thus, mark 10 includes the factory mark, the de
vice of the artist Vieillard, and the date DD, 1781. This mark on a service
in the T.-P. collection has also the mark of another artist, Baudoin, on each
piece.
7. The letter Z having been reached in 1777, double letters were used thereafter,
AA being 1778, etc. A difference of opinion exists as to whether the letter J
was used for 1762, but the best authorities now agree that it was used.
8, 9. In the Republican period the royal initial was abandoned, and the mark R. F,
for Republique Frangaise, was adopted (1792-1800), always accompanied by
the word Sevres. The R. F. was in monogram, as in mark 8, or in one of the
forms in mark 9. Dates were not used from 1792 to 1801.
11. About 1800 the word Sevres was used alone, without the R. F. It was usually
in a form similar to mark 11, but varied as made by different hands. This
mark was in use from 1800 till the end of 1802.
12. In the Consular period, 1803, the mark 12, for Manufacture Nationale, was
used, stencilled in red.
13. In the Imperial period, beginning May 8th, 1804, mark 13, for Manufacture
Imperiale, was adopted, and used till 1809, stencilled in red.
14. The imperial eagle was adopted as the mark in this form in 1810, printed in
red, and continued in use till the abdication, in 1814. Date marks were used
from 1801, for which see Marks used to indicate Dates, p. 481.
15. Mark of the period of Louis XVIIL, used from May, 1814, to September, 1824,
the date indicated by the last two figures of the year. This mark was printed
in blue.

474 SEVRES.

16, 17, 18, 19. Marks used in the reign of Charles X., from 1824 to 1828, printed
in blue ; the figures under the mark indicating the year of the century.
20, 21. Marks used in the reign of Charles X., in 1829 and 1830. Mark 20 was
used on decorated wares ; 2 1 was used on pieces which were gilded only.
22. This mark was used only in 1830, under Louis Philippe.
23. Used from 1831 to November, 1834, under Louis Philippe.
24. Used from November, 1834, to July, 1835.
25. The cipher of Louis Philippe, used from July, 1835, to 1848.
26. Used under the Republic from 1848 to 1852.
27. Used under the Empire of Louis Napoleon, from 1852 to 1854.
28. Cipher of Louis Napoleon, used from 1854 to 1872.
29, 30. These marks have been used in addition to the factory mark since July,
1872, usually printed in red.
31, 32. The letter S with the date of the year of the century, in an oval, was
adopted in 1848 as the factory mark on all pieces, and continues in use. On
white wares, sold without decoration, it is cut across by a scratch through the
glaze. It is printed in pale green. Mr. Chaffers says it has been used on white
wares since 1833. Many modern pieces with this mark cut across are decorated
by amateurs and others.
33. Marks of this kind, containing names of chateaux or palaces, were placed on
pieces, table services, etc., made for use in the royal residences thus indicated.
34. Monogram of Catharine II. of Russia, in flowers, laurels, etc., on a service made
for her. See text.
35, 36. Visa of Alexander Brongniart, the director, occurring on several fine pieces
in the T.-P. collection. It does not appear as an intentional mark, but as if the
artist's work had been submitted to the director, and he had written on the back
with a lead-pencil Vu Alex B or Vu B. In the firing this has become a yel
lowish mark with some metallic iridescence.
37. Marks stencilled in red on a plate dated 1811, decorated with a view of the
Palace of St. Cloud, signed Lebel. The visa of Brongniart in form of mark 36
is also on the plate. (T.-P. Coll.)
Many hard-paste specimens of Sevres which originally bore the marks of the Im
perial period prior to 1814 are found with the letters M Imple, or the eagle,
ground off on a wheel, leaving only the words de Sevres or Sevres. The
wheel has, of course, removed the glaze.

MARKS OF SEVRES ARTISTS.

475

MAEKS USED BY PAINTEES, DECOEATOES, AND GILDEES
AT SEVEES.
FIRST PERIOD. 1753-1799.

"¦"J|/"5 Aloncle — birds, animals, emblems,
J* etc.
/Krai Anteaume — landscape, animals.
*>Dp Armand — birds, flowers, etc.
/t- trr A Asselin — portraits, miniatures, etc.
' n Aubert (senior) — flowers.
/$U Bailly (son) — flowers.
-s-rs Bardet — flowers.
oi Barre — detached bouquets.
Wj Barrat — garlands, bouquets.
/CI 5D Baudoin — ornaments, friezes, etc.
Becquet — flowers, etc.

1

/? Bertrand — detached bouquets.
¦^g Bienfait — gilding.
Hp Binet — detached bouquets.
f Binet, Madame (nee Sophie Clu
tjty — flowers.
Boucher — flowers, garlands, etc.

Bouc/iet — landscape, figures, orna
ments.
\[t Bouillat — flowers, landscapes.
(fi Boulanger — detached bouquets.
/Boulanger (son) — pastoral subjects,
children.
A\y, Bulidon — detached bouquets.
. Bunel, Madame (nie Manan Buteux)
Tjft O — flowers.

Buteux (senior) — flowers, emblems,
etc.
Buteux (elder son) — detached bou
quets, etc.
Buteux (younger son) — pastoral sub
jects, children.
— friezes.

A/f f) Bunel, Madame — another form.
y
A A ? S. c.
Ch..
C "f" ' Chapuis (elder) — flowers, birds, etc.
.«£_ /» Cliapuk (younger) — detached bou-
Q * quets.
2jG' Chauvaux (father) — gilding.
/ft
/> V»l Commelin-— detached bouquets, gar-
iff'l' lands.
f\ Cornaille — flowers, detached bou-
0 quets.

Cardin — detached bouquets.
Carrier — flowers.
Castel — landscapes, hunts, birds.
Caton — pastoral subjects, children,
birds.
Catrice — flowers, detached bouquets.
Chabry — miniatures, pastoral sub
jects.
Chanou, Madame (nee Julie Durosey)
— flowers.

Chauvaux (son) — detached bou
quets, gilding.
Clievalier — flowers, bouquets, etc.
Choisy, De — flowers, arabesques.
Ckulot — emblems, flowers, ara
besques.

476

MARKS OF SEVRES ARTISTS.

I.
DT

Y

G
f
f
X

Couturier — gilding.
Dieu — Chinese, Chinese flowers, gild
ing, etc.
Dodin — figure, various subjects, por
traits.
Drand — Chinese, gilding.
Dubois — flowers, garlands, etc.
Dusolle — detached bouquets, etc.
Dutanda — detached bouquets, gar
lands.
Evans — birds, butterflies, landscapes.
Falot — arabesques, birds, butterflies.
Fontaine — emblems, miniatures, etc.
Fontelliau — gilding, etc.
Fouri — flowers, bouquets, etc.
Fritseh — figures, children.
Fumez — detached bouquets.
Fumez — another form.
Gauthim — landscape and animals.
Genest — figure and genre.
Genin — flowers, garlands, friezes, etc.
Gerard — pastoral subjects, minia
tures.
Gerard, Madame (nee Vautrin) —
flowers.
Girard — arabesques, Chinese, etc.
Gomery — flowers and birds.
Gremont — garlands, bouquets.
Grison — gilding.

Henrion — garlands, detached bou
quets.

A _ Hericourt — garlands, detached bou-
f\, C» • quets.
f\9f Hilken — figures, pastoral subjects,
Jy» etc-
l-l Howry — flowers, etc.
It» Huny — flowers, detached bouquets.
JT« Joyau — detached bouquets, etc.
JL- Jubin — gilding.
JL La RocJw — flowers, garlands, em-
*A~ blems.
\r Xv La Roche — another form.
*J ** Le Bel (elder) — figures and flowers.
t" ,/S Le Bel (younger) — garlands, bou-
oL» QtJ* quets, etc.
^KS Leandre — pastoral subjects, minia-
| tures.
J~£ Lecot — Chinese, etc.
T, lj Lecot — another form.
^^ Ledoux — landscape and birds.
w^ ** GuaV— gilding-
L|C| Le Guay — another form.

Leguay — miniatures, children, Chi
nese.

r T Leve (father) — flowers, birds, ara-
Jj or*-* besques.

-r Levi, Felix, — flowers, Chinese.
*jH f/\ Maqueret, Madame (nee Bouillat) —
J\ iJ& flowers.
Jwl— Massy — groups of flowers, garlands.
s 9

i Mm-ault (elder) — friezes.
Merault (younger) — bouquets, gar
lands.
Micaud — flowers, bouquets, medall
ions.

MARKS OF SEVRES ARTISTS.

477

m
M
/ na
£.$. P.T. / *-»
A-7
EH.
Jo.*. JP/ HE

Michel — detached bouquets.
Moiron — detached bouquets ; also
another form used by Michel.
Mongenot — flowers, detached bou
quets.
Morin — marine, military subjects.
Mutel — landscape.
Niquet — detached bouquets, etc.
Noel — flowers, ornaments.
Nouailhier, Madame (nee Sophie Du-
rosy) — flowers.

Parpette quets.

- flowers, detached bou-

Parpette, Dlle. Louison — flowers.
Pajou — figure.
Petit — flowers.
Pfeiffer — detached bouquets.
Pierre (elder) — flowers, bouquets.
Pierre (younger) — bouquets, gar
lands.
Philippine (elder) — pastoral sub
jects, children, etc.
Pitliou (elder) — portraits, historical
subjects.
Pithou (younger) — figures, flowers,
ornaments.
Pouillot — detached bouquets.
Prevost — gilding.
Raux — detached bouquets.

"^fjf~ Rochet — figure, miniatures, ete.
^/ff Rosset — landscape, etc.
AJ jf Roussel — detached bouquets.
1 'n Schradre — birds, landscape, etc.
Sinsson — flowers, groups, garlands,
etc.
Sioux (elder) — detached bouquets,
garlands.
Sioux (younger) — flowers, garlands.
Tabary — birds, etc.

O
0
• • •

Taillandiei  detached bouquets,
garlands.
Tandart — groups of flowers, gar
lands.
Tardi — detached bouquets, etc.

• • • m Theodore — gilding.
1'hevenet (father) — flowers, medall
ions, groups, etc.

h
MiW

Thevenet (son) — ornaments, friezes,
etc.

Vande — gilding, flowers.
Vavasseur — arabesques.
Vieillard — emblems, ornaments, etc.
f) . OO 0 Vincent — gilding.
MM Xrowet — arabesques, flowers, etc.
Yvernel — landscape, birds.

SECOND PERIOD. 1800-1874.

T yu Andr'e, Jules — landscape.
fr Apoil — figures, subjects, etc.
lj* /P Apoil, Madame — figure.

P.A

Archelais — ornament worker (pates
sur pates).
Avisse — ornament worker.
Barbin — ornaments.

478

MARKS OF SEVRES ARTISTS.

fo

Barre — flowers.

B».

Barriat — figure.

&*

Beranger — figure.

•B

Blanchard — decorator.

A'fo

Blanchard, A lex. — ornament worker.

&x

Boitel — gilding.

eS£>

Bonnuit — decorator.

&

Boullemier, Antoine— gilding.

M

Boullemier (elder) — gilding.

*i

Boullemier (son) — gilding.

$*.

Buteux — flowers.

3C

Cabau — flowers.

G£

Capronnier — gilding.

10

Celos — ornament worker (pates sur
pates).

LC

C/iarpentier — decorator.

it.

Charrin, Dlle. Fanny — figures, sub
jects, portraits.

c.c.

Constant — gilding.

c*

Constantin — figure.

jD

Dammouse — figure, ornament (pates
sur pates).

Z>

David — decorator.

9>#

Delafosse — figure.

##

Davignon — landscape.

.&?

Desperais — ornaments.

IE

Derichsweiller — decorator.

cx>

Develly — landscape and genre.

#A

Deutsch — ornaments.

2)1.

Didier — ornaments, etc.

3):

Didier — another form.

<g) 0° Drouetr— flowers.
y. Gy Ducluzeau, Madame — figure, sub-
«7l oO jects, portraits, etc.
&J ¦£¦ Durosey — gilding.
IT TJ* Farraguet, Madame — figure, sub-
in a jects, etc.
/fc»*" Ficquenet — flowers and ornaments
jF (pates sur pates).
Q» Fontaine — flowers.
\thsT Fragonard— figure, genre, etc.
Kg g, Ganeau (son) — gilding.
*r r\ G'ely — ornament worker (pates sur
iV vi pates).
X.'l»-» Georget — figure, portraits, etc.
G I T? ®°bert — figure on enamel and on
Vol). I\, pastes.
jyf C . Godin — gilding.
t . V , Goupil — figure.
\ajm Guillemain — decorator.
r|Tl Hallion, Eugi>ne — landscape.
"iT Hallion, Francois — decorator in gild-
Ti inS-
t- ~J Huard — ornaments, divers styles.
t-H Lambert — flowers.
%j "j = LanglacS — landscape.
l>f M Latac/ie — gilding.
<X j\ Le Bel — landscape.
» Legay — ornament worker (pates sur
lL» pa'tes).
t 0 Le Gay — figures, various subjects,
*"*/• portraits.
"l*| Legrand — gilding.
fcj L Leroy, Eugene — gilding.

Humbert — figure.
Julienne — ornaments, style Renais
sance, etc.

m^iiuxc OF SEVRES ARTISTS.

479

Martinet — flowers.
*A OttJ^i Maussion, Mdlle. de — figure.
|J^ Merigot — ornaments, etc.
<y*M\ Meyer, Alfred — figure, etc.
tjfl £ Micaud— gilding.
QP/f Milet, Optat — decorator on faience
•Z" x 3-nd pastes.
tAloJx. Moreau— gilding.
J\ r*l Sloriot — figure, etc.
IV A* Parpette, Dlle. — flowers.
Sir y. Philippine — flowers and ornaments.
Tj Pline — decorative gilding.
fr Poupart — landscape.
Hf) Regnier, Ferd. — figure, various sub-
j\ jects.
Jj? Regnier, Hyadntlie — figure.
">4^ Rejoux — decorator.

E "*< Renard, Emile — decorator.
Ipoo »-Ki^ Richard, Emile — flowers.
f* Ti Richard, Eugene — flowers.

\ffif Richard, Francois — decorator.
I^/Xj, Ji Richard, Joseph — decorator.
"JfT Richard, Paul — decorative gilding.
r\^ Riocreux, Isidore — landscape.
J\ <jg Riocreux, Desire-Denis — flowers.
/-' H Robert, Pierre — landscape.
/N "[> Robert, Madame — flowers and land-
V^ X\ scape.
F\ Robert, Jean-Francois — landscape.
T/ffi Roussel — figure, etc.
| ^ Schilt, Louis-Pierre — flowers.
J.0- -to Sinsson (father) — flowers.

Solon — figures and ornaments (pates
sur pates).

Af yy1 Swebach — landscape and genre.
rf £ Trager — flowers, birds.
TT Troyon — ornaments.
\Af Walter— flowers.

CE

UNDETERMINED SIGNATURES, ETC.
Three marks on plate dated 1821, view of Moka, signed L. M., richly gilded. The
first mark also on several plates dated 1812, lapis-lazuli borders, heavy gilding,
antique cameo paintings.

480

MARKS OF SEVRES ARTISTS.

N>

On richly decorated and gilded plates, 1821.

On plate, time of Louis XVIII., richly gilded ; monochrome portrait of
ill Racine : (probable mark of Philippine.)

jy lf\ OQ *-*n plate not dated, rich gilding, monochrome portrait of Bourdaloue.
^ '/ On fine plates and vases, 1812.
(T\ LLc <T° *>g On plate temp. Louis XVIII., rich gilding, monochrome portrait of Bour-
<r~' \J don (? Dlle. de Treverret).

SI

Twice this size on plate, 1822, view of Sevres factory; possibly a visa of
1 Riocreux.

In black on foot of ice-vase, with river deities in superb gilding, dated
1831.

ARTISTS' SIGNATURES FOUND AT FULL LENGTH.

Baldisseroni — figure.
Brunei — figure.
Bulot — flowers.
Cool, Madame de — figure.
Courcy, De — figure.
Froment — figure.
Gallou, Madame (nee Durand) — figure.
Garneray — landscape.
De Gault — figure.
Godde — decorator, enamels, and relief.
Hamon — figure.
Jaccober — flowers and fruits.
Jacquotot, Madame Victoire — figure, subjects, por
traits.

Jadelot, Madame — figure.
Lamarre — landscape.
Langlois, Polycles — landscape.
Laurent, Madame Pauline — figure, subjects,
etc.
Lessore — figure, etc.
Meyer-Heine — figure and ornaments on enamel.
Parant — figure, etc.
Philip — decorator on enamel.
Schilt, Abel — figure, subjects, portraits,
Solon, Dlle. — figure, subjects.
Treverret, Dlle. de — figure.
Van Os — flowers and fruits.
Van March — landscape.

ujL±a M.ARKS OF SEVRES.

481

MARES USED AT SEVRES TO INDICATE DATES OF MANUFACTURE.

A (Vincennes)  1753
B "  1754
C "  1755
D  1756
E  1757
F  1758
G  1759
H  1760
1  1761
J (see foot-note)  1762
K  1763
L  1764
M  1765

N.0.P.Q.R.
S.. T..
U.V.X.Y.
Z.

1766 1767
1768176917701771
1772177317741775 1776
1777

AA. BB.CO..
DD.
EE.. FF..GG.
HH.
II...

1778 1779
1780178117821783
178417851786

JJ..KK.LL..MM.
NN. 00.
PP.. QQ.
RR.

17871788
1789 1790
1791179217931794 1795

This mode' of marking the date fell into disuse, and, from this period until 1800, it is found
only on rare examples. In 1801, the custom of dating was resumed, and the letters replaced by
the following signs :

T. 9  An IX. (1801)
.....  " X. (1802)
 " XI. (1803)
 " XII. (1804)

X. 11.

-A
7 

XIII. (1805)
XIV. (1806)

18071808

9  1809
10  1810
oz. (onze)  1811
d. z. (douze)  1812
t. *. (treize)  1813
q. z. (quatorze)  1814
g. n. (quinze)  1815
s. 2. (seize)  1816
d. s. (dix-sept) . ."  1817

From 1818 the year is expressed by the two last figures only.
etc., and is so continued to the present time.

Thus: 18 = 1818, 19 = 1819,

Note.— The Guide published for the Sevres factory still adheres to the old system of dates, which re
jected the letter J, and regards K as 1762, and the letters which follow representing, L, 1703, and so
on. This system is abandoned by all authorities, French and English, and we do not know why it
is retained in the Guide. Iu addition to the above tables, it is necessary to add thatlSll, 1S12, 1S13
ore sometimes indicated by 11, 12, 13, and possibly other yeais were occasionally so indicated to
, 1817 : 1709, the year of a comet, was sometimes indicated by a comet rudely painted, Instead of Q.
31

482

MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF FRANCE.

21
22
25 ^=" *' *" _, 30 81

j0 a 10 11 Vi
-*-' 10 „
" '2>V- iDV
dC> . c

s2
"2

32

40

35 30

33 "go r 3S
1* * & V V XT G-"G-

<2^

41

42

43

V ./fc

44

P

47

51

1i 31 # j^ MAP S 8
54 K M 68 _ E1

67

r

,*r».

