Posted By: Tim
Posted on: 2010-08-10 21:40:29
Featured Item:
Minton "Naturalist" Pattern Dinner Plate
It was around 1870. The moving force in the English design scene was the burgeoning interest--soon to become a mania--for objects imported from or designed in the style of Japan. Minton introduces a new pattern that differs strikingly from the transferware that preceeded it and would stand in contrast with most of the Japanese-inspired patterns that would follow. A stark empty ground, no border, was littered with curious prints of plants, birds, fish and animals. The brightly enameled motifs seemed to be placed haphazardly and, moreover, differed from piece to piece.
As original as the tableware may have seemed, however, it was derived, really quite shamelessly, from a service that had appeared on the French market a short time before. Just as intriguing is the influence the pattern had on artistic tablewares in the decades to follow. This month's "Featured Item" entry will focus on one dinner plate to explore the phenomenon of Minton's "Naturalist" pattern.
Dimensions; Diameter 10 1/4 in.
Dates: Date Mark for 1870
Price: $450.00
Origins: Japan and France
Shift to 1814 Japan. The great painter and printmaker Hokusai, in the fifty-fifth year of his epic life, began a series of publications that would appear periodically for the rest of his life and continue posthumously after 1849. Each was a small volume containing numerous printed images from his sketches, economical and closely observed micro views of the world around him--people, flora, all manner of fauna, even landscape elements. The volumes were known as Hokusai Manga (often translated as "random sketches"). Some sketches occupied an entire sheet, but best known are the pages crammed with numerous small drawings against a blank background, each existing as an independent and complete image. The effect to modern eyes is similar to a sheet of "clip art," and given the use to which the Manga was put in Europe, the analogy is an apt one.
Forward to 1856 Paris. The French artistic community was especially receptive to the influx of Japanese goods that followed on the heels of Admiral Perry's expedition to Japan. A frequently cited story has it that the painter and innovative etcher Felix Bracquemond discovered a volume of the Manga in the Paris shop of his printer. (Supposedly it had arrived in France with other prints as fill in an importer's crate.) Under its spell, Bracquemond became a leading exponent of the Japanese aesthetic, even joining a secret society of artists and collectors based on a shared study of Japanese prints.
An 1866 commission from the Parisian retailer Eugene Rousseau gave Bracquemond the opportunity to apply his connoisseurship to the creation of an earthenware dinner service utilizing Japanese motifs. The result is generally acknowledged as the first example of Japanism in French decorative arts. In preparation for the printed decoration of the set, Bracquemond prepared engraved sheets of images derived from the Manga and other sources. These were to be cut apart and positioned on the wares at the discretion of the decorator, the unadorned surface of the plate or vessel providing a neutral ground. The only other ornamentation was a molded shell edge, recalling eighteenth century earthenwares, highlighted by a strong cobalt blue wash. The random principle of Bracquemond's design is captured in the title of a later pattern he designated "Fleurs et Oiseaux Jetes" which translates as "Scattered Flowers and Birds ."
The Minton "Naturalist" Pattern
In 1869 Minton engaged William S. Coleman to develop their own version of the Rousseau service which was ultimately called the "Naturalist" pattern. Coleman, an artist and illustrator, worked on a freelance basis, later joining the firm as head of its art pottery studio in Kensington. His design closely follows Bracquemond's, only creating an even starker effect by eliminating the border treatment all together. The absence of a border is only one of the conventions of transferware broken by Coleman's design. The British consumer was unused to asymmetry or to the idea of a random scattered decoration that differed from piece to piece.
In production the placement of elements was not as truly random as Coleman might have envisioned. As with the Rouseau service the motifs are arrayed roughly in a circular manner around the plate, leaving the center vacant. Most plates display a formula of a large image balanced by two or three smaller ones. Without much effort, moreover, one can find practically identical plates.
At times one senses that the decorators may have rebelled against the notion of unrelated floating motifs, as suggested by our featured plate. Here the prints are arranged to create a sort of river scene--kingfisher above, carp below, butterfly and reeds in between. If one looks closely, one can even discern faint blue lines inserted by the enameler to distinguish between water and sky. This bit of cheating does not seem to occur in the Rousseau pieces.
Influence
While the principle of random decoration may not have been fully realized in Minton's product, the scattered image composition of the "Naturalist" pattern had a strong observable impact on many of the aesthetic style patterns that followed. To single out just two examples (both available in Seeker's current inventory) Minton's later "Tom Tit" pattern and George Jones's evocatively named "Almonds" show the same informal balance of related, but separate, images. The plates in these patterns are identical except for possible variations in enamel colors.
A more subtle influence was the introduction into British ceramics of a Japanese sense of observed nature via Bracquemond and Coleman. Let's consider the depiction of our kingfisher. Traditionally birds in European ceramic decoration had been depicted in quite conventional ways, sometimes so formulaic that they become identifiable elements for a potter (like Derby's "Fancy Birds" or Worcester's "Disheveled Birds"). Compare the kingfisher to a bird from an 1840's transfer pattern. Far from the traditional perched bird profile, Coleman's bird is seen from above, foreshortened in perspective, almost a blur of color in flight. An unexpected view, but one undeniably closer to the nature of birds.
Hokusai was known for novel, sometimes even grotesque, views of nature, but views entirely rooted in observation ,not convention. The introduction to one Manga volume quotes his dictum, "There can be no teacher in painting. All you need do is copy reality." When one notes that Coleman's vocations included that of a natural scientist (he produced illustrated volumes on British butterflies and woodland life), one can see that he was the right man to transmit this aesthetic. His scientific point of view is revealed in another "Naturalist" plate decorated with specimen feathers. The pattern name itself takes on additional meaning.
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Striking images of natural creatures abound on the British aesthetic influenced tablewares that were to follow. We will let one example suffice--a later Minton pattern, "Aquarium." Design of the pattern has been attributed to engraver William Wise and elsewhere--and more convincingly--to the brilliant