Sr&tf'

s

69 ™ 71 72 ^ 74 75 ^

FRANCE. 483

PORCELAIN OF FEANCE.
1, 2. Unknown marks on early French porcelains, given by Jacquemart as possibly
Louis Poterat, of Rouen, 1673—1711.
3. Unknown, on similar porcelain.
4. St. Cloud. Two forms. Pierre Chicanneau, 1702-15.
5. St. Cloud. Trou, 1706.
6, 7, 8. Uncertain. On porcelains resembling St. Cloud.
9. Paris. Marie Moreau, widow of Chicanncau's son.
10-13. Lillk. 10 is tbe earliest mark. In 13 L is on a saucer, and B on the cup.
14, 15. Chantilly. 15 is Pigorry's mark since 1803.
16, 17. Mennecy-Villeroy. In gold, color, and, later, impressed.
18, 19, 20. Vincennes and Sevres. See marks of Sevres, p. 472.
21, 22, 23. Sceaux. 21 usually scratched. 22, later, painted in blue. 23 scratched.

26. La Tour d'Aigues.
27. Bourg-la-Reine.

24. Orleans.
25. Etiolles.
28, 29. Arras.
30-39. Unknown marks on early French porcelains, resembling St. Cloud, given by
Jacquemart. 33, 35 are doubtless the same as 6, 8, above.
40-46. Unknown marks on hard -paste porcelains. 44 attributed by Riocreux to
Fontainebleau. 45 resembles the mark of a Sevres painter.
47. Paris. Pierre A. Hannong's mark, 1773.
48, 49. Paris. Same factory. Charles Philippe.
50. Paris. Gros Caillon. Established by Lamarre, 1773.
51. Paris. Morelle a Paris. Established 1773.
52,53. Paris. Souroux, potter. Established 1773. His successor was Ollivier.
54. Paris. De la Courtille factory.
55. Paris. De la Courtille. This mark, torches or headless arrows, is made in va
rious forms, and sometimes resembles the Dresden crossed swords.
56. Paris. Dubois. This mark — two branches, alluding to the maker's name —
often resembles the previous one. Also assigned to De la Courtille factory.
57,58. Limoges. Factory of Massie. The earliest mark was G R. et Cie.
59, 60. La Seinie. Established 1774.
61. Paris. J. J. Lassia, 1774.
-62-70. Clignancourt. The windmill is the earliest mark, rare, used only in 1775.
64 is stencilled on a specimen. 65, initial of Monsieur, the king's brother; 66,
67, 68, initials of Prince Louis Stanislas Xavier; 69, initial of Moitte- director,
used with the name Clignancourt ; 70, initial of Deruelle, director.
71. Paris. Manufacture du petit Carousel. Mark used with the name of the fac
tory variously abbreviated.
72, 73. Boissette.
74, 75, 76. Paris. Lebeuf. Porcelaine de la Reine. Initial of Marie Antoinette.

484

MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF FRANCE.

77

78

79

82

At. S3

86 88 89 9°

85

91
>9 «?•.»

X  ?

92

^Sr r

i X X ^ J> p#«

100

102

103

n JP caen j H ftf $
•l 106

H '% & 4 %

108

109

3

112

113

^3- R R <R

115

X

110

119

118

1I«

120

<N

121 122 ^> fr> ™ ?-x 126

128

129

131

<& L?3 3$f m^ X "R

FRANCE. 485

77. Paris. Porcelaine de la Reine. Initials of Guy & House!, successors to Le-
beuf. These occur with Rue Thirou a Paris. Leveille, 12 Rue Thiroux, is
the latest mark.
78, 79, 80. Paris. Porcelaine d'Angouleme. Early marks of Guerhard & Dihl. '
Later marks are their names in full, and Manufacture de Mons. le Due d'An
gouleme A Paris, without name.
81. Paris. Nast, manufacturer. Stencilled,
82. Lille. The early pieces have a Lille.
83, 84, 85, 86. Paris. Factory established by Lamarre, 1784. 84, 85, 86, are in
itials of Louis Philippe Joseph, Due d'Orleans, patron.
87, 88. Paris. H. F. Chanou. Established 1784. The marks are pencilled in red. '
89, 90. Valenciennes. Initials of Fauquez, Lamoninary, and V. Early mark,
Valencien.
91. Choisy le Roy. Impressed.
92, 93, 94. Vincennes. Factory of P. A. Hannong. Established 1786.
95. Vincennes. Attributed to Hannong's, or another factory under the patronage
of Louis Philippe.
96, 97. Paris. Charles Potter. Porcelaine du Prince de Galles.
98. Paris. Belleville. Jacob Pettit. The J has sometimes a dot above it.
99. Caen. Desmare et Cie. Established 1798.
100. Paris. Manufacture de S. M. V Imperatrice. Also marked with full name of
factory, and P. L. Dagoty, proprietor.
101-106. Strasbourg. 101, C. Hannong; 102, 103, Paul A. Hannong; 104, the
same, with H in the paste ; 105, J. A. Hannong, with numbers ; 106, J. A. Han
nong.
107. Brancas Lauragais.
108,109. Orleans. 108, of Gerault; 109, of Le Brun.
110. Given by Jacquemart as the mark of Jacques Louis Broilliet on experimental
porcelain, at Gros Caillou (Paris), 1765.
111,112, 113. Marseilles. Robert. 113 is doubtful.
114-121. Niderviller. 114, Beyerle's period ; 115, 116, 117, 120, Custine's period.
These marks must not be confused with Ludwigsburg. 119 is Lanf ray's cipher.
Niderville in an open outlined letter is impressed on statuettes of Franklin
and other biscuit pieces. .
122, 123. Bordeaux. Marks of Verneuille.
124. Unknown French. Resembles Limbach, in Germany.
125-131. Unknown marks on French porcelain.
132. Attributed by Baron Davillier to Marseilles.

486 MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF GERMANY, AUSTRIA, HUNGARY.

IP!

10

11

X &3L

10
*

17

K.M

19

20 27
^ \ X ** 25 y^ X|>^
#, / \ 5TM /\ 1/ 3)\rerdtK./).lS
29 50 ^ 82 33
M ® H. fit K.H.C.U/
M 3S 40

3]
s

39
HEREND. 45

C.F

4S

UEUMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY. 487

PORCELAIN OF GERMANY, ETC.
1-8. Dresden. Marks stamped on Bottcher red ware.
9, 10, 11. Dresden. Initials of Augustus Rex, in blue and in gold, l709-'26.
12, 13. Dresden. Caduceus mark, on early pieces made for sale, 1717-20.
14, 15. Dresden. King's period, from 1770 ; the mark with O about 1778.
16. Dresden. Crossed swords, with star. Marcolini period, from 1796.
17, 18. Dresden. Early marks for (17) Kbniglicher or (18) Meissener Porzellan
Manufactur.
19, 20. Dresden. First forms of the crossed swords, used from 1719.
21. Dresden. Bruhl's time, 1750.
22. Dresden. Crossed swords ; modern mark. The earliest form, in Horoldt's
period, sometimes closely resembled the modern form.
23. Dresden. A modern mark.
24. Dresden. On a service made for the Countess Cosel.
25. Dresden. Used about 1730.
26. Dresden. Dated 1739.
27. Dresden. Early form of mark.
28, 29. Dresden. Marks used 1718.
30, 31. Dresden. Early marks.
32. Dresden. Mark used 1718.
33. Dresden. Date of use unknown ; on statuettes, with or without the crossed
swords. (Chaffers.)
34, 35. Vienna, Austria.
36. Elbogen.
37, 38. Schlakenwald, Austria. See p. 488, mark 61.
39-44. Herend, Hungary. 39 is impressed in the paste ; 40, 41, usually printed
in blue ; 42, painted in.black, with Herend impressed ; 43, painted in red ; 44,
initials of M. Fischer.
45, 46. Alten Rothau. Nowotny, maker.
47, 48. Pirkenhammer. Fischer & Reichembach, and Charles Fischer.
49. Prague. Kriegel & Co.
50-53. Hochst, Mayence. See p. 467. 51 is the mark of Geltz ; 52, of Zeschin-
ger.
54. Hochst. Mark of Dahi.

488

MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF GERMANY.

1 2 3

Y& cv:^

21
R

28 29

^

+ q j^

10 11 12 13

14

w ^ J,

oooc o

IS

~&> w_A-i

19

20

17

Y X ':C1S*' && ¥ Y **

32

U I ---

X I

vw

30

39 40

- 5^

42

43 44

\

£ K't

A

43

A

53 54

vvlf

58

60 61

t R.P-M
63 64
59 -^ • . M
PROSKAU g /y (l M-5-

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND HUNGARY.

489

1. Furstenberg. The F is made in va
rious forms.
2. Hesse Cassel ?
3. Hesse Darmstadt. (Jacquemart.)
4, 5. Fulda.
6. Gera? or Gotha? See 25.
7, 8. Gotha.
9. Wallendorf. (Also used at Ber
lin.)
10. Arnstadt.
11, 12, 13, 14. Limbach.

15. Volkstadt. Marryat says Kloster
Veilsdorf. See 24, below.
16. Anspach. So says Marryat. See,
26, 46, 47, 48, below.
17. Rauenstein.
18, 19. Grosbreitenbach.
20. Grosbreitenbach ?
21, 22, 23. Rudolstadt. R was used in
various forms.
24. Volkstadt. See 15, above.
25. Gera. Two forms of G.

26. Attributed to_ Gera and to Anspach; probably the latter. Chaffers gives it
with a D under a crown. The mark varies from a rude eagle (46) to this form.
See 16.
27, 28. Baden-Baden. The blade of an axe or two axes, in gold or impressed.
29-35. Ludwigsburg (Kronenburg). The double C is the cipher of Charles
Eugene, who'died 1793, but the mark was used till 1806. It must not be con
founded with that of Niderviller, in Custine's time, which was sometimes accom
panied by a coronet. The mark frequently appears without the crown, as in 31
and 32. The form 30 (L, with a crown) is also a mark of the time of Charles
Eugene. The letters C C in mark 29 were changed in 1806 to T. R., the T. R.
being sometimes in monogram; and in" 1818 the letters W. R. were substituted.
The stag's horns, singly, 35, or on a shield, as in 34, were also used.
36. Hildesheim, Hanover. Sometimes the letter A only ; from about 1760.
37, 38, 39. Nymphenburg and Neudeck. The first is the oldest mark. These are
impressed, without color, and sometimes difficult to recognize. Found on pieces
with marks of other factories, which bought aud decorated them.
40-45. .Frankenthal. 41, P. A. Hannong's mark ; 42, Joseph A. Hannong ; 43,
initials of Carl Theodore, Elector ; 44, supposed, of Ringler ; 45, supposed, of
Bartolo.

46, 47, 48. Anspach, in Bavaria.
49. Baireuth.

50. Regensburg (Ratisbon).
51. Wurtzburg, Bavaria.

52-57. Berlin. The sceptre is the general mark, made in several forms. 52, 53,
54 are the earliest marks of Wegeley, 1750-61 ; 56, globe and cross and
K. P.' M., for Koniglicher Porzellan Manufactur, adopted about 1830 ; 57,
modern mark, alone, and with K. P. M. The Wegeley marks resemble Wallen-
dorff and others.

58. Charlo*ttenberg.
59. Proskau.
60. Vienna. See p. 486 for other forms
of the shield.

61

62

Schlakenwald, Austria. See page
486 for other forms.
63, 64. Unknown murks on German
hard-paste porcelain.

490 MARKS OF HOLLAND, BELGIUM, SWEDEN, DENMARK, RUSSIA.

65 60 07 6S CO ™ 71 72 73
FS * - KP j> *r £ K 0 L
80
-c » 81
74 '^ 77 7g 79 \ • / ^
84 85
S2 S3 /^fv ^fc 1 "
¦ 91 95
88 I— .. f) 92 93 9* +
& h j $ * **« %.
^rf so c* .. "*
D P, ii 102 103
106 107 10S
t? ^i^ ¦£ io° 110 iu 112
ft W rD *s oh /»S\ * * * *
M Hi Ji ® eft, W **#?

114
ajfe.* ^. 117 US

. .R^a -, 117 US
BPATbEBl JP^ JS^ TMHCPZ
KopHHAOBBlXT. ^S3>> 4
^ 121 122 123
>4~ iP /V
rAFAfiEfh hoiiobm -" x ^ v
^r . KffiBZ .
I J. r 126 f^ >^V
T^AHHA Aamtyfa Cmi II Sfe

tr.cMZ.iiY if, HOLLAND, SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM, RUSSIA, ETC. 491
65-76. Unknown marks on German hard-paste porcelain.
77,78. Uncertain; possibly Frankenthal, Hannong fecit.
79. Weesp, Holland.
80. Weesp ? Arnstadt ? Saxe Gotha ? Uncertain.
81. Loosdrecht. Manufactur oude Loosdrecht.
82, 83. Amstel (Amsterdam).
84. Amsterdam. The lion frequently alone.
85. The Hague.
86, 87, 88. Brussels. 87 is mark of L. Crette.
89-92. Luxembourg. 93 is the modern mark.
93. Zurich, Switzerland.
94. Nyon, Switzerland.
95-98. Tournay. 95 is Peterynck's mark from 1751 ; the tower is also assigned
to Vincennes, and pieces thus marked are called " Porcelaine de la tour."
99, 100, 101. Marieberg, Sweden.
102, 103. Copenhagen. Three waving lines for the Sound and the Belts.

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF RUSSIA, ETC.
104-112. St. Petersburg. Royal factory ; 104, time of Empress Elizabeth, 1741 ;
105, 106, Empress Catharine (Ekaterina), 1762 ; 107, Emperor Paul, 1796 ; 108,
Emperor Alexander, 1801 ; 109, Emperor Nicholas, 1825; 110, 111, Emperor
Alexander IL, 1855; 112, shows system of dates by dots adopted 1871 — one
dot for 1871, two for 1872, etc.
113,114. St. Petersburg. Brothers Korniloff.
115-119. Moscow. Gardners.
120-123. Moscow. Popoff. Factory established 1830.
124. Kiev, Russia, or near there at Mejigoric. Pottery.
125. Baranowka, Poland. Pottery.
126. Chmeloff, Poland. Pottery.
127. Kiev, Russia. Pottery.
128. Korzec, Poland. Pottery.

492

MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

*~ «* i > x 1 4 ^

13 14

-&

KLJ A>

19

0

23

A

wi-

# £ 1 & i f

27 28
¦9 9

5)

33 34

35 30

:>5C-

BLOOR

]f> <^C ^

41

42

.SUA-

4S

49 SO

Bt^

X

<£> .?sifr cto

\J/<

:©
¦=>/dV=>
52
ENGLAND. 493

POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.
1-18. Bow. Scratched marks, resembling 4, 11, and other unintelligible scratches
occur. Other marks are in color, sometimes as in 14, 15, 16, 18, in two colors.
19. Bow? Bristol? Impressed mark. Uncertain.
20, 21. Chelsea. The triangle impressed was formerly assigned to Bow till dis
covery of piece with mark 21. It is on an English pottery teapot in the T.-P.
collection.
22. Chelsea. Anchor embossed. Early mark.
23, 24. Chelsea. Forms of the anchor mark in colors or gold. The anchor was
used by many other factories.
25,26. Uncertain. Bow?
27, 28. Derby. Chelsea-Derby period.
29, 30. Derby. Crown-Derby period. 30 supposed to be mark on pieces made at
Chelsea, after the purchase by Duesbury, and before closing the works.
31. Derby. A mark of Duesbury's time, date unknown.
32, 33, 34, 35. Marks used from about 1788. The earliest in puce or blue, later in
red. 34 is of Duesbury & Kean.
36. Derby. Bloor's mark, 1825-30.
37-41. Derby. Bloor's marks.
42. Derby. Modern mark of S. Hancock, present owner.
43, 44. Derby ? Uncertain marks on pieces resembling Derby.
45, 46. Derby. Copies of Sevres and Dresden marks on Derby porcelain.
47. Derby. On a statuette.
48-52. Derby. 48, 49, 50 are imitations of a Chinese symbol. 51 is uncertain,
perhaps of Bloor's time. 52, a star, often impressed on figures.

494 MARKS ON POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

53

A. -A. 5*Z C nF* T

60

SB

61

62

*J/^213

zm

G*A/vnu.y 65 Of \7
CA^ £ (fW* 67 6S

71

70

iXy

0

72
y.

73
00

5*

79

74

76

75

1 1-

B Cocker
0 81 82 . S3 S4

SALOPIAN )( TURNER jj$. =$f £

S9 90

* f a * A *

q

97

ENGLAND. 495

53-57. Bow ? These marks occur in blue on figures.
58. Bow ? Supposed monogram of Fry in blue.
59. Bow ? Impressed.
60. Derby. On service made for the Persian ambassador.
61. Derby. On a plate.
62. Derby. Used in 1842. Imitation of Sevres.
63-76. Derby. On various pieces.. 71-75 are marks of Cocker, on figures, etc.,
made by him at Derby till 1840, and after that in London ;. 76 is an imitation
of a Sevres mark.
77-82. Worcester. Workmen's marks on Worcester porcelain.
83. Caughley. Forms of the crescent mark, and C in blue.
84. Caughley. Forms of S, for Salopian, in blue or impressed.
85. Caughley.
86, 87. Caughley.
88-96. Caughley. Numerals 1, 2, 3, etc., in fanciful style on printed wares.
97. Caughley. Mark of Rose 2

496 MARKS ON POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

100

G«rfwt g&cvU 60

102 103

@

104 c

4^

106

107 108 D
34-3 <Jfi°o

114

/ t 3 * 5 • I
9 ',} <s * 'v I* '* '» '

115

112

rifww^ gc

116

117

118

119

N4

120
lift ^

L2Z

12S

130 131
X<000 132
ENGLAND. 497

98. Coalport.
99-104. Colebrook-Dale. The first three are the older marks. 102, adopted
1851. 103 is the modern mark, being a monogram of S. C, for Salopian, Cole
brook-Dale, and including C, for Caughley or Coalport ; S, for Swansea ; and N,
for Nantgarrow, the combined factories.
105. Shelton. The New Hall factory. Modern marks of this factory are Hack-
wood, or Hackwood & Co., from 1842 to 1856 ; then C & H, late Hackwood,
for Cockson & Harding; and since 1862 Harding.
106-110. Pinxton.
111-132. Worcester. The early mark is the letter W, in various forms, as in
112. This stands for Worcester or Wall.
The crescent, also in different forms, as in 113, in blue, gold, or impressed, was used
prior to 1793. It must not be mistaken for the crescent of Caughley, which it
closely resembles, so that specimens can sometimes be identified only by the
paste or the decorations.
The marks numbered 111 are workmen's marks. These do not identify specimens
with certainty, as of Worcester, for similar marks are found on other porcelains.
The square marks, 114, 115, 116, are early marks, imitating Oriental.
Marks 117, 118, 119 are found on prints, and are the signatures of Robert Hancock,
engraver. The anchor in 118 and 119 may be of Richard Holdship. See text.
The marks 120-126 are early marks, fanciful imitations of Chinese. Other marks
occur, resembling these in character.
127, 128, 129, 130 are imitations of the crossed-sword mark of the Dresden factory.
131 is an imitation of the mark of Sevres.
1 32 is an imitation of the mark of Chantilly. 32

498 MARKS ON POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

&

133  pn X 130 -QJ
FLIGHTS &&fi c^ B jl7UkB.r„

141

138

139 •A-

FligURarr&Barr.

BFB

140181
Be

BiBBfijGHl'&BiRR. Royal B>rtelain Works.
WOHCKSTUR.
London— House.
fflCoreiuYy Street.

142

143

CAamtexUuH CHAMBERLAINS ffi&SSit

146

147

0-i,

x 3

149
+15° 151
B^ 3 2

156

153 mo . ,„„
x jQ e, # \ a A

100

159
-4-

iA -i

it io3
U 162 %

^

105
M 171

Spok

100

107

108

o4i^ ^/v\j m

¦MTOW/I jSPODfi

172

173

(SPODE)

S^yl

Stone -China.

imperial

ENGLAND. 499

133-146. Worcester (continued from previous page). Flight purchased the
works (1783), and used his name, impressed (mark 133), or painted (134), some
times with the crescent mark in blue. 133 and 134 were used till 1792. Af
ter the king's visit, in 1788, mark 135 was sometimes used.
136. Scratched mark of Barr after 1793.
137. Flight & Barr, 1793-1807.
138, 140. Flight, Barr, & Barr, 1807-'13. The F. B. B. impressed.
139. Impressed mark, used 1813-40.
141. Printed mark, used 1813-40.
142. Chamberlain, 1788 to about 1804.
143. Chamberlain, 1847-'50. Impressed or printed.
A printed mark, Chamberlain's Regent China, Worcester, etc., under a crown, was
used from 1811 to about 1820.
A written mark, Chamberlains, Worcester, & 63 Piccadilly, London, was used
about 1814.
A printed mark, Chamberlains, Worcester, & 155 New Bond St. London, un
der a crown, was used from 1820 to 1840. After the union of the two facto
ries in 1840, the printed mark was Chamberlain & Co., 155 New Bond St.,
& No. 1 Coventry Street, London, under a crown.
In 1847 the mark was simply Chamberlain & Co., Worcester.
From 1847 to 1850 mark 143 was used.
144 was used 1850-'51.
145. Mark adopted by Kerr & Binns, 1851, and since used.
146. Kerr & Binns, on special work.
147. Plymouth. In blue, red, or gold.
148-164. Bristol. The general mark is a cross (149), in slate-color, blue, or in
the paste, with or without numbers and other marks. Numbers from 1 to 24
are thought to be of decorators. B, with a number (marks 151-154), was fre
quently used. 155 shows Bristol and Plymouth combined; 157, John Britain,
foreman in the factory. 159 shows an embossed T over the cross in blue. The
Dresden mark was frequently used, as in 160, 161, 162, 163, in combination
with numbers, etc. 164 is probably a workman's mark.
165-169. Stoke. Minton. 165 is the earliest mark. 166, 167 are also early
marks. 168 was used about 1850, and 169 later.
170-174. Stoke. Marks of Josiah Spode, father and son. 170 is an old mark,
neatly pencilled in various colors.

500 MARKS ON POTTERY AND PORCELAIN OF ENGLAND.

175

°<f

AND

73

178

179

7IATE <
3SPODEJ1

X

181

1S2

Copeland lafe Spode

COPELAND copeland

185

l>jBMNCHEn * + s>

184
RKjflireaiM

Jdronitld.

^ Si^ woW ^

NANT-GiRTV bS^o,

190
13

193 194 eCJuna
I-on Stone China . _D Snl) v/ ijjfc

193 i»
w^ Matoiisrateal Opaqm
'J t- .  «ii. H..J
ROGERS

197

19S

jkbJT

199

If

201
CG £S

<

4?

203

205
SCOTT

TURNER

<h

PB

%

-%

208
HERCULANEUM

209
WEDGWOOD

213
Wedgwood & Bentley
212 214

WedjrwwA * flentfey Wefywwd q ^ f> ; ;

ENGLAND. 501

175-183. Stoke. Marks of the several successors of Spode since 1833.
175. Copeland & Garret, 1833-'47.
176. Used by Copeland & Garret.
177. Copeland & Garret.
178, 179. Copeland & Garret, 1833-'47.
180. Copeland, 1847-'51.
181. Copeland, after 1851.
182. Copeland used, 1847-'67.
183. W. T. Copeland & Sons, after 1867.
184. Rockingham. Adopted about 1823. The mark of Brameld from 1807 was
his name impressed, sometimes with a cross and four dots. Teapots have im
pressed marks : Mortlock, Cadogans, Mortlock's Cadogan, Rockingham.
Coffee-pots had sometimes the pattern name Norfolk impressed.
185-187. Swansea. The name Swansea, stencilled or impressed, was used about
1815 ; also Swansea, Dillwyn & Co., and Dillwyn's Etruscan Ware.
Marks 185, 186 are impressed, date unknown. 187 is on an old pottery vase.
Cambrian Pottery also appears.
188. Nantgarrow, 1813-20, painted, impressed, or stencilled. Mortlock, in gilt,
occurs on ware decorated in London, and also on Swansea ware.
189. Longport. Davenport 's mark. The earliest mark was Longport, or Daven
port Longport. The marks are impressed or printed, and forms vary. After
1805, on iron-stone wares the anchor was in a portico.
190. Liverpool. Richard Chaffers.
191. Liverpool. Pennington. In gold or colors. y
192. Longport. Rogers. Pottery and iron-stone.
193. Lane Delph. C.J.Mason. Various other marks, including the name. The
oldest marks include the name, Miles Mason ; a mark is Mason's Cambrian
Argil ; and a late mark, Fenton Stone Works, C. J. M. & Co.
194. Tunstall and Burslem. Bridgwood & Clark, 1857.
195. Longton. Hilditch & Son.
196. Tunstall. Bowers?
197. Longton. Mayer & Newbold.
198, 199. On Elers-ware teapots.
200. Yarmouth. Absolon.
201, 202, 203. Leeds. 201 is Charles Green.
204. Lane-End. Turner.
205. Edinburgh (Portobello) pottery.
206, 207, 208. Liverpool. 206, 208 are Herculaneum pottery. Marks of this pot
tery are found impressed, painted, and printed on bottoms and sides of pieces.
207 is of Case & Mort, proprietors from 1833.
209-214. Burslem and Etruria. Marks of Wedgwood and his factory. The most
common mark is the word wedgwood, impressed. This is continued in use

502 ENGLAND.

at present, and old wares are distinguished from modern only by the work.
Marks 211, 212 are old marks, never counterfeited, so far as known. The marks
of Wedgwood & Bentley are rarely found except on good old work. A great
variety of marks, scratched or impressed, are found on specimens, accompanying
the name; those in forms of sections of a circle, as shown in 214, are supposed
to characterize work from 1810-'20. Capital letters are common marks; but
no significance attaches to them, except that in ail cases where three capital let
ters occur on a piece Miss Meteyard says it is modern — since 1845. Miss Mete
yard also says, " The letter O and the number 3 — either separately or com
bined — always indicate the best period and the highest quality of ware." A
very rare mark is "B & W."
Porcelain was marked with the name impressed and, more rarely, printed in
color. See text, p. 332, for other information.
Other English wares are marked with names of makers, which will be found
in the text. Initials are sometimes found, which may also be determined by
reference to the Alphabetical List of English Potters, at pp. 385-387. The col
lector will discover many marks on English wares not catalogued, since tables
are necessarily imperfect. Thus, since these tables were electrotyped, we have
found wood impressed on pieces of a service, others of which have E. Wood &
Sons, showing the former to be an occasional mark used by this firm. We have
also found printed pottery in dark blue, with landscapes, on which adam, war
ranted Staffordshire, is impressed in a circle around the American eagle.
These wares are of about 1820, but the potter is unknown. Several English
potters adopted the American eagle, printed in blue, as a mark, with or without
their names accompanying it, and apparently on wares intended for the American
market. All specimens which we have seen with this mark are later than 1815.
Engravers of prints rarely signed their work, and, except of Hancock and
Sadler, signatures are almost unknown. A large pitcher in the T.-P. Collection,
marked herculaneum pottery, Liverpool, has two prints, one representing
"Commodore Preble's squadron attacking the city of Tripoli Aug. 3, 1804,"
the other a portrait of Commodore Preble, in an oval resting on a landscape, with
cannon, a flag, an Indian woman, etc. The latter print, one of unusual excellence
as an engraving, is signed d, but we have no knowledge of the engraver. Various
signs, printed in blue, stars, squares, rosettes, chemical signs, etc., are found on
printed wares, of whose meaning nothing is known.

CHINA AND JAPAN. 503

MARKS ON PORCELAIN OF CHINA AND JAPAN.
Some explanation of the Oriental marks has already been given in the text. It
is repeated here, for convenience of reference.
Chinese marks are dates, mottoes expressive of good wishes, indications of the
rank and quality of the persons for whose use the wares, are intended, symbolic
signs, etc. The method of dating is usually by the name of the dynasty and reign
of the ruling sovereign. It is customary in China to give to each reign a name,
such as "the brilliant," "the excellent," etc. So, also, with the dynasties. The
" Ming" Dynasty means the " illustrious" dynasty. With the names of the dynasty
and the reign sometimes occur two 'signs for two words — nien (years or period) che
(made). Here, for example, is one of the marks of a period or reign in the Ming
Dynasty. It commences in reading at the right hand, top, and is
read downward as the signs are numbered, thus : 1, Ta ; 2, Ming ; 4 yC f\ x

3, Ching ; 4, Hwa ; 5, Nien ; 6, Che ; which is, in English, 1, 2,
rreat Ming; 3, 4, Ching-hwa; 5, 6, period made; and mean;
made in Ching-hwa period of Great Ming Dynasty." The Em

" made in (Jhmg-hwa period ot tfreat lvimg uynasty. ine n,m- i .
peror Tchun-ti reigned 1465-87, and his reign was called the 6 ljpJ£ TJA s
Ching-hwa period. It will be seen that the third and fourth of
these signs are the name of the period. Accordingly, in the following Table we
omit the dynasty signs and those signifying " period made," and give only the two
characters which name the period. Porcelains having the " six marks," so called, of
the period above given are more highly esteemed than any others. Those of the
Yung-lo, Seuen-tih, Kea-tsing, and Wan-leih periods of the Ming Dynasty are also
prized. All these are admirably counterfeited, with the marks, in modern times.
Careful examination and comparison with the mark given in the Table are neces
sary ; for Chinese workmen were not always skilful writers, and the same mark,
written by different hands, varies quite as much as English handwriting.
Another class of Chinese marks are seal marks. These are in characters used
only for such purposes, and the signs are of similar value to those in the six marks.
The example here given reads, " Made in the period of Kien-Iong
(1736-95) of the Thsing Dynasty. Potters' names and factory
marks rarely occur on Chinese ware. Square marks, resembling
seal marks, but illegible, are common.
The various symbolic marks on Chinese wares are but little un
derstood, as we know little of the Chinese civilization. It is sup
posed that some forms, occurring more frequently in the decorations of pieces, have
reference to the class of people for whom the wares were made.
Japanese marks are rare on old specimens. Dates are on the same system with
the Chinese. On both wares marks are sometimes impressed, but usually painted in
color. Most of the Japanese marks in the Tables are found on modern fabrics.

504

CHINESE MARKS AND SYMBOLS.

MAEKS, ETC., OE" POKCELAIN OF CHINA.

Marks of Periods.

Ta Ming Dynasty,
1368-1647.

g-woo, 1368.

jj^1 Jdfc Hung-,
•^ j^ Keen-wan, 1399.
*$£ 5K Yung-lo, 1403.
)E8 tylfc Hung-he, 1425.
2&1 ^j|£ Seuen-te, 1426.
Jjfa ]£ Ching-thung, 1436.
fie -If" King-tae, 1450.
UPf ^ Theen-shun, 1457.
It /fit Ching-hwa, 1465.
^Q jj^ Hung-che, 1488.
^| JE Ching-tih, 1506.

Marks of Periods.

^& Kea-tsing, 1522.

Lung-king, 1567. -
Wan-leih, 1573.
M ^ Tae-chang, 1620.
E!JJ*.t£ Theen-khe, 1621.
f|( ^ Tsung-ching, 1628.
"Tf" Klv Tsung-kwang,1644.
jfc|3 Shaou-woo, 1646.
Lung- woo, 1647.
f^S^c* Yung-leih, 1647.

»«/£ -J* 7'a Thsing Dynasty,
yP=i y\ 1616-1861.

Marks of Periods.

•gb y^ Theen-ming, 1616.
TV Theen-tsing, 1627.
J&C=Jr Tsung-te, 1636.
oj} lllg Shun-che, 1644.
IJEBj)^ Kang-he, 1662.
Yung-ching, 1723.
Kien-long, 1736.
Kea-king, 1796.
a£ mc. Ta°u-kwangi i821-
§fc Han-fung, 1851.

ffi El Thung-she, 1861.

MARKS IN THE SEAL CHARACTER.

M

Shun-ehee, 1644.

Kang-he, .1662.

Yung-ehing,1723.

fUlfc

ilr? I III Kien-long, 1733.
REBTO

Kea-king, 1796.

B5* nn

1
m
4F-

ii

Taou-kwang, 1822.

Han-fung, 1851.

Thung-che, 1861.

|T\/ Ching-hwa, 1465^
•_»<N Forgery on mod
ern work.

|)2l 1 5? Shun-che, 1644.
ji,j ' ^ Another form of
3: 1; }! C f°ur marks.

^sl Kien-long, 1736.
™5MS Another form.

il

H

Taou-kwang, 1822.
Another form.

Han-fung, 1851.
Another form.

Thung-che, 1861.
Another form.

Thung-che. Name
only.

CHINESE MARKS AND SYMBOLS.

505

Marks, Symbols,
etc.

*

Three forms of the two-fish mark,
found on old blue ware : one of
the earliest known, from 969-
1106.

The sesamum flower. Various
- flower marks are found, in an
cient and modern periods.

Hoa : a small flower inside a cup.
- Marks the Yung-lo period,
1403-1424.

Butterfly.

Show: long life; a wish for lon
gevity, common in one or an
other of these and other forms
on porcelain: sometimes re-

Marks, Symbols,
etc.

^k
??¦
^ $>

peated a hundred or more
times. Such pieces are called
"hundred show."

Circular show mark.

Oval show mark.

Iii

m Thin form of show.
\o\

m

\

ft

fi

? Fuh-che: happiness

i

506

CHINESE MARKS AND SYMBOLS.

Marks, Symbols,
etc.

Fuh-che ; happiness.

Luh: wealth.

^> Keih : good luck.
1 J^ Yuh : a gem ; precious thing.
\X Wan : literature

3oD Hing: flourishing

? a
llll
? a
±_±

I'gC fi

Ke : a vessel ; vase ; ability.

Paou : precious.
Ting: perfect.
Tsuen : perfect ; a name.
King: good wishes.
A name.

Marks, Symbols,
etc.

£

Yuh-chin : precious gem.

J

Woo-fuli : the five blessings — long
life, health, riches, love of virtue,
a natural death.

Woo-chin : the five blessings.
1 Chin-yuh : precious gem.

Wan-yuh : beautiful gem.

- Chin- wan : valuable rarity.

i- Ta-keih : prosperity, good luck.

Choo-foo: a polite expression in
China. Mark used 1260-1367.

& J

I Keang-tang : preserved ginger.
Used 1522-1566.

» J

Tsaou - tang : preserves ; chow-
chow. Used 1522-1566.

»i, J- Tung-gan, a name.

St
SOU
SMS j

- Yung-ching, a name.

fc

Tsae Jun

tang die

Wei foo
ching.

(_ Made for the brilliant
( hall of the middle.

Made to add to the jas
per.

Jin ho
kwan

Hall of brotherhood.

CHINESE MARKS AND SYMBOLS.

507

Marks, Symbols, etc.

ft
fi

4&

miU

*£-

I*

EB

mm

iM

Bt

Fung"! seentang

Hall of ancestors.

Tang Khe~| Made for hall of
> wonderful beau-
che yuh J ty.

TangChingjMade {m ^ rf
'che ti J ™tuous study.

^ Tang Pi 1 Ma(Je for haU Qf

che yuh J

jewelled girdle.

Tang Tze"l Made for hall of
> violet embroid-
che tze J ery.

TanSKmS~l Made for hall of
, . f worship.
che wei J r

[KeaYuhl Beautiful vase for
jke tangj hal1 of Seras'
]ChanSFuh] Wealth, honor,
chun kweij " '
1 Chang Fuh lWeftlthi honor)

ming kweij

long life.

35 3^

| Tze Teen 1 Heavell grant hap.
fuh kwan J "

Jou Khe~l Wonderful as the
}• five precious
woo chinj things.

Marks, Symbols, etc.

I Jou Khe| Wonderful gen)! re.
JyuhchinJ ambling a jewel.
] Jou Khe~]
J- > Same signification.
yuh wanj
Ya Ching~| Remarkable meet-
> ing of philoso-
tsei yu J phers and friends.
Chin Pool Valuable curiosity
, f for antiquaries.
wan ku J ^
Paou Wan f Elegant, perfect,
I precious ting ;
, | metal incense-
ting yah L pot.
Shan Wan [Compliment;
J comparing to a
, 1 mountain and
tow shang the North.star.
I Ya Meil Made for one who
jcheyuhj knows gems.
Wan show woo keang : an un
limited long life.
Wan
show
Same. This is in the
seal character.
keang„
Keang ming kaou (name);
tsaou (maker).
508

CHINESE MARKS AND SYMBOLS.

Marks, Symbols,
etc.
W Jltr Z"3 (.Yung ching yu che: made for
Yung ching.

Wan ming cheang (name) che
(made).

m

^•1 ^« » I Leen ching khe how (not trans-

Marks, Symbols,
etc.

Jo shia chin tsang: precious
JST JfZ5 property ; Jo shin (name).

#

«

<&

f(f«t
Iff 5
3^11

? Same mark.

Same mark.

J

II ^S J
BIS1

Ting Khe"
• che she
chin paou^
Ting Khe
che yuh
chinpaou

Ting of very precious
and costly stohe.

Same meaning.

Yuh Chung")

• ya yuh
che mei

For the true-heart-
? ed, elegant gem
made.

1S$
2" &

m*

Long life as the south mountain.
Happiness like the east sea.

Badge of authority; on pieces for
mandarins.

Tablet of honor, including the Swas
tika. (See text.)

Another form of the same.
Another form.
A mandarin mark of honor.
The sounding-stone. (See text.)
Another sounding instrument.
Sacred axe. (See text.)
Shell (see text) or helmet (?).
Shell (?).
Shell (?).
Standard table.
Leaves. Frequent marks.

Treasures of writing, stone for
ink, brushes for writing, a roll
of paper, etc. Found as a
mark ; and common, as are
many of the previous designs,
in the surface decorations of
porcelains.

VM1NESE MARKS AND SYMBOLS.

509

Marks, Symbols, etc.

a

15

.JLwl U.WMWBW

Beautiful vase for the wealthy
and noble. Otherwise trans
lated : wealth, honors, and in
tellect.

Probably a name.

Valuable vase for divining.

These three combinations, or
arrangements of lines, known
as the eight diagrams of
Fuh-hi, frequently occur on
Chinese porcelain. They have
reference to certain mystic
ideas, utterly unintelligible to
us, relating to the genders,
the principles of creation,
the origin of all things, etc.,
etc. Chinese philosophers
profess to understand their
meaning and suggestions,
and the Chinese regard them
as talismanic.

Marks, Symbols, etc.

Bamboo leaves, used as a mark
at King-te-chin, 1573-1619.
We have also found the
leaves used as an exterior
decoration of porcelain dish
es which we believe to be
Persian.

Square marks, common on old
specimens, in these and many
other forms.

Paou: precious.

510

MARKS ON JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

MARKS OE" JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

Marks of Periods.

Ken-tok, 1370.
1* *X Bun-tin, 1372.
7^£.^ Ten-du, 1375.
fa §^ Ko-wa, 1380.
*$* fti Gen"tin> 138°-
P5|^&^ Mei-tok, 1393.
KM0™1™4-
•JcJE Show-tiyo, 1428.
& /IS Yei-kiyo, 1429.
-*_ -=fc«
m jSj. Ka-kitsu, 1441.
"^T^V Bun-an, 1444.
433 *=fc*
j^i jjj, H°-tok> 1449'
|£gN 5 Kiyo-tok, 1452.
ih Si; Ko-show, 1455.
^7K"|jp Chiyo-rok, 1457.
|j-« £S Kwan-show, 1460.
-E ^^ Bun-show, 1466.
Cj8| Onin,1467.
£tt| _V Bun-mei, 1469.
~r -J^ Chiyo-kiyo, 1487.
|^^ En-tok, 1489.
itfc^ Mei0- 1492-
8& \V ' Bun-ki, 1501.

Marks of Periods.

HE 7K Yei-show, 1504.
j^ ^ Dai-jei, 1521.
t/K j Eiy0-rok. 1528-
^-^Di-yei, 1532.
fy£]$Jl K°-dsi» 1555-
1^ jk Yei-r°k> i558-
mB^C* Gen-ki> 15,7a
"jp JJF Ten-show, 1573.
??j|? it* Bun-rok, 1592.
J5^J|p: Kei-chiyo, 1596.
JrjyTj 7H Gen-wa, 1615.
^K §p Kwan-jei, 1624.
J-S j£ Show-ho, 1644.
"^jf^ Kei-an, 1648.
Ml ^ show-°> i652-
f^^ft Mei-reki, 1655.
,]J^ JlT' Man-dsi, 1658.
St ^. Kwan-bun, 1661.
f^ftH Yen-po, 1673.
^frt^? Ten-wa, 1681.
^ # Tei-kiyo, 1684.
%jfc/X, Gen-rok, 1688.
/^^S Ho-yei, 1704.

Marks of Periods.

fl|>lF, Show-tok, 1711.
ffiy Kiyo-ho, 1717.

V "77" Gen-bun, 1736.
/Tfc' f^ Kwan-po, 1741.
"p.JjE Yen-kiyo, 1744.
^t fS. Kwan-jen, 1748.
1%%, 1§& Ho-reki, 1751.
^(0 03 Mei-wa, 1764.
9« JiF Ten-mei, 1781.
jFfe ^S* Kwan-sei, 1789.
^U-SjET Kiyo-wa, 1801.
JQ V Bun-kwa, 1804.
j& O Bun-sei, 1818.
1^5^ Ten-po,1834.
tfc^A Ko-kua,1844.
^K^ Ka-yei, 1848.
^»^ \> Bun-se, 1854.
J\3~J~Ll Man-yen, I860.
J- Bun-kin, 1861.

^cJ^ Gen-di, 1861.

1865.
Mei-di, 1868.

m^itJia uj JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

511

Enamel Marks.
fee

I Enamel mark. Forgery (?) of
f Chinese date 1645.

Di-Nipon : Great Japan.
Han-suki, maker. (Enamel.)

1

1/

Nipon : Japan. Next signs illeg
ible.
Eurok, maker. (Enamel.)

}

J

Awftta Potteries.
Mm

Great Japan.
Dioto, maker.
Tokio, name of factory ; and
Maker's names.
Ae-rako, a name.
Ki-yo, a name.

r©-| Yu-ah-su-zan, a name.
fe

TTd eh j

Awata.

Banko Potteries.

)-'/ ')¦ Banko.
¦s J

m

Banko.

Banko Potteries.

Nipon, Japan.
Ari-nori, name.
Banko.Shing-en, a name.
Banko.Banko.

0"L^N ' \ Banko : eminent of flowers.

#

Banko, an old mark.

Guso, name.

Maker's mark.

Bishu Porcelain.

m

Hiradoson Porce
lain.
I]

• Bishu.

Hiradoson.Shi-ae, maker.

— ? | Hiradoson, and

maker's name.

512

MARKS ON JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

Hezen Porcelain.

«1C

rift USE

5- Hezen, or Fisen.

• He-shu.

Hezen :
Haritikami, maker.

Hezen :
Shinpo, maker.
Hezen :
Reksen, maker.
West Hezen :
Nan-di, maker.
He-shu (Hezen) :
Tentai, maker.
Haridan, factory.

2#1
The following are Hezen factory villages :
Wj*tT")A Great mountain between rivers.
r{jWD~ Three mountains between rivers.
W al'JQ Mountain of springs.
* llfl v£ Beautiful upper plain.
^rM^^fc Beautiful chief plain.
^©tfl Middle plain.
^p ^. Long plain.

Hezen Porcelain.

¦gfJ7T Great vase.
jEjU Q] Medium vase.
y// "fe White stream.
HJTiTp Street of painters in red,

P Oi

/*

^

The cave.

j|fl| ff] South bank.
^|rj£/ Outside tail.
B%.i? Black field.
'M^.JM Kr°-se-
^f^— Itche-na-se.
J^L # Imali-

Kaga Pottery and
Porcelain.
A, I
« i
-ft-

Kutani : the nine vallevs.

^

Kutani.

Kutani.

Made at Kutani.

UliS9 & y Made at Kutani.

J

Kagayo Kutani.

^ ¥&¦ } The same-

'p^J5 J

^,«f >• The same.

MARKS ON JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

513

Kapa Pottery and
Porcelain.
%H 13
#* it

9

>¦ Kagayo Kutani.
> Great Japan, made at Kutani.
• Kutani Bok-zan.
Kutani : Touzan.
Porcelain Mountain (Touzan).
Rising-sun Mountain.
Ponzan.

¦ I Dio, maker.

m

B

Great Japan; Garden Mountain;
strong pottery.

ft m

To-o.

- Made at Kutani, long house.

¦sTt'l Kutani.

Kaga Pottery and
Porcelain.

BID Ell
as

II

¦KII!|E»

Kioto Pottery.

•Y>

Long life.

Happines3.

Riches.

- Kioto.

Kioto, Japan ; Kinkousan,
maker.

2? Kinkousan, maker.

m

Satsuma Pottery.

Itsigaya, a place.
Tai-zan, maker.
Tai-zan.

Tai-zan.

Tai-zan.

Den-ko, name.

33

514

MARKS ON JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN

Shiba (Tokei) Pot
tery.
33*?
if?
It* At
Awari Porcelain.

Hikomakoro, maker at Sie-un-
tei, in Shiba.

Unknown.

«
'TI
P

ut

Symbols, Inscrip
tions, Names, etc.

Awari.

Saeng - ets : beautiful moon ;
name of celebrated painter.

? Ai-we, name.

Spring Mountain.

Painter's name (Yama-moto
Sho-tan).

?• Long life.

¦teSWll Long life.
SB

Symbols, Inscrip
tions, Names, etc.

Happiness.

Wealth.

So-o.

J*
fir*

4K
If If .

Kami, maker.

> Rakou-masa, maker.

Huzi-nori, name.

Imitation of Chinese marks:
" Precious property of Jo-
shin."

Shin-fo-se-seki, name.

Seven honorable societies,

Hall of increase of peace, har-
monv.

1

^ a J

t'«

V Wealth, honors, and long youth.

m
A*

Wealth, honors, and long life.

MARKS ON JAPANESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.

515

Symbols, Inscrip
tions, Names, etc.
is

SLTS on

Wealth, honors, and long Ufe.

Made at beautiful garden.

The same ; maker's name
(Gos-ki) added.

On ware probably Hezen.

5** 1
*1 ii* ea j

Chinese mark of 1426 on Hezen
ware.

£* 1
3fPf
it*. flv. D
aft

Chinese mark of 1465 on Hezen
ware.

Great Japan ; Hirak, maker.

Pavilion of Spring.
Tsi-tze, maker.

Symbols, Inscrip
tions, Names, etc.
If it

1%'

Same factory name.
Sanfo, maker. These are on
Nagasaki wares.

Sito in Japan, with maker's
name;

1

ffl

Hata, factory.

Middle mountain.

yj

Itsi-yama. 1

These, and many other square
marks, are found on blue
painted wares.

ill

INDEX.

Abaquesne, Masseot, potter, 205.
Abbey, Richard, potter, 353, 356.
A. B., 298.
Abd-er-Rhama, 133.
Abruzzi pottery, 148, 177.
Absolon, W., decorator, 383, 385.
A. C, 298.
Adam, Charles, sculptor and pot
ter, 274.
Adam, warranted Staffordshire,
502.
Adams, William, potter, 345, 3 85 ;
& Co., 345 ; & Sons, potters,
351 ; J., 385.
Adler, artist, 298.
Africa, Northern, pottery of, 131.
Agostino (called Delia Robbia),
150,151.
Ahriman, 98.
Air pressure used in making
vases, 277.
Aire pottery, 211.
A la corne style, 206.
Alabastros, 82.
Alambra pottery, 63.
Alaska pottery, 388.
Albarello, the, 146.
Alcoek, Sir R., 258.
Alcora pottery, 180; porcelain,
272.
Alcoy pottery, 180.
Aldersea, John, potter, 351.
Alessandro, potter, 172.
Alexandria, tombs at, 41 ; Greek
vase from, 41.
Algiers pottery, 131.
Alhambra, 108 ; tiles, 133 ; vase,
133.
Allemande, Manufacture de Por
celaine d', 284.
Alluaud, director, 284.
Alphonso I., Duke of Ferrara,
176, 262.
Alsatia, 212.
Alten-Rothau porcelain, 295.
Altwasser porcelain, 297.
A. M., 176.
Amboise pottery, 182.
America, ancient pottery, 388;
European specimens found in,

4.19; scenes in, on English pot
tery, 346, 349, 356, 361, 502.
American clay used at Bow, 374.
American Pottery Co., 404.
Amphora, 37, 82, 85.
Amstel porcelain, 300.
Amsterdam, pottery, 224 ; poree
lain, 300.
A. N, 295.
Anatolia, 97.
Anchor mark, 209, 225, 366, 370.
376, 454, 470, 492, 497.
Ancient pottery, 31.
Andreoli, Giorgio. See Giorgio.
Angerstein sale, prices, 425,
Angouleme pottery, 211.
Angouleme, Manufacture de Ma
dame la Duchesse d', 285.
Anspach, pottery, 218; porce
lain, 298.
Anstette, Francois, potter, 203 ;
Pierre, painter, 203.
Antonibon, Giovanni Battista,
potter, 175, 270; Pasqual,
175; Francesco, 175; Gio
vanni Battista, 2d, 175, 270.
A. P., 274.
Apelles, 79.
Apostle mugs, 229.
Appel, Joh. der, potter, 463.
Aprey pottery, 196.
Apt pottery, 196.
A. R., 199, 204, 270, 291, 341.
Arab family porcelain, 121.
Arab pottery, modern, 131.
"Arabian Nights," 118.
Arabians invade Persia, 99 ; their
commerce, 100, 139; adopt
Persian art, 100; their com
merce with China, 231.
Arat pottery, 226.
Arbaces, 98.
Arban, porcelain bottle found at,
238.
Arbois pottery, 211.
Architectural pottery in Ger
many, 212.
Architecture, Saracen, 101.
Aretine ware, 93.
Aretium, 93.

Arfinger, potter, 469.
Argive colonies, 46.
Arimin (Rimini), 172.
Arizona, ancient pottery, 398.
Arnstadt, pottery, 219; porce
lain, 489.
Arras porcelain, 282.
Arrows, mark, 482, 492.
Arsaces, 99.
Art, Persian, 109 ; Greek, born in
Cyprus, 67 ; influence of Sara
cen, 141 ; influence of, on char
acter, 430.
Artist painting majolica, 152, 154.
Artists, Greek, 81; at Sevres,
475.
Aryan races, 98.
Aryballos, 82.
A. S., 181.
Ascos, 82.
Asia Minor settled, 46.
Asselyn, Jan, artist, 223.
Assyrian pottery, 45.
Assyrian symbols, 46.
Astbury, Thomas, 320, 349; his
son Thomas, 349 ; he discovers
the Elers secrets, 319 ; discov
ers flint stone-ware, 320.
Athens, figures of, 87 ; vases of,
88 ; ceramic quarters of, 88.
Augsburg pottery, 217.
Aumale, Due d', 205.
Austria porcelain, 286.
Auxerre pottery, 211.
Avelli, Fr. Xanto, 158.
Avignon pottery, 196.
Avisseau, potter, 195.
Avon pottery, 195, 196.
Awari porcelain, 258.
Axe, mark, 489.
Aynsley, John, potter, 352, 385.
Azulejo, 107.
B, 199, 219, 301, 364.
B.A., 179.
Babylon, date of, 46.
Babylonia pottery, 45.
Bacchus, William, potter, 351.
Bacini, 142.
Bactrian kingdom, 99.

518

INDEX.

Baddeley, W., potter, 348 ; R. &
J., potters, 349.
Baden-Baden porcelain, 299.
Bagnall, Charles, potter, 350.
Bailey, William, potter, 352.
Bailey & Batkin, potters, 385.
Baireuth, pottery, 216 ; gres, 227 ;
porcelain, 298.
Baker, William, potter, 351.
Baking in furnaces, 29.
Baldagsar, potter, 163.
Baldasara,-Manara, artist, 171.
Baltimore pottery, 404.
Bamboo-ware of Wedgwood, 328.
Banko pottery, 258.
Baranofka porcelain, 302.
Barberini vase, 334.
Barbin, Francis, potter, 274.
Barcelona, pottery, 136 ; porce
lain, 272.
Baretti, author, 180,
Barker, John, potter, 351.
Barnes, Zach., potter, 353, 356.
Baroni, potter, 175, 270.
Barr, Flight, & Barr, potters, 365.
Barri, Madame Du, 278 ; blue cats
of, 279.
Basaltes of Wedgwood, 328.
Basle pottery, 221.
Bassano pottery, 174; marks,
449.
Bat printing, 29, 366.
Batista, Giovanni, 175.
Batkin, W., potter, 352.
Battersea enamels, prints on, 355.
Battista, Franco, 145, 160, 161 ;
Sforza, 156.
Battista, artist at Ferrara, 263 ;
seeks porcelain, 263.
Bayard & Boyer, potters, 196.
Bayeux porcelain, 283.
B. B. F. F., 171.
B. C, 179.
Beacon mark of Genoa, 179.
Beauclerc, Lady Diana, 329.
Beausobre, author, 226.
Beauty, standards of, 412.
Beauvais pottery, 196.
Becar, G. J,, potter, 210.
Beck, 298.
Becker, Paul, potter, 298.
Beek, Van, widow, potter, 463.
Belgium, potterv, 221 ; porcelain,
301 ; marks,'461, 491.
Bell in pottery, 216.
Bellarmine, 227.
Bellerophon, 82.
Belleville porcelain, 285.
Bellevue pottery, 196.
Belper & Denby pottery, 369,
Belus, temple of, 48.
Benedetto, Maestro, 154, 176.
Bengraf, potter, 298.
Beni-Hassan tombs, 40.

Benjamin of Tudela, 52.
Bennington pottery and porce
lain, 404.
Benthal pottery, 362.
Bentley, Thomas, potter, 323.
Berlin porcelain, 296.
Bernal sale, 154, 229, 424.
Berthoin, 469.
Bertolini, 174.
Bertolucei, Giuseppe, potter, 164.
Bethlehem, eggs from, 126.
Betini, potter, 171.
Bettignies, potter, 284.
Beyerle, Baron de, 203.
Billingsley, William, painter, 363,'
364, 371, 372.
Binet, potter, 204.
Binns, R. W., 355.
Birch, Dr. Samuel, 6, 42, 78, 79,
96.
Birch, E. J., potter, 348.
Birch mark, 347.
Bird mark, 362.
Bishu porcelain, 258.
B.L., 301.
Blateran, Francoise, potter, 199.
Bleu-de-roi color, 280.
Bloor, Robert, potter, 369.
Blue, Egyptian, 37 ; the trans
mission color in art, 236 ; fou-
ett6 of China, 245 ; souffle,
245 ; and white of China, 245 ;
of Staffordshire, 245 ; wares
first imported in Europe, 246.
Blue of the sky after rain, 240.
Boch brothers, potters, 221, 301.
Bohn sale, 207.
Boileau, director, 275.
Boisette-le-roi, pottery, 211 ; por
celain, 283.
Bokhara, tiles at, 101.
Bolt & Co., potters, 385.
Bombylios, 82.
Bone, Henry, enameller, 377, 380.
Boneau, potter, 182.
Bonicelli, director, 271.
Bonnefoy, Antoine, potter, 199.
Bonnin, G., potter, 402.
Books, pottery, 49.
Booth, Enoch, potter, 345 ; Hugh,
John, Ephraim, potters, 351,
354.
Bordeaux, pottery, 182, 197;
porcelain, 283.
Borelly, Jacques, artist, 180.
Borgo San Sepolchro pottery,
170.
Bornier, Jacques, potter, 205.
Boselli, Jaques, artist, 180.
Bossu, Jean, decorator, 198.
Bottcher, John Frederic, chem
ist, 286 ; discovers his red
ware, 286 ; discovers hard
paste porcelain, 287.

Boulogne, pottery, 211; porce
lain, 283.
Bourcier, Bartholomew, potter,
201.
Bourg-la-Reine pottery, 197;
porcelain, 282.
Bourgouin, modeller ? 204.
Bourne, Ralph, potter, 351.
Bournes potteries, 369.
Boussemart, Francois, potter,
198.
Bow porcelain, 372.
Bowers, G. F., 345.
Bowls bought in Jerusalem, 123;
Hebrew, 51, 100.
Boyle, Zachariah, potter, 351.
B R, 197.
Bradwell pottery, 318.
Brameld mark, 368.
Brancas - Lauragais porcelain,
283.
Brandeis, potter, 224.
Brandenburg brick -work, 213;
porcelain, 297.
Brandi, Paulus Francus, artist,
178.
Breslau pottery, 213.
Bric-a-brac shops, 416.
Brick, Egyptian, 37 ; at Babel,
47; of Warka, 47; of. Nebu
chadnezzar, 48 ; Babylonian,
49, 50; Greek, 86; Roman,
92 ; enamelled, in Germany,
213 ; at Moscow, 226.
Bricqueville, Jean, potter, 205.
Bridgwood k Son, potters, 385.
Briot, Francis, 195.
Brislington pottery, 380.
Bristol, porcelain, 377 ; potterv,
380.
Britain, John, potter, 499.
Brizambourg pottery, 207.
Broilliet, J. L., potter, 485.
Brongniart, Alexander, 276, 280.
Brouwer, Hugo, potter, 463 ; Jus
tus, potter,~224; -widow, potter,
463.
Brown, Westhead, Moore, & Co.,
potters, 349.
Bruges pottery, 461.
Bruhl, Count, "director, 289.
Brument, artist ? 206.
Brussels porcelain, 301.
Buchwald, director, 225.
Buckingham's travels, on pot
tery, 349.
Buen Retiro porcelain, 268.
Bulkeley & Bent, potters, 385.
Bunsen, Chevalier, 33.
Bunzlau, Gres, 227.
Buontalenti said to discover
porcelain, 263.
Burke, Edmund, and Bristol
porcelain, 378.

INDEX.

519

Burslem pottery, 321, 342.
Busch, Baron, engraves porce
lain, 289.
Butter-pots, 314.
Byerley, Thomas, potter, 323,
*331
B. & W., 502.
0, 203, 348.
Cabinet collections, 416.
Cadmus, 70.
Cadogan, 385.
Caen porcelain, 283.
Ciesare da Faenza, 160.
Caffagiuolo pottery, 151, 152.
Caffo, Gio. Antonio, potter, 174.
Cairo, mounds of pottery, 130.
Calata-Girone, pottery, 136.
Calcutta pottery, 261.
Caldas pottery, 181.
Caldwell, James, potter, 343.
Caligari, Filippo Antonio, potter,
164.
Cambrai pottery, 211.
Cambrian mark, 372.
Cambrian pottery, 372.
Camillo, potter, at Ferrara, 177,
263 ; seeks porcelain, 263.
Campani, Ferd. Maria, painter,
170.
Campbell, Colin Minton, potter,
350.
Campori, Marquis de, on Italian
porcelain, 177, 262.
Candeliere, a, decoration, 160,
165.
Candiana pottery, 175.
Capmany, 139.
Capo-di-Monte, pottery, 179 ; por
celain, 268.
Cardan, Jerome, 137.
Carocci, Luigi, 170.
Carthaginian style, 73.
Cartwright, Richard, potter, 314.
Casa Pirota, 171.
Casali, Antonio, potter, 164.
Case & Mort, potters, 501.
Castel-Durante pottery, 156, 164.
Castelli pottery, 177 ; marks, 451.
Castello, Citta di. See Citta di
Castello.
Castleford pottery, 384.
Castor ware, 95.
Catharine II. of Russia, 278.
Caughley pottery and porcelain,
362.
Caulkins, Miss, " History of Nor
wich," 400.
Cavazzuti, Ignacio, potter, 177.
C C C with C. P., 221.
C. D., 284.
Cecrops, 70.
Celadon, Chinese, 236, 243.
Celtic pottery, 308.

Ceneio, Maestro, 168, 439.
Central America pottery, 388.
Cesnola, General L. P. Di, 7, 10,
54, 236 ; Collection. See Col
lections.
C. F., 295.
C. G., 384, 385, 450.
C. & G., 385.
C. & H, 385.
Chaffers, Richard, potter, 353.
Chaffers, W., 6, 218, 381.
Chamberlain, Humphrey, potter,
365 ; Robert, potter, 365.
Chamberlain & Co., potters, 365,
368 ; decorate Caughley porce
lain, 363.
Champfleury, story by, 223.
Champion, Richard, potter, 377.
Chanak-kalesi pottery, 132.
Chandernagor pottery, 261.
Chanon, potter, 198.
Chanou, H. F., potter, 284.
Chantilly porcelain, 274.
Chapelle, Jacques, potter, 208,
282.
Chapelle-des-Pots pottery, 207.
Chardin, 118.
Chares, artist, 82.
Charles V., portrait of, 158.
Charlottenburg porcelain, 297.
Charpentier, Francois, 184.
Chateau de Madrid, 152.
Chateauneuf, De, potter, 208.
Chatillon, pottery, 211 ; porce
lain, 284.
Chatterly, Charles and Samuel,
potters, 348.
Chaumont-sur-Loire pottery, 197.
Chef-Boutonne pottery, 210.
Chelsea porcelain, 375.
Chertsey Abbey tiles, 311.
Chetham & Wooley, potters, 353.
Chiar-oscuro decoration, 147,
165.
Chicanneau, potter, 208 ; family,
272; Pierre, potter, 272; a
widow, goes to Paris, 272, 284 ;
Dominique, potter, 272.
Chigi, Cardinal, 170.
Child, Smith, potter, 345.
ChimEera, 82.
China, porcelain and pottery,
231; pottery, 250; porcelains
of imperial factory, 250 ; best
period, 235 ; oldest specimens,
234 ; Ming Dynasty, 236 ; re
productions, 234, 235 ; dates
and marks, 252, 254, 503;
symbols on, 254 ; trade with
Arabia and Persia, 100, 231.
Chinese books on the art, 233.
Chinese labor at Herend, 295.
Chinese porcelains, varieties, old
white, 213 ; celadon, 243 ;

crackle, 244 ; blue, 245 ; blue-
and-white, 245 ; polychrome,
246 ; ehrysanthemo - pceoni-
enne, 247 ; green, 247 ; rose,
247 ; yellow, 248 ; various,
248 ; egg-shell, 249.
Chinese wares, found in Egypt,
236 ; in Italy, 164 ; in Persia,
110 ; by Layard, at Zerin, 238 ;
at Arban, 236 ; by Cesnola, in
Cyprus, 236 ; first in Holland,
blue, 222.
Chmeloff pottery, 491.
Choisy-le-Roy porcelain, 284.
Chozdko, Professor, 117.
Christian, Philip, potter, 353,355.
Chu, the venerable, 241 ; the pret
ty, 241.
Church of St. Sophia, 128 ; tiles
of, 128.
Church of the Nativity, 126.
Church, W. A., on tiles, 310.
Churches, pottery architecture of,
212.
Cimon of Cleonae, 75.
Circles, concentric, 61.
Cirou, Ciquaire, potter, 274.
Citta di Castello pottery, 148, 170.
Cividale del Friuli, 142.
Civilization of Greece, 79.
C. J. M; & Co., 351.
Clarissy, Pierre, potter, 200.
Clark, Shaw, & Co., potters, 197,
199.
Clarke, William, potter, 1 97, 1 98.
Clermont pottery, 197.
Clermont-Ferrand pottery, 201.
Clews, J. & R, potters, 346.
Clignancourt porcelain, 282.
Cloisonne enamel on porcelain,
259.
Close & Co., potters, 385.
Coalport porcelain, 363.
Cobalt, first in China, 241.
Coblentz Gres, 227.
Cobridge pottery, 346.
Cock-pit Hill pottery, 342.
Coffee-pots first made, 223.
Coffins, pottery, 50, 101.
Coimbra pottery, 181.
Coke, John, potter, 371.
Colebrook-dale porcelain, 363.
Collections : Abbott (N. Y. Hist.
Soc), 39, 41, 237 ; Avery, 7 ;
Due d'Aumale, 205; British
Museum, 82, 172 ; Bologna
Museum, 135, 172 ; S. L. M.
Barlow, 247; Bernal, 154;
Cesnola (N. Y. Metr. Museum
of Art), 7, 54 ; Hotel de Clu-
ny, 171 ; Correr Museum, Ven
ice, 171, 172 ; Campana, 81 ;
Castellani, 142, 167; Foun-
taine, 157, 168, 170; Glad-

520

INDEX.

stone, 407 ; R. Hoe, Jr., 7,
120 ; Queen of England, 407 ;
Queen of Holland, 407 ; Mar
ryat, 160; Mayer, 313 ; Muse
um of Practical Geology, Lon
don, 313 ; Rothschilds, 407 ;
South Kensington Museum,
135, 265 ; Sevres Museum,
279 ; Schwaab, 218 ; Sigma
ringen Museum, 218 ; G. Trum
bull, 120; Trumbull-Prime, 7 ;
Duke of Wellington, 407 ; C,
D. Warner, 106.
Collections, influence of, on in
dustry, 306, 431.
Collectors and collecting in
America, 406.
Collectors, eminent, 407.
Cologne Gres, 227.
Colors used by potters, 28.
Combe, Joseph, potter, 199.
Commerce of Saracens, 139, 231.
Cones, Egyptian, 39.
Conrade, Dominique, potter, 201.
Conrades, potters, 201.
Constantinople, tiles in, 107.
Constantinova pottery, 226.
Cook-shop, Cairene, 107.
Cookworthy, William, potter, 376.
Copeland, William, potter, 351 ;
William T., potter, 351.
Copenhagen, pottery, 225 ; porce
lain, 302.
Copper - lustred wares, 129; of
Brislington, 380.
Cordova, 108.
Corea porcelain, 255.
Corinthian style, 73.
Cornaro pottery, 174 ; mark, 449.
Cornwall clay discovered, 353.
Cother sale prices, 427.
Counterfeiters' moulds, 93.
Courcelles pottery, 197.
Courtille, De la, factory, 284.
Cozzi, Domenico, potter, 270.
C. P., 169, 221.
C. R., 341.
Crackle, Chinese, 244.
Craft, T., workman, 373.
Cream-ware of Wedgwood, 328.
Creil pottery, 197.
Crescent mark, 363, 494, 496.
Crett6, L., potter, 301.
Creussen pottery, 218.
Crickets, combats of, 241.
Cricq, St., potter, 197.
Croissic, Le, pottery, 211.
Cross mark, 380, 436, 448, 454,
460, 470, 494, 496.
Crouch ware, 318; improved by
Aaron Wedgwood, 321.
Crowther, potter, 373.
Crowther & Weatherby, potters,
373.

Cruden's Chapel tiles, 310.
Crusades, 141.
Crystal ware, 385.
Ctesias, 98.
Cuarto Real, 108.
Cullyn, Abraham, potter, 313.
Custine, Count, 203.
Custode, Pierre, potter, 201.
Custom-house duties, 416.
Cutts, potter, 371.
Cuzco pottery, 392.
Cybele, 95.
Cyclic poets, 80.
Cyftle, artist, 197.
Cylinders, Babylonian, 49.
Cypress-trees in decoration, 104.
Cyprus, Phenician art in, 64
potteries of, 57 ; Greek art in,
56, 72 ; discoveries of Cesnola
in, 54.
D, 198, 219, 370, 502.
Dagoty, P. L., potter, 285.
Dahl, potter, 219.
Dali (Cyprus), 63.
Damascus, 97, 102 ; wares, 124.
Danaus, 70.
Dangu pottery, 211.
Daniel on Persia, 99.
Daniel, Henry, potter, 351 ;
Ralph, potter, 346.
Darius, 99.
Davenport, John, potter, 345.
Davillier, Baron, 140, 200.
Dawson, potter, 385 ; mark, 369.
D. D. & Co. mark, 384.
Decoration of porcelain in New
York, 405.
Decorations, earliest forms, 57.
Decorator, first European, on
porcelain, 266.
Deer, the spotted, 252.
Delanee, potter, 208.
Delange, M., 190.
Delaresse, Jean, potter, 199.
Delarive, artist, 300.
Delft, or delf, word in English
use, 315.
Delft potters decorate Chinese
porcelain, 300, 383.
Delft pottery, 222 ; marks on,
224.
Deluge tablet, 49.
Del Vecchio, potter, 148.
Demi-grand feu, 29.
Demmin, M., 211, 212, 224, 226.
Denby pottery, 369.
Denmark pottery, 225 ; marks,
469 ; porcelain, 302 ; marks,
491.
Dennis, Samuel, potter, 401.
Derby porcelain, 369.
Derbyshire pottery and porcelain,
369.

Deruelle, Pierre, potter, 282.
Desmuraille, J. B., painter, 208.
Desvres pottery, 197.
De Witte, 80.
Dextra, potter, 463.
D'Hancarville, 96.
Diane de Poictiers, Faience de,
183.
Dibutades, potter, 71.
Dick's pepper-box, 353.
Dietrich, director, 289.
Digne, potter, 204.
Digoin pottery, 211.
Dihl & Guerhard, potters, 285.
Dijon, 199 ; pottery, 211.
Dilwyn, Lewis W., potter, 371.
Dilwyn & Co., potters, 372.
Diogenes, 84, 85.
Diomede Durante, potter, 172.
Diomeo, artist, 173.
Diruta pottery, 172 ; marks, 443.
Dispersion, the, of men, 45.
Dixon, Austin, & Co., potters,
369.
Doccia, La, porcelain, 269.
Does, Dirk Van der, potter, 224.
Dolphin decorations, 165.
Dome, a mark, 263.
Dome of the Rock, 102, 107.
Domenigo, potter, 1 74.
Dommelaar, Van, artist, 223.
Don pottery, 384.
Donaldson, John, decorator, 367.
Doni, Seigneur de Goult, potter,
196.
Doorne, Van, potter, 463.
Dorez, Barthelemi, potter, 198,
273 ; Francois L., potter, 210 ;
N. A., potter, 455.
Doric style, 73.
Douai pottery, 211.
Doulton k Co., potters, 339.
D. P., 197, 221.
Drake, Sir William R., 174, 175,
270.
Dresden, pottery, 219; porcelain,
286.
Drinkwater, James, potter, 353.
Dryander, potter, 283.
D. S., 221.
Dubois brothers, potters, 274.
Du Cange, 128.
Duesbury, William, potter, 369 ;
buys Chelsea, 375 ; William,
2d, potter, 369.
Dudson, potter, 385.
Duisburg, potter, 198.
Dunderdale, David, potter, 384
Dunkerque pottery, 197.
Dupas, Enoch, potter, 207.
Dupont, workman, 210.
Diirer, Albert, 146, 214.
Duyn, Van, potter, 463.
D.V., 197.

INDEX.

521

Dwarf, image of, 93.
Dwight, Dr. John, potter, 319,
339 ; Margaret, potter, 340.
iiagle, American, mark, 502.
Eastlake, Sir C, 156.
Eastwood pottery, 348.
Ebelman, director, 277.
Ecouen, Chateau de, 205.
Edinburgh pottery, 501.
Edwards, William, potter, 352.
Eel-skin color, 250.
Egg-colored porcelain, 242.
Egg-plant, violet, color, 250.
Egg-shell porcelain, 251, 257.
Eggs in mosques, 126.
Eglert, Jo. Tobias, potter, 216.
Egypt, pottery, 31 ; Chinese bot
tles found in, 236 ; plants of,
44; enamel, 36; modern pot
tery, 131 ; pottery found in
Italy, 89 ; scarabsei, 32.
Egypto-Phenician style, 57.
Ehrenreich, Dr., potter, 225.
Ehrhardt, Elias, potter, 221.
E. I. B., 348.
Elbogen porcelain, 295.
" Elder brother " porcelain, 239.
Electric telegraph of Ralph Wedg
wood, 321.
Elers brothers, potters, 230, 318 ;
John Philip, 318 ; David, 319.
Elizabethan ware, 318.
Elizabetta Gonzaga, 156.
Elkin, Knight, & Co., potters, 352.
Ellis, Mr. Thomas, 51.
Emblem books, designs from, 221.
Enamel on metal, of China, 254 ;
Japan, 259 ; Limoges, 190 ;
called porcelain in China, 81.
Enamel on pottery, 25 ; stannif
erous, 25 ; Egyptian, 35 ; As
syrian, 48 ; Greek, 89 ; Sara
cen, 106 ; Italian, 145 ; Ger
man, 211 ; transmission of the
art, 100.
Enamelled pottery, 25.
England, pottery and porcelain,
304 ; ancient pottery, 307 ; Cel
tic pottery, 308 ; Roman pot
tery, 308 ; Saxon pottery, 309 ;
Norman pottery, 309.
Epernay pottery, 211.
Epichysis, 82, 86.
Epiktetos, artist, 81.
Epron, M., potter, 210.
Ergotimos, potter, 82.
Este, Isabella D', 176.
Este pottery, 175.
Etiolles porcelain, 283.
Etruria, ancient pottery, 90.
Etruria, Wedgwood's, 323.
Etruscan pottery, 88, 90.
Even, Suter y. d., potter, 461.

Evers, Gerrit, potter, 218.
Ewer, Peruvian, 393.
Exekias, potter and artist, 81. -
F, 199, 263, 285, 298.
Fabriano pottery, 173.
Faenza pottery, 170.
Faiance, French town, 170,
Faience, definition of, 27 ; deriva
tion of, 170; fine, 184; d'Oiron,
183 ; de Henri Deux, 183 ; a la
corne, 206 ; patriotique, 202.
Fantuzzi, Antonio, 267.
Fauchier, potter, 199.
Fauquez, Pierre J., potter, 207,
221 ; Pierre Francois J., 221.
F. C, 176.
Febvrier, Jacques, potter, 198.
Federigo da Montefeltro, 155.
Fell mark, 369.
Fell & Co., mark, 369.
Fell, T. & Co., potters, 369.
Fells, Newcastle, mark, 369.
Felspar, 234.
Fenton, potter, 404.
Fenton pottery, 351.
Fenton stone works, etc., 351.
Fenton Low pottery, 323.
Fenton's enamel, 404.
Ferrara, pottery, 176 ; porcelain,
262.
Ferro, Jehan, potter, 182.
Ferrybridge pottery, 384.
Feuillet, M., potter, 285.
F. F., 219, 271.
F. G., 385.
Fiegel, F. G., decorator, 219.
Figure of Isis, 44.
Figures, Osirian, 39 ; from Tana-
gra, 87 ; in Italian pottery, 178.
Fillon, M. Benjamin, 183.
Finger-rings, invention of, 71.
Fireplaces with tiles, 224.
Fire-worshippers, 99.
Fischer, Moriz, potter, 294 ; Chris
tian, potter, 295.
Fish mark, 251, 300, 490.
Fizen pottery and porcelain, 257.
Flaxman employed by Wedg
wood, 323.
Fleischmann, C. W., potter, 216.
Fleischmann's Fabrik, 216.
Fleur-de-lis mark, 199, 219, 269,
350, 456, 458, 470.
Flight, Joseph and John, potters,
365.
Flight & Barr, potters, 365.
Flight into Egypt, 164.
Flint, powdered, use discovered,
320.
Florence, pottery, 149 ; porcelain,
263 ; La Doccia, 269.
F M M E D II, 263.
Fo, the dog, 252.

Foerstler, artist, 294.
Fong-hoang, 252.
Fontainebleau porcelain, 483.
Fontana family, 157; Orazio, 156,
157, 177; Camillo, 157, 177;
Nicola, 157; Guido, 157 ; Nic
ola second, 157.
Fontebasso, G. & A., potters, 271.
Fontenay pottery, 210.
Forasassi, Jean, potter, 204.
Ford, Mr., 108.
Foresi, Dr., on Italian porcelain,
263.
Forks mark, 488.
Forli pottery, 172 ; marks, 447.
Forms of Greek vases, 82, 83.
Forterie pere et fils, potters, 197.
Fortnum, Mr., 114, 125, 127, 139,
142, 148, 162, 168, 170.
Fossils counterfeited in pottery,
220.
Fouque, director, 455.
Fouquet, L. C, artist, 298.
Fournier, Pierre, potter, 455.
F & R., 295.
F. R., 171, 181.
France, pottery, 182 ; marks, 453 ;
porcelain, 272 ; marks, 483.
Francesco, Maria della Rovere,
156.
Francesco Xanto, 158.
Francisque, Jehan, potter, 182,
199.
Franco, Battista, 145, 160, 161,
175.
Francois vase, 81.
Frank, Richard, potter, 380.
Frankenthal, pottery, 220; por
celain, 297.
Franklin, statuette of, 343 ; ovals
of, 348.
Frati, Signor, 171.
Freeling & Co., potters, 385.
Freiburg pottery, 221.
Frog in mug, 369.
Frotte d'or, 252.
Frye, Thomas, potter and artist,
372, 374.
Fulda porcelain, 298.
Fulham pottery, 339.
Furnaces, 29.
Furstenberg porcelain, 298.
F. X. A. R., 159.
G, 299, 300, 384, 385, 451.
G. A. F. F., 271.
Gambrin, Julian, potter, 182, 199.
Gardner, potter, 302.
Garner, Robert, potter, 351.
Garret, a New England, 421.
Gaudry, Alexandre, painter, 208.
Geltz, potter, 219, 297.
Genest, potter, 204.
Geneva mark, 300.

522

INDEX.

Gennep pottery, 218.
Genoa pottery, 179 ; marks, 449.
Gentile, Bernardino, artist, 178.
Gera porcelain, 299.
Gerault-Daraubert, potter, 282.
Gerhard, 96.
German wares in New York, 421.
Germany, pottery, 211 ; porce
lain, 286 ; art character of, 227.
Gerona, 272.
G. F. B., 345.
Ghisi Giorgio, 267.
Ghooleh, 116.
Giant painted on delft, 223.
Gibson sale prices, 428.
Gide, artist, 300.
Giese, potter, 220.
Gilding, 29.
Giles, decorator, 367, 373.
Ginori, Marquis, potter, 269.
Gioanetti, or Giovanetto, Prof.,
potter, 271.
Giorgio, Maestro, 165 ; lustre of,
165 ; Mr. Robinson on, 166 ;
factory of, 167.
Girard, Pierre, potter, 210.
Girolamo, Maestro, 163.
Giulio da Urbino, artist, 172.
Giulio Romano, 266.
Giustiniani, potter, 148, 178.
G. L., 216.
Glass, Joseph, potter, 317, 348 ;
John, potter, 348 ; John, &
Sons, potters, 348.
Glass stained by Veit Hirschvo
gel, 215.
Glazed pottery, 24 ; in Germanv,
211.
Glazes, how made, 28 ; Egyptian,
43 ; iridescent, 90 ; Saracen,
106.
Glot, Richard, potter, 209.
Gluer, artist, 216.
Godenius, potter, 225.
Goggingen pottery, 219.
" Go home, potters," etc., 320.
Goincourt pottery, 211.
Gold-lustred wares, 129.
Gordon, R. G., potter, 385.
Gotha porcelain, 299.
Gothenburg pottery, 225.
Gottskowski, banker and potter,
296.
Gouda, Martin, potter, 461.
Gouffier, Artur, 183 ; Claude, 184.
Goult pottery, 196.
G. P., 266.
G. R., 341.
Grseco-Phenician style, 57.
Graffito ware, 142, 143, 148.
Grainger, George, potter, 368 ;
Thomas, potter, 368 ; Lee, &
Co., potters, 368; G., & Co.,
368 ; & Wood, potters, 368.

Granada, 108, 133, 134.
Grand feu, 29.
Grave tablets, pottery, 316, 317.
Graybeards, 227.
Greatback, William, potter, 351.
Greber, artist, 216.
Greece, 68 ; settlement of, 69 ;
art born in Cyprus, 67 ; civil
ization, 69, 79 ; tastes, 79 ; ar
tists, 81.
Greek vases, classification of,
77 ; subjects on, 80 ; forms
of, 82, 83 ; dates of styles,
78 ; inscriptions on, 84.
Green brothers, potters, 384.
Green Don Pottery, mark, 384.
Green, Guy, potter, 353, 354 ;
John, potter, 384 ; Stephen,
potter, 385.
Green man, the, 171.
Greiner, G., potter, 299.
Greinstadt porcelain, 298.
Grenzhausen Gres, 227.
Gres cerame, 25, 226.
Gres de Flandres, 227.
Griffin mark, 368.
Griffo, Sebastian, potter, 182,
199.
Grisaille, decoration in, 147, 165.
Grolier bindings, 185.
Grosbreitenbach porcelain, 299.
Gros Caillou porcelain, 483, 485.
Gross, modeller, 285.
Grue family of artists, 177 ;
Franc. Ant. Xaverius, 178.
G. S., 179.
Guagni, Francesco, artist, 177.
Guatemalan decoration, 62.
Gubbio pottery, 156, 165 ; marks,
436, 438, 440.
Guerhard, potter, 285.
Guichard, Ant., potter, 485.
Guido Durantino, 157.
Guido Merlino, 160.
Guid' Ubaldo I., Duke, 156.
Guid' Ubaldo II., Duke, 156.
Gulena, M., potter, 303.
Gunther & Co., 385.
Gustafsberg pottery and Parian
ware, 225.
G. W., 372.
Hackwood, W., modeller, 285,
338.
Hackwood, potter, 385.
Hackwood & Co., potters, 385.
Haeren, Van, potter, 224.
Haffringe, potter, 283.
Hagenau pottery, 210.
Hague, the, porcelain, 301.
Haidinger, potter, 295.
Hamilton, Sir William, 335.
Hammelkerz, Paulus, potter, 218.
Hancock, John, mug, 361, 422.

Hancock, potter, 369 ; Robert,
engraver, 355, 365.
Hanford, Isaac, potter, 401.
Hangest-Genlis, H61ene de, 183.
Hanging plates, 411; frame for,
415.
Hanley pottery, 347.
Hannong, Paul, 285, 297; Charles
Francis, potter, 209 ; Paul An
toine, potter, 210; Balthazar,
potter, 210; Pierre Antoine,
potter, 210, 283, 285 ; Joseph
Adam, potter, 210; Paul and
Joseph Adam, at Frankenthal,
220.
Harburg pottery, 217.
Harding, potter, 385.
Harding, W. & J., potters, 350.
Hard pottery, 24, 25.
Hard-paste porcelain, 26.
Harlequin services, 408.
Harley, T., potter, 385 ; J., pot-
ter,°353.
Harmony of colors, 104, 411.
Harrison, John, potter, 323 ; G.,
potter, 385.
Hartley, Greens, & Co., potters,
384."
Hartog, potter, 224.
Haslem, John, on Derby, 364,
370.
Hauslein of Adam Kraft, 214.
Haynes, George, potter, 371.
H. B., 221.
H. C. D, 467.
H. E., 221.
H. E. A. M. I. T., 221.
Heath, potter,discovers flint stone
ware, 320 ; John and Christo
pher, potters, 342 ; Thomas,
potter, 352 ; William, potter,
342.
Hebrew bowls, 51, 100 ; colleges
at Baghdad, 53 ; pottery, 68.
Heintzman, artist, 298.
Hele, Peter, first watch-maker,
214.
Hellenic colonies, 46.
Helmhack, Abraham, painter,
216.
Helsingburg pottery, 225.
Hemphill, potter, 403.
Henri Deux ware, 183.
Henry IV., Duke, monument at
Breslau, 213.
Hens, chickens, etc., on Chinese
porcelain, 241.
Herbert, Francois, potter, 204.
Herculaneum pottery, 356.
Hercules and Antajus, 168; Her
cules and the lion, 76.
Herend porcelain, 294.
Hereng, potter, 198.
Heringle, potter, 198.

INDEX.

523

Herodotus, 88, 98.
Herr, artist, 294.
Hesse-Cassel porcelain, 489.
Hesse-Darmstadt porcelain, 489.
Hewelcke & Co., potters, 270.
Heylin, Edward, potter, 372.
H. F., 450.
H H A, 211.
Hicks, Meigh, & Johnson, potters,
349.
Hicks & Meigh, potters, 349.
Hilditch & Son, potters, 501.
Hiradoson porcelain, 258.
Hirschvogel, Veit, potter, 213;
Augustine, potter, 215 ; Veit,
the younger, 215.
Hispano-Moresque pottery, 133;
marks, 451.
Hizen pottery and porcelain, 257;
Shonsui, potter at, 264.
Hochst pottery, 219; porcelain,
297.
Hoe, Mr. Robert, Jr., 120.
Hoffman, Dr. J., on Japan, 256.
Holdship, Richard, potter, 364,
365 ; Josiah, potter, 365.
Holland pottery, 222 ; porcelain,
300 ; first Chinese porcelain in,
246.
Hollins, Michael Daintry, potter,
350 ; T. k J., potters, 348 ; T.
J. & R., potters, 348 ; Richard,
potter, 348 ; Samuel, potter,
349.
Holmos, 82.
Holy House of Loretto, 161, 173.
Holy Land, 68.
Home decoration, 410.
Homer, 69, 75, 80; books of,
arranged, 80 ; in a pottery, 88.
Homer, Mr., 34.
Honore, Edward and Theodore,
potters, 285.
Hooper & Phillips on Oriental
marks, 6, 260.
Hoorn, Van, potter, 463.
Hoppfer, Jerome, artist, 229; Da
vid, artist, 229 ; Lambert, ar
tist, 229.
Hop-vine mark, 229.
Horoldt, director, 289.
Horse's lungs color, 250.
Houda pottery, 224.
Hoxter porcelain, 298.
H. P., 221.
H. S., 219.
H. & S., 385.
Hubert, artist, 300.
Hubertsberg pottery, 219.
Hueber, Louis, author, 220.
Huet, J. L. & B., modellers, 203.
Humble, Green, k Co., potters,
384.
Hungary porcelain, 286.

Hunger, Conrad, artist, 293.
Hustin, Jacques, potter, 197.
Huyvetter sale, 229.
Hyacinth, 104.
Hydria, 82.
Hylton pottery, 369.
I. B., 205.
I. E. B., 386.
I. G. S., 219.
Ile-d'Elle pottery, 210.
Iliad, 80.
Illuminations of MSS., 141.
Illuminators, 153, 165.
Imarl pottery and porcelain, 257.
Imperatrice, manufacture de S.
M. 1', 285.
Improved Feltspar Porcelain,
364.
Incised wares, 62, 142, 143, 148,
393, 398.
India pottery and porcelain, 260.
India ware, 261.
Indian, North American, pottery,
398.
Indo-China porcelain, 252.
Industrial value of beauty, 431.
Inghirami, 96.
Initial letters, 153 ; copied on
pottery, 186.
Inscriptions, Christian, 43 ; on
Roman tiles, 92 ; on Roman
pottery, 94, 95 ; on Greek
vases," 76, 84 ; Etruscan, 91 ;
on Roman cups and lamps, 94 ;
on Persian surahai, 116 ; on
Central American vase, 396.
Invention of pottery images, 71.
I P, 154, 436.
Iphitus, 80.
Iran, history of, 98.
Isis, figure of, 44.
Isle St. Denis porcelain, 285.
I. T., 349.
Italy, pottery, 140 ; marks, 435 ;
porcelain, 261.
Jackfield pottery, 362.
Jacoba-kanetjes, 229.
Jacqueline of Hainault, 229.
Jacquelines, 229.
Jacquemart, 114, 118, 126, 172,
177, 180, 186, 189, 201, 203,
211, 214, 260.
Jacques, Ch. S., potter, 209.
Jacques & Jullien, potters, 197,
209, 282.
Jade, porcelain compared to, 239.
Jansz,Van der Kloot, potter, 463.
Japan, pottery and porcelain,
256 ; derives art from China,
257, 265 ; red stone-ware, 258 ;
oldest porcelain, 259 ; enam
el on metal, 259 ; cloisonne

enamel on porcelain, 259 ;
marks, 260, 510.
Japanese experts on Italian
porcelain, 264 ; styles copied
in Italy, 265 ; envoys to the
Pope, 265.
Jasper-wares of Wedgwood, 328.
Jeronimo, Maestro, 172.
Jersey City pottery, 342, 404.
Jerusalem, tiles at, 102 ; porce
lain found in, 121.
Jessamine flower, 104.
Jewelled porcelain of Sevres,
279.
Jewish bowls, 51.
Jews, decree of Frederick con
cerning, 296.
J L P in script monogram, 455.
Jobson, potter, 386.
John Bull and Napoleon on
pitcher, 356.
Johnson, Dr., complains of cost
of porcelain, 371.
Johnson, Thomas and Joseph,
potters, 352.
Jonquille color, 280.
J. R., 349.
J. R. k Co., 364.
J. Rose & Co., 364.
Judgment of Paris, 168.
Julien, M. Stanislas, 233.
Jullien, potter, 197, 209, 282.
J. W. R., 349.
J. Y., 386.
Kaga pottery and porcelain, 257.
Kalpis, 82.
Kameiros, tombs of, 127.
Kampfer, 265.
Kandler, modeller, 290.
Kanopos, 91.
Kantharos, 82, 86.
Kaolin, 26, 234 ; samples from
America used at Bow, 374 ;
discovered in Saxony, 287 ;
discovered in France, 275.
Karamania, 112.
Karchesion, 82.
Karical pottery, 261.
Kashan, 114.
Kauffman, Angelica, painter, 290.
Kean, Michael, potter, 369.
Keeling, Anthony, potter, 345 ;
A. & E., potters, 345 ; Ed
ward, potter, 349 ; James,
potter, 349 ; Toft, & Co., pot
ters, 348.
Kees, G. Solomon, potter, 216.
Kelebe, 82.
Keller & Gue>in, 198.
Kerameikoi, Athens, 88.
Kerr k Binns, potters, 365.
Kevser, Cornelius, potter, 461.
K.&G., 198, 295.

524:

INDEX.

Khoojah, 116.
Khorassan, 99.
Kiel pottery, 225.
Kielle, A., potter, 463.
Kiev pottery, 226.
King of Prussia mugs, 355;, 366.
King-te-tchin porcelain,1 233;
imperial factory at, 234.
Kirman, brick of, 1011
Kleynoven, Q., potter, 461.
Klitias, artist, 81, 82j
Kloster Vielsdorf, porcelain1, 489
Koburger, printer, 213.
Koom pottery, 114.
Kordenbusch, G. F., potter, 216;
Andreas, potter, 216.
Korneloff brothers, potters, 302.
Korzec porcelain, 303.
Kotyliskos, 82.
K. P. M., 291.
Kraft, Adam, iron-worker, 214.
Krater, 82, 85.
Kraut, Hans, potter, 216.
Kronenburgpottery,'219 ; porce
lain, 298.
Kubbet-es-Sukrah, 102, 108.
Kunersberg pottery, 225.
Kuntze, Christian Gottlieb, paint
er, 297.
Kurium, temple of, 55, 76, 77.
Kutani pottery and porcelain, 257.
Kuylick, potter, 461.
Kyathos, 82.
Kylins, 252.
Kylix, 70, 72, 82, 85, 89.
L, 181,436.
Laborde, 96, 180.
La China factory, 271.
Lace decoration, 206.
Lafayette, landing of, at Castle
Garden, 346.
La Fratta pottery, 148.
Laferte, potter, 285.
Lakin & Poole, potters, 347.
La Mancha porcelain, 272.
Lambeth pottery, 339.
Lambrequin style, 206.
Laraoninary, potter, 485.
Lamprecht, artist, 294.
Lamps found in Egypt, 43 ; Ro
man, 92, 94, 95.
Lane Delph pottery and porce
lain, 351.
Lane-end. See Longton.
Lanfranco, Jacomo, 163.
Lanfray, director, 283.
Langres pottery, 211. '
Lapis-lazuli blue, 245, 280.
Laroze, potter, 208. j
La Seinie porcelain, 283.
Lathe in potteries, 30.
Lattice patterns on tiles, 103.
Laun, Van, potter, 224.

Lauragais porcelain, 283.
Lausanne pottery, 221.
Layard, Mr., 49, 50, 51, 100;
finds porcelain at Arban, 236 ;
' at Zerin, 238.
Lazari, 175. .
Lazzia, Jean J., potter, 284.
L. D., 210.
Leeds pottery, 384.
Lefebvre, Hubert, French potter,
198.
Lei, Pietro, da Modena, potter,
177.
Leibolt, George, potter, 216.
Leihamer, Abraham, artist, 225.
Leipsic pottery, 212.
Leithner, chemist, 293.
Lekane, 82.
Lekkerkerk, Delft ware at, 223.
Lekythos, 82.
Lelong, Nicoias, potter, 201.
Lepaste, 82.
Les Islettes pottery, 211.
Lheraule pottery, 198.
Library of pottery, 49.
Licouli, tower of, 233, 249.
Life, sign of. See Swastika.
Light-house mark, 179.
Ligron pottery, 211.
Lille pottery, 198 ; porcelain, 273.
Lily work, 44.
Limbach porcelain, 299.
Limoges pottery, 198; porcelain,
284 ; decorated in New York.
405.
Limosin, enameller, 190.
Lindener, artist, 290.
Lindus potteries, 129.
Lion mark, 301.
Lion, Persian, 105.
Lisbon pottery, 181.
Lithophanie, 296.
Littler, William, potter, 321.
Liverpool pottery and porcelain,
353.
Lizard on Peruvian pottery, 390.
L 0, 200.
Locker & Co., potters, 369.
Lockett, John and Timothy, pot
ters, 345.
Locr6, Jean Baptist, potter, 284.
Lodi pottery, 176 ; marks, 449.
Loftus, Mr., 50.
Lonesome Lake Cabin dinner ser-
. vice, 408.
Long Island, Delft tiles on, 223.
Long Island City porcelain, 404.
Longport pottery and porcelain,
345.
Longton pottery, 352.
Loosdrecht porcelain, 300.
Loretto, majolica at, 160, 173.
L. P., 221, 284.
Louis XIV. uses Rouen ware, 207.

Lowesby, 386.
Lowestoft pottery and porcelain,
380.
Lubeck, bricks at, 213.
Lubke, Mr., 221.
Ludwigsburg pottery, 219; por
celain, 298.
Luneville pottery, 198.
Lustre, metallic, 29 ; silver, 29 ;
| platinum, 29.
Lustred tiles, 108.
Lustred wares, Saracen, 129 ; of
Italy, 147.
Lustres of Giorgio, 165; how
made, 169.
Lustrous pottery, 25.
Luxembourg pottery, 221; por
celain, 301.
Luynes, Due de, 96.
Luzerne pottery, 221.
L V, 204.
Lycurgus, 80.
Lyman, potter, 404.
Lyman & Fenton, potters, 404.
Lyons pottery, 182, 199.
Lysippus, 78.
M, 297, 386.
Macdonough's victory, 410.
Macheeoul pottery, 182.
Macheleidt, chemist, invents
hard-paste porcelain, 298.
Macon pottery, 211.
Macquer, chemist, 275.
Madreperla lustre, 147, 162.
Madrid porcelain, 271.
Magi, 98.
Magna Graeia, 88, 91.
Majolica, definition of, 27 ; deri
vation of, 137 ; forms of, 145 ;
confined to lustred wares, 170.
Majorca, pottery, 97, 129, 137 ;
commerce of, 139 ; conquered
by Pisans, 139 ; wares called
majolica, 138.
Malaga pottery, 134.
Malatesta court, 154.
Malicorne pottery, 211.
Malvern Abbey tiles, 311.
Manardi sisters, potters, 174.
Manises pottery, 136, 180.
Manjack, G., potter, 219.
Marans pottery, 199.
Marburg pottery, 220.
Marc Antonio, 159, 160.
Marco Polo describes porcelain, i
262.
Marcolini establishes a pottery,
219 ; director, 289.
Marieberg pottery, 225 ; porce
lain, 301.
Mariette Bey, 33.
Marignac pottery, 211.
Marini Dionigi, potter, 174.

INDEX.

525

Marinoni, Simone, potter, 174.
Marks, tables of, 433.
Marron, Madame de, 199.
Marryat, Mr., 6, 159, 163, 272.
.Marseilles pottery, 199 ; porce
lain, 284.
Marshall & Co., potters, 386.
Martabani, 118.
Martin, Michael, painter, 203.
Marum, Van, potter, 463.
Marx, Christoph, potter, 216, 297.
Marzi, Alfonso, potter, 164.
Mason, Charles James, potter,
352 ; Miles, potter, 351 ; &
Co., potters, 351.
Mason's Cambrian Argil, 386.
Masonic emblems on pottery, 362.
Masquelier, Jacques, potter, 198.
Massie, potter, 198, 284.
Mathaut pottery, 211.
Matteo, potter, 163.
Matthews, W., potter, 352.
Maubr6e, decorator, 300.
Maurienne pottery, 177; marks,
449.
Mayence pottery, 219.
Mayer, J. J., potter, 297; E.,
potter, 347 ; E., & Son, 347 ;
Joseph, & Co., 347 ; Thomas,
potter, 351 ; & Newbold, pot
ters, 353.
Mayr & Newbd, 353.
M. C. over A, 270.
Media, 98.
Medicean porcelain, 115, 263.
Medina, tiles at, 101.
Medresse Hanym, 102.
Meigh, Job, potter, 347 ; Job,
junior, potter, 347 ; & Wal
thall, potters, 347.
Meigh, mark, 347.
Meillonas pottery, 199.
Meissen. See Dresden.
Mejigorie pottery, 491.
Melchior, modeller, 219, 297.
Melun pottery, 211.
Mennecy- Villeroy porcelain, 274.
Menten, Peter, 218.
Merault, chemist and potter, 303.
Mercati, Giovanni Battista, paint
er, 170.
Merlino, Guido, 160.
Mesch, potter, 461.
Metallic decorations, 28.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55,
87, 94, 249.
Mettlach mark, 467.
Meudon pottery, 211.
Mexico, pottery, 388.
Meyer, Caspar, potter, 220 ; Die
trich, artist, 220 ; Johann Ja
cob, potter? 216.
Mezza-majolica, 143, 162.
Mica in pottery, 398.

Middeldyk, potter, 463.
Milan pottery, 175 ; marks, 449.
Milde, Jacobus de, potter, 461.
Miles, potter, 386 ; Thomas, pot
ter, 386.
Millin, 96.
Millingen, 96.
Milson, potter, 386.
Minard, potter, 208.
Ming Dynasty, work of, 236, 241 ;
wares reproduced In Japan,
257.
Minton, Herbert, potter, 350 ;
Thomas, potter, 350.
Missouri ancient pottery, 397.
Mist, potter, 386.
Mitchell, John, potter, 344.
M. N., 386.
M. & N., 353.
Moab, pottery of, 68.
Mohammed, tomb of, 101.
Mohgrabbin pottery, 131.
M o L, 301. | l
Moncloa porcelain, 272.
Monnier, potter, 283.
Monseau, R. & E., decorators,
197.
Monte Feltro, mark assigned to,
437.
Montefeltro, Federigo da, 155
Monte Lupo pottery, 154.
Montereau pottery, i99.
Montigny pottery, 211.
Montmorency, the Constable, 190,
205.
Montpellier pottery, 201.
Monument of Henry IV. at Bres-
lau, 213.
Moore & Co., potters, 369.
Moreau, Marie, potter, 272.
Morgan, Mr. James De, lustre of,
170.
Moriah, side of, 102.
Morley, potter, 342. i
Morreine, A., potter, 204.
Morris, G. A., potter, 402.
Morse sale prices, 425.
Mortlock mark, 368.
Mortlock's Cadogan mark, 368.
Morviedro pottery, 136.
Moscow pottery, 226 ; enamelled
bricks, 226 ;' porcelain, 302.
Moseley, potter, 386.
Moses a correct historian, 45.
Mosque, the Blue, of Tabreez,
101 ; of Nice, 101 ; of Ieoni-
um, 101; of Omar, 102; of
Suleiman, 107 ; of Cordova,
108 ; of St. Sophia, 128.
Mosques with tiles, 101, 102,
107, 108, 128; at Natinz, of
the twelfth century, 101.
Mottoes on old English potte
ries, 315.

Mouffle furnace, 29.
Moulding vases, 28.
Moulds for coins, 93.
Moulds, plaster, introduced in
England, 320.
Moustiers pottery, 200.
M. P, M., 291.
Mul'e's-liver color, 250.
Mulhouser, Pierre, artist, 300.
Miiller, director, 302 ; Johann,
213.
Mummy case, 42.
Murcia pottery, 136.
Murray's Hand-book, 128.
Murs, Albert, 218 ; Johannes,
218.
Miismiinster, tomb of Wolfgang
de, 216.
Mustapha, tomb of, 107.
Myat, potter, 386.
Myatt, Joseph, potter, 351.
Myrrhine vases, 100, 112, 113,
137, 246, 261.
N, 168, 269, 438, 470.
Nancy pottery, 201.
Nankin porcelain tower, 249.
Nantes pottery, 211; porcelain,
284.
Nantgarw or Nantgarrow porce
lain, 372.
Naples pottery, 178; marks, 449,
451 ; porcelain, 268.
Napoleon and John Bull on pitch
er,' 356.
Narbonne pottery, 201.
Nast, potter, 285.
Natinz, mosque at, 101.
Nativity, Church of the, 126.
Neale, I., potter, 348.
Neale k Co., potters, 348.
Neale i & Palmer, potters, 348.'
Neale & Wilson, potters, 348.
Neeld, potter, 386.
Negro head in Peruvian pottery,
394.
Nell, potter, 386.
Nelson, Lord, at Copenhagen,
302 ; at Worcester, 368.
Ne sutor ultra crepidam," 204.
Neuchatel pottery, 221.
Neudech porcelain, 298.
Neuwied Gres, 227.
Nevers pottery, 201 ; various pot
ters and marks, 457.
New Amstel porcelain, 300.
Xewaastle pottery, 356, 368.
New England house, room in,
420.
New-Hall porcelain, 345, 349;
, mark, 349.
New York Hist. Society, 39, 41.
Nicola da Urbino, 157.
Nicoletti, artist, 175.

526

INDEX.

Niderviller pottery, 202 ; porce
lain, 283.
Niedermeyer, Joseph, modeller,
293.
Nien, Chinese director, 234.
Nigg, Joseph, artist, 294.
Nikosthenes, potter, 81.
Nimes pottery, 211.
Nineveh, 46.
Nini, Jean B., potter, 197.
Norman pottery in England, 309.
Northern Africa pottery, 131.
Norwalk, Conn., pottery, 401.
Norwich, Conn., pottery, 400.
Notes and Queries, 356.
Nottingham pottery, 342 ; in
America, 399.
Nove pottery, 174; porcelain,
270.
Nowotny, A., potter, 295.
Nuremberg pottery, 213; porce
lain, 297 ; eggs, 214.
Nurse, the, 195, 196.
Nymphenburg porcelain, 298.
Nyon porcelain, 300.
0, 203.
Oberdorf pottery, 217.
" Odyssey," 80.
Ognes pottery, 211.
Ohio ancient pottery, 398.
Oinochoe, 82, 85.
Oiron, faience d', 183.
Oiron pottery, 210.
Okosaki porcelain, 257.
0 L, 200.
Olery, Joseph, 200.
Ollivier, potter, 196.
Olpe, 82.
Omar, Mosque of, 102.
Opaque china, 371, 372.
Oporto porcelain, 272 ; pottery,
181.
Orange-skin surface, 250.
Orleans, manufacture du Due d',
284.
Orleans pottery, 203 ; porcelain,
282.
Ormazd, 98.
Osaca pottery, 258.
Osirian figures, 39.
Ostrich, eggs in mosques, 126 ;
works at Nevers, 201.
Outang, the, 254.
Ou, the hermit potter, 242.
Overtoom pottery, 224.
Owen, Hugh, on Bristol wares,
377.
Oxybaphon, 82, 86.
ITadua pottery, 175 ; marks, 449.
Painting, on pottery, 29; inven
tion of, 75.
Palissy, Bernard, 188.

Palland,Van, potter, 224.
Palmer, potter, uses salt glaze,
318.
Palmer, Henry, potter, 348 ; his
wife buys Wedgwood wares to
copy, 348.
P A M, 300.
Panphaios, potter, 81.
Paper-mill, the first, 213.
Papon, potter, 182.
Parent, director, 275.
Paris, Roman pottery at, 94 ;
modern pottery, 203 ; porce
lain, 272, 273, 284 ; Girolamo
Delia Robbia at, 152.
Parmigiano, 267.
Parrhasius, 78.
Parsees, 99.
Parthian, kingdom, 99 ; furnaces,
mentioned by Propertius, 262.
Pasquier, Claude Innocent du,
potter, 293.
Passeri, 96, 142, 160, 162, 172.
Patanazzi family, 160; Alfonso,
160 ; Vicenzio, 160.
Patent suit of Shaw, 320.
Patras, potter, 199.
Pavia pottery, 149.
Pearl-ware, 328, 353.
Pegu pottery, 261.
Peit Viseer, artist, 223.
Pelike, 82.
Pelissier, Pierre, potter, 198, 273.
Pelleve, artist, 209.
Pellipario, Nicola, 157.
Pelops, 70.
Penicaud, Nardon, enameller,
190.
Pennington, John, potter, 353,
355.
Pennis, potter, 463.
Pennsylvania, Historical Society
of, 402.
Perestinus, artist and potter, 169.
Perger, artist, 294.
Perl, George, chemist, 294.
Perrin, the widow, potter, 199,
284.
Persia, history of, 98 ; pottery
and porcelain of, 97 ; porce
lain, 100 ; in American collec
tions, 119, 120; in Italy, 139;
marks, 119, 120, 451; lion,
105 ; styles, 104.
Peru pottery, 388.
Perugia pottery, 170.
Pesaro pottery, 142, 156, 161;
marks, 449.
Peter the Great brings Delft pot
ters to Russia, 226.
Peter Martin, potter, 293.
Peterynck, potter, 221.
Petit, potter at Lille, 198.
Petrus Andre Defave, 171,

Pettit, Jacob, potter, 285.
Pe-tun-tse, 234.
Pfau, David, potter, 221 ; Hans
H, potter, 221 ; Abraham, pot
ter, 221 ; family, potters, 221.
P. G, 266.
Pharmacy jars, 165.
Phenicia pottery, 54.
Phidias, 75.
Philadelphia porcelain, 402 ; Ex
hibition of 1876, 104, 264.
Phillips, Mr. Barnet, on Medicean
porcelain, 264 ; J. & Co., pot
ters, 369 ; & Co., potters, 369.
Phillips, potter at Lane Delph,
352 ; E., potter, 386.
Phillips, Edward, decorator, 350,
Picchi, Giorgio, 160.
Piccolpassi, 164, 169, 171, 172.
Pictures, the first, 75.
Pidoux, artist, 199.
Piezzentile, painter, 170,
Pigorry, potter, 483.
Pilgrim bottles, Egyptian, 42.
Pink lustre; 349, 369.
Pintobasso, potter, 372.
Pinxton porcelain, 271.
Pipes crossed, mark, 220, 484,
488.
Pippi, Giulio, 266.
Pirkenhamer porcelain, 295.
Pisa, bacini, 142; pottery, 154;
mark, 436.
Pisans conquer Majorca, 139.
Pithos, 84, 91.
Pizzolo, Niccolo, painter, 175.
Place, Francis, potter, 383.
Plant, B., potter, 386.
Plants of Egypt, 44.
Plaster moulds introduced in
England, 320.
Platinum lustre, 29.
Pliny, 100, 112, 113, 137, 246,
261, 262.
Plum color, 250.
Plymouth porcelain, 376.
PP, 207.
Poirel, Nicolas, potter, 206.
Poitiers pottery, 204.
Poland porcelain, 302; marks,
491.
Polygnotus, 75, 78.
Pompadour, Madame de, 275,
278.
Pong-kium-pao, potter, 241.
Pons, Antoine de, 189.
Pont de Vaux pottery, 204.
Pontaillier pottery, 211.
Pontanus, "History of Amster
dam," 222, 246.
Poole, R., potter, 386.
Popoff, A., potter, 303.
Porcelain, definition of, 26 ; va
rieties of,. 26 ; how made, 28;

INDEX.

527

decoration of, 29 ; where first
made, 100 ; meaning of the
word, 231 ; derivation of the
word, 262 ; invention of, 231,
232 ; first, at Ferrara, 262 ;
first, at Venice, 262 ; first, at
Florence, 263 ; Medicean, 263 ;
discovered at Dresden, 286 ;
first, in England, 340 ; of the
Indies, 382.
" Porcelaine des Indes," 421 ;
de Monsieur, 282.
Portland vase, 334.
Porto pottery, 181 ; porcelain,
272.
Portobello pottery, 501.
Portugal, pottery, 181 ; marks,
469 ; porcelain, 271 ; marks,
471.
Portuguese bring porcelain to
Europe, 262.
Posset-pots, 315.
Possinger, artist, 216.
Poterat, Edme, or Esmon, potter,
206 ; Louis, potter, 274.
Potter, Mr., potter, 274.
Potter's wheel, 27 ; in Egypt, 40.
Pottery, definition of, 24 ; varie
ties of, 24 ; earliest record of,
47 ; how made, 27 ; decora
tion of, 28 ; ancient, 31 ; in
vention of, in China, 231.
Potts, C, & Son, potters, 401.
Poulaine, Dupre, potter, 197.
Poulson, Joseph, potter, 350.
Prague porcelain, 295.
Pratt, Felix, potter, 351 ; F! and
R., & Co., potters, 386.
Preble, Com., on pitcher, 502.
Premieres pottery, 211.
Pressel, potter, 297.
Prestino, Maestro, 169.
Prices, in American shops, 423 ;
of Italian majolica, 423 ; of
faience d'Oiron, 424 ; cata
logues of, 424 ; of Oriental
wares, 429.
Prieur, Bartholomew, 195.
Printing on enamel, 29, 354 ; in
vention of, claimed for Berlin,
297, 355.
Prints relating to America, 356,
361.
Prochoos, 82, 86.
Prodigal Son teapots, 351.
Propertius on myrrhine goblets,
100, 262.
Proskau pottery, 219.
Proverb derived from pottery
dogs, 198.
Pulinx, Henri, potter, 461.
Pulpit at Strehla, 217.
Puy-de-Dome pottery, 197.
Puzzle cups, 67.

Puzzle jugs, 315.
Puzzle rhyme on beer - mug,
356.
Pynaker, potter, 461.
Pyramid of Cheops, 32.
Pyrrhic dance, 89.
Queen's-ware, origin of name,
326 ; in America, 400, 402.
Quimper pottery, 204.
B, 204, 299.
Racle, Leonard, potter, 204.
Rafaelli, Signor, 164.
Raff aele Girolamo, artist, 154.
Raffaelle dal Colle, 145, 161.
Raffaelle ware, 160.
Raffey, artist, 294.
Raimondi, Mare Antonio, 169,
160, 267.
Rajolas, 135.
Rambervilliors pottery, 211.
Raphael Sanzio, 152, 156, 159,
160.
Raphael and Fornarina dish, 154.
Ratisbon. See Regensburg.
Rato pottery, 181.
Rauenstein porcelain, 299.
Ravenet, engraver, 355.
Ravenna pottery, 172.
Ravier, Jacques M., potter, 199.
Rawlinson, Sir H, 48.
Rayonnant style, 206.
Real iron-stone china, 408.
Reaumur's porcelain, 273.
Rebus decoration on porcelain,
299.
Regensburg, Gres, 227 ; porce
lain, 299.
Regiomontanus, 213.
Regnault, director, 277.
Regnier, director, 275.
Rehoboam, 42.
Reichembach, potter, 295.
Reid, W., & Co., potters, 353,
356.
Remeses II., statue of, 33.
Renac pottery, 204.
Rennes pottery, 204.
Reproductions of old Chinese
ware, 234 ; of an old vase of
Ting, 242; of Chinese wares
in Japan, 257.
Revel pottery, 226.
Reverend, Claude, potter, 203,
273.
R. g., 299.
R. H, 366.
Rhages, tiles of, 101, 112.
Rhodes, ancient pottery, 89, 127 ;
Saracen pottery, 97, 127 ; tiles
for Mosque of St. Sophia made
at, 128; other tiles, 108; his
tory, 129 ; marks, 451.

Rhymes, on pottery, 315 ; on Liv
erpool wares, 356.
Rhyton, 82, 85, 86.
Richus & Toft, potters, 386.
Rickett sale prices, 425.
Ridgway, W., Son, & Co., potters,
348; MorIey,Wear,&Co.,349;
Job k Sons, potters, 349 ; John,
potter, 349 ; William, potter,
349.
Ridolfo, Jacques and Loys, pot
ters, 182.
Ries, modeller, 297.
Rigne pottery, 210.
Riley, John & Richard, potters,
345.
Riley mark, 345.
Riley's semi-stone china, 345.
Rimini, pottery, 172 ; marks, 447 ;
vases from, 142.
Ring, Joseph, potter, 380.
Ringler, potter, 297, 298.
Riocreux, M., 133, 280.
Rioz potterv, 204.
R. M. W. &"Co., 349.
R— n, 299.
Robbia, Luca Delia, 141, 144; en
amel used by, 145 ; works of,
149 ; Andrea, 151, 145 ; Luca
2d, 151; Agostino, 150, 151;
Ottaviano, 151; Giovanni, 151,
152 ; Girolamo, 151 ; Girola
mo, in Paris, 189.
Robert, director, 277 ; J. G., pot
ter, 199, 284.
Robinson Crusoe flip-can, 342.
Robinson, Mr. J. C, 133, 150, 158,
164, 169.
Rochchouart, 101.
Rochelle, La, pottery, 205.
Rockingham pottery, 368.
Roerder, S. Piet, potter, 461.
Rogers, John & George, potters,
345.
Rogers mark, 345.
Rolet, potter, 161, 170.
Rolland, potter, 210.
Romagna pottery, 142.
Roman, lamps, 94; pottery in
Cyprus, 57 ; pottery in Eng
land, 309.
Romano, Giulio, 266.
Rome, ancient pottery, 92 ; mod
ern pottery, 172 ; marks, 445.
Romeli, Johann Conrad, potter,
216, 297.
Roos, Thomas, potter, 313.
Rorstrand pottery, 225.
Rosa, Matthias, potter, 218.
Rose, in Persian paintings, 104 ;
Du Barri color, 280; Pompa
dour color, 280.
Rose, John, potter, 363 ; Thomas,
painter, 381.

528

INDEX.

Rosellini finds Chinese porcelain
in Egypt, 236.
Rothenburg, potter, 299.
Rouen pottery, 205 ; porcelain,
273, 274.
Rouquet, on transfer printing,
355.
Rouse & Turner, potters, 404.
Roussencq, J. P., potter, 199.
Rovere, Francesco Maria della,
156.
Rovigo, Francesco Xanto da, 158.
R. R., 298.
Rubate, Pasquale, artist, 176.
Rubbed with gold, 252.
Ruby lustre, 166.
Rudolstadt porcelain, 298.
Rue Hue factory at Rennes, 204.
Ruminhauy, head of, in Peruvian
pottery, 394.
Rummel, potter, 220.
Russia, pottery, 226 ; porcelain,
302.
R. V. A., 172.
S, 219, 295, 302, 363.
Sadat, Said, 102.
Sadirac pottery, 182.
Sadler, John, potter, 353 ; in
vents transfer printing, 354.
Saguntum, 135.
Sailly, Thomas, potter, 210.
St. Albans, tiles of, 310.
St. Amand, pottery, 207 ; porce
lain, 284.
St. Anthony's, pottery, 368.
St. Clement, pottery, 211.
St. Cloud, pottery, 208 ; porce
lain, 272.
St. Jerome and lion, 266.
St. Jerome, Preacher of the Judg
ment, 267.
St. John, Church of the Knights
of, at Villingen, 216.
St. Mark and lion, 266.
St. Mark on stove tile, 215.
St. Omer pottery, 211.
St. Petersburg, pottery, 226 ;
porcelain, 302.
St. Paul, pottery, 208 ; convent
tiles of, 212.
St. Quirico pottery, 170; marks
449.
St. Sophia, Church of, 108 ; tiles
of, 128.
Sainte Foy pottery, 208.
Saintes pottery, 207.
Sakkara, Pyramid of, 39.
Saladin, Louis, potter, 197.
Salamanca, Antonio, 267.
Sales, prices at, 424.
Salmazzo, Gio. Maria, potter, 174.
Salomone, potter, 171 ; Girola
mo, artist, 180.

Salopian wares, 362.
Salt, Ralph, potter, 348.
Salt-glaze discovered, 317.
Salvetat, M., 255.
Salzman, M., 129.
Samadet pottery, 208.
Samarcand, tiles at, 101.
Samian ware, 89, 93, 94, 309.
Samos, pottery of, 88.
San Felipe pottery, 135.
Sans, William, potter, 317.
Santa Casa, 173 ; majolica, 160.
Saracen art, influence of, in Eu
rope, 141 ; iu Germany, 212.
Saracen, pottery, 97 ; tiles, 100 ;
architecture, 101 ; commerce,
139 ; patterns in Italy, 143 ;
enamels older than Chinese,
232; marks, 451.
Sargadelos porcelain, 272.
Sarreguemines pottery, 208.
Sassanian coffins, 50, 101.
Sassuolo, Pietro da, potter, 164.
Sassuolo pottery, 177.
Satsuma, or Satsma, pottery, 257.
Savignies, vases de, 196.
Savino, Paolo, potter, 172.
Savona pottery, 179 ; marks, 449.
Savsk porcelain, 302.
Savy, Honore, potter, 199, 284.
Saxon pottery in England, 309.
Saxony. See Dresden.
S. & B., 386.
S. & Co., 386. I
Scaliger, J. C, 137, 261.
Scarabseus, forms of, 38.
Sceaux pottery, 208 ; porcelain,
282.
Schaffhausen pottery, 217.
Schallez, artist, 294.
Schaper, Johann, glass - painter
and potter, 217.
Schelstadt pottery, 212.
Schindler, artist, 294.
Schlakenwald porcelain, 295.
Schramberg pottery, 219.
Schreitzheim pottery, 218.
Scott mark, 369.
Scyphos, 82.
Scythians, 99.
Seeger, Joseph, painter, 203.
Seggars, definition of, 28.
Selkirk, Alexander, flip-can, 342.
Seltzmann, Hans, Mayor, and
pptter, 217.
Selucidse, 99.
" Semi-transparent china," 350.
Sepulchral vases, 41, 86.
" Se regarder en chiens de fai
ence," 198.
Serica,i99.Serpent-skin color, 250.
Seville, pottery, 180; porcelain,
272.

Sevres, pottery, 209 ; porcelain,
275 ; marks, 281, 473 ; coun
terfeits of, 282 ; marks used
by artists, 475; porcelain, dec
orated in New York, 405.
Sewells & Co., potters, 369.
Sewells & Donkin, potters, 369.
S. F. C, 175.
Sgraffiato ware, 62, 142, 143, 148,
393,398.
Shakspeare, 166.
Sharpe, potter, 387.
Shaw, potter, 197; Ralph, pot
ter, 320 ; Thomas, potter, 353.
Shaw's specimens of tiles, 310.
Shawls, bead-work, 38.
Shelton pottery and porcelain,
349.
Shiba pottery, 258.
Shinar, land of, 47.
Shishak, 42.
Shoemaker a potter, 204.
Shonsui, Japanese potter, 264 ;
his works prized, 265.
Shore, J., & Co., potters, 386.
Shorthose, J., potter, 348 ; & Co.,
potters, 348, 387; & Heath,
potters, 348, 387.
Siam, porcelain of, 118.
Sibury & Bridgwood, potters, 386.
Sicily pottery, 129, 136.
Siculo-Arabian pottery, 136.
Siculo-Moresque, 136.
Siena pottery, 154 ; marks, 436,
449.
Sieou, the sisters, 241.
Sign of life. See Swastika.
Silentiarius, Paul, 128.
Silvano, Francesco, potter, 160.
Silver decorations, 29.
Silver lustre, 29 ; first, in Eng
land, 351.
Silver-rubbed vases, 252.
Sinceny pottery, 209.
Sing-eul, " the younger brother,"
240.
Sing-i, "the elder brother," 240.
Sismondi, 139, 156.
Sleeping slave, 87.
S. M., 174.
Smith, George, 49 ; Major Mur
doch, 109 ; Mrs. Joseph, Bris
tol service presented her by
Burke, 379 ; T. C, & Sons, pot
ters, 404.
Smithsonian Institution, 397.
Sneyd, T., potter, 387.
Snitzer, potter, 387.
Soft pottery, 24.
Soft-paste porcelain, 26.
Soliva, artist, 180.
Solobrin, Jerome, potter, 182.
Solomon sale prices, 425.
Solomon's knot mark, 180.

INDEX.

529

Song of the furnace, 88.
Soqui, decorator, 376.
Sorgenthal, Baron de, 293.
Souffle color, how produced, 251.
Souroux, potter, 483.
Southwick pottery, 368.
S. P., 209.
Spaandonek, potter, 463.
Spain, pottery, 97, 133, 180;
marks, 469 ; porcelain, 271 ;
tiles in, 108 ; Moors in, 133.
Sperl, widow, potter, 299.
S. P. F., 435.
S. P. Q. F., 153.
S. P. R., 435.
Spode, Josiah, potter, 350 ; Jo
siah, junior, potter, 350 ; Sam
uel, potter, 352.
Sprig patterns, 364.
Sprimont, Nicholas, potter, 375.
Squier, E. G., 391, 395.
Srai, 116.
Staffordshire potteries, 314.
Stag's horns mark, 219.
Stamnos, 82.
Stamps on Roman pottery, 92.
Stanniferous enamel, 25 ; in
Egypt, 36; in Italy, 144; in
Germany, 213.
Star mark, 456, 470.
States, Adam, potter, 401 ; Adam
2d, 401 ; Joseph, potter, 401
Statues in pottery, 92.
Statuettes, old Italian, 178.
Steam in potteries, 30.

Strasbourg, pottery, 209 ; porce
lain, 285.
Stratford-le-Bow. See Bow.
Straw in brick, 37.
Strepla pottery, 217.
Stroebel, painter, 216.
Strunz, Jo. Heinrich, potter, 216.
Styles first formed, 57 ; dates
of Greek, 78 ; Doric, 58, 73 ;
Egyptian, 73 ; Carthaginian,
73 ; Corinthian, 73.
Suleiman, Mosque of, 107.
Sun, the, mark, 482.
Sunderland, pottery, 368 ; wares,
356.
Surahai, the, 116.
Swansea, 363 ; porcelain and
pottery, 371.
Swastika, the, 61, 254.
Sweden pottery, 225; marks, 469;
porcelain, 301.
Switzerland, pottery, 220 ; porce
lain, 300.
Swords crossed, mark, 291, 486,
494, 496, 498.
Symbols, of Mesopotamia, 46 ;
Phenician, 61 ; Chinese, 254.
Symposium, 89.
S X., 455.
T, 387.
Table porcelain, 408.
Tailor and wife, Dresden group,
290.
Talavera pottery, 136, 180.

Steamboat Chief-Justice Marshall Talor, William, potter, 317.

on pottery, 344.
Steatite, enamelled, 35.
Steel, potter, 387.
Steele, Daniel, potter, 344.
Steen, Jan, artist, 223.
Stenzel, workman, goes to Vien
na, 293.
Stephens,William, decorator, 380.
Stevenson, W., potter, 348 ; &
Hancock, potters, 369.
Stimmer, Tobias, artist, 217, 221.
Stockton pottery, 368.
Stoke-upon-Trent pottery and
porcelain, 350.
Stone, Coquerel Le Gros, 197.
Stone-ware, German, 226 ; fine,
226 ; influence on German ar
tisans, 228 ; influence in Eng
land, 230; English derived
from Germany, 230; in Eng
land, 314; red of Japan, 258.
Stonington pitcher, 361.
Storkhulm mark, 469.
Stoves, pottery, 204, 212, 217;
in Switzerland, 220 ; by Hans
Kraut, 216 ; celebrated stove
at Salzburg, 215.
Stralsund pottery, 220

Tanagra figures, 87,
Tardessir, potter, 199.
Tariff, American, 416.
Tarlton pitcher, 361.
Tartary, 98.
Tatzen, Michael Melchior, potter
and sculptor, 217.
Tauber, artist, 216.
Tavernes, pottery of, 201.
T. B., 181.
Teapots first made, 223.
Technology, 24.
Teeth first" painted, 75, 77.
Teinitz pottery, 220.
Telegraph of Ralph Wedgwood,
321.
Tel-el-Yahoudeh, 39.
Tempesta, copies of, on pottery,
199, 200.
Temple at Kurium, 55, 76, 77.
Templeton, Lady, 329.
Terchi, Bartolomeo, potter, 170.
Terchi brothers, potters at Ven
ice, 174.
Terenzio, potter, 163.
Ter Fehn, artist, 223.
Ter Himpelen, artist, 223.
Terra-cotta, 28.
34

Terraglia, 269.
Terraglia verniciata, 172.
Terre de Saint Esprit, 199.
Tervueren pottery, 221.
T. H. & 0., 387.
Thang, Chinese director, 234.
Theophilus, the monk, 142.
" Thick-head" figures of Hochst,
297.
Thion, potter, 455.
Thionville potterv, 211.
Thouars, 183 ; pottery, 210.
Throwing pottery, 40.
Thuringian factories, 298.
Thursfield, John, potter, 362.
Thymiaterion, 82.
Tiles, Egyptian, 39; Saracen, 100
on mosques, 101 ; lustred, 108
St. Sophia, 128 ; at Padua, 175
at Lille, 198; in Spain, 181
for stoves, 211, 212, 215 ; in
America, 223; in England, 310.
Tilewright, name, 310.
Timagoras, potter, 81.
Timour, 102.
Tin in Egypt, 42.
Tischbein, 96.
Tlenpolemos, potter, 82.
Toad, form of lamp, 43.
Tobys, 229.
Toft, Thomas, potter, 316 ;
Ralph, potter, 317.
Toledo pottery, 136.
Tombof Mohammed,101; of Mus-
tapha, 107 ; by Hans Kraut at
Villingen, 216.
Tombs, at Beni-Hassan, 40; at
Alexandria, 41 ; Greek, 86 ;
of Kameiros, 127.
Tomlinson, William, potter, 384.
Tooke on Russia, 226.
Torches, two, mark, 284.
Tortoise-shell ware, 320, 325.
Toul pottery, 196.
Tour d'Aigues pottery, 196.
Tournay, pottery, 221 ; porcelain,
301.
Tours, pottery, 196, 210 ; porce
lain, 283.
Tower mark, 274, 301, 482, 490.
Tower of porcelain in China, 249.
Toys, Phenician, 67.
T. R. with crown, 489.
Transfer printing, 29, 354.
Transmission of art of enamel,
100.
Trefoil mark, 488.
Trenton pottery, 404.
Treviso pottery, 174 ; marks,
449 ; porcelain, 271.
Triangle, impressed, mark, 375,
376, 492.
Tripoli, Preble's attack, on pitch
er, 502.

530

INDEX.

Trou, potter, 208, 272 ; Gabriel,
potter, 272 ; Henri, potter,
272.
Trov, Last Night of, 78, 79.
Trumbull, Mr. G., 120.
Truro sale prices, 425.
Tschirnhaus, chemist, 286.
Tucker, Benjamin, potter, 403 ;
William Ellis, potter, 403 ; &
Hemphill, potters, 403.
Tunis pottery, 181.
Tunstall pottery, 345.
Turin pottery, 177; marks, 449 ;
porcelain, 271.
Turkish pottery, 132.
Turner, John, potter, 352 ; John,
2d, potter, 352 ; mark, 383 ;
Ralf, potter, 387; William,
potter, 352 ; Thomas, potter,
362.
Turner's patent, mark, 352.
Turnor, Ralph, potter, 317.
Twemlow, T., potter, 350.
Twyford, Joseph, potter, 319,
349.
Tyg, the, 312.
Ugogo pottery, 132-
Ujiji pottery, 132.
Ulm pottery, 220.
Unaker, Cherokee name of kao
lin, 374.
Unglazed pottery, 24.
United States, pottery and porce
lain in, 399.
Urbino potterv, 154 ; marks,
441, 443.
Urse Graff, 165.
Urukh, King, 47.
Utzchneider, Paul, potter, 208.
Uzzano, Bernardi da, 139.
V, 271.
V. A., 272.
Valencia pottery, 135, 181.
Valencien, mark, 485.
Valenciennes, pottery, 210 ;
porcelain, 283.
Valognes porcelain, 283.
Vambery, Mr., 101.
Vandepopeliere, Marie, potter,
198.
Varages pottery, 201.
Varsanni, artist, 294.
Vasa murrhina. See Myrrhine
vases.
Vasari, 144, 150, 263.
Vase, the Francois, 81 ; of the
Alhambra, 133.
Vases made by air pressure, 277.
Vassillieva pottery, 226.
Vaucouleurs pottery, 211.
Vaux porcelain, 283.
Vecchio, del, F., potter, 178.

Vehlen, Ant. Bern, von, 218.
Vengobechea, Gaberil, potter,
224.
Venice pottery, 174 ; marks,
447, 449 ; porcelain, 262, 269 ;
invented by unknown old ar
tist, 262.
Verboom, Abraham, artist, 223.
Verburg, potter, 463.
Verneuilles, potter, 283.
Verona pottery, 175 ; marks, 449.
Verstelle, potter, 463.
Vezzi brothers, potters, 269.
Vicenza earth, 148.
Vielsdorf, Kloster, porcelain, 489.
Vienna porcelain, 293.
Vieux Sevres, 275.
Villers Cotterets pottery, 211.
Villingen pottery, 216.
V I N, 168.
Vincennes, pottery, 210 ; porce
lain, 274, 283.
Vincenzio, Maestro, 160; mark,
439.
Violins of pottery, 223.
Violon, Le, de Faience, 223.
Visscher, Peter, iron-worker, 214.
Vista Alegre porcelain, 272.
Viterbo pottery, 173; marks, 443.
Vitry, Gaspard, decorator, 200.
V N, 271, 471.
Vogt, Adam, potter, 217.
Volkof, M., potter, 302.
Volkstadt porcelain, 299.
Volpato, Giovanni, potter, 172.
Voyez, J., potter, 346; counter
feits Wedgwood, 333.
W, 220, 295, 296, 300.
W (* * *) mark, 387.
Wackenfeld, Jean Henri, potter,
209.
Wadgwood, 333.
Wagstaff, potter, 387.
Walker, Brown, & Co., potters,
380.
Walker, G., potter, 372.
Wall, Dr. John, potter, 364.
Wall decoration, with plates, etc.,
415.
Wallendorf porcelain, 299.
Wallis & Bemrose, on Derbyshire
wares, 370.
Walls, enamelled, 48, 67.
Walton, John, potter, 345.
Walton mark, 345.
Wanips, potter, 198.
Warburton, Peter, potter, 349 ;
John, potter, 346 ; Mrs., pot
ter and decorator, 346.
Warburton, potter, 368.
Warka, coffins at, 50.
Warner, Mr. C. D., 38, 105.
Washington, ovals of, 348.

Washington pitchers, series of,
357 ; prints, 352.
Watches, the first, 214.
W. & B., 387.
Weatherby, potter, 373.
Webber, Henry, modeller, 338.
Wech, artist, 2~94.
Wedgwood family, 320 ; various
potters of the family, 321, 322,
323, 324, 384; Ralph invents
electric telegraph, 321.
Wedgwood, Josiah, wares of,
322; life and history, 323;
various wares, 325, 327, 328,
332, 334 ; imitations of his
wares, 179, 219, 272, 274,
293, 333; marks and forger
ies, 332; Voyez counterfeits,
346.
Wedgwoods, potters in York
shire, 385.
Wedgwood, F., a mark, 384.
Wedgwood & Co., 321, 333, 384.
Wedgwood, J., a mark, 333.
Wedgewood, a mark, 333.
Weesp porcelain, 224, 300.
Wegeley, W., potter, 296.
Welby, potter, 220.
Westminster Chapter-house tiles,
311.
Wheel mark, 219.
Wheel, the potter's, 27, 40.
Whieldon, Thomas, potter, 323,
351.
Whitehead, Christopher C, pot
ter, 347.
Wilcox, Mrs., decorator, 375.
Willingen. See Villingen, 216.
Willow pattern, 362.
Wilson, mark, 348 ; Robert, pot
ter, 348.
Wine mingled with myrrh, 262.
Wintergurst family, potters, 218.
Winterthur pottery, 220.
Wire frame to hang plates, 415.
Wirksworth pottery, 369.
Wolfe & Hamilton, potters, 351.
Wolfe, Thomas, potter, 351.
Wood & Caldwell, potters, 343.
Wood, E., & Sons, potters, 343 ;
Aaron, potter, 342; Enoch,
potter, 343 ; Ralph, potter,
342 ; William, modeller, 338 ;
mark, 502.
Wood-cuts copied on pottery,
153, 165, 185.
Wooden trenchers, 311.
Worcester porcelain, 364.
Worthington & Co., potters, 356.
W. R., 341.
W. R., with crown, 489.
W. R. k Co., 387.
W. S. & Co., 387.
W. T., 317.

INDEX.

531

W. T. & Co., 387.
Wurtemberg pottery, 21 i
Wurzburg pottery, 220.
X, 173.
Xanto, Francesco, 158.
Xativa pottery, 135.

Yarmouth pottery, 383.
Yates, J., potter, 386.
York pottery, 383.
Young, W. W, decorator, 371.
Z, 467.
Zeisler, painter and potter, 298.

Zerder, Heinrich, potter, 293.
Zerin, Nestorian village, 238.
Zeschinger, artist, 219.
Zeuxis, 78, 79.
Zoroaster, 98.
Zucaro, Taddeo, 145.
Zurich porcelain, 300.

THE END.

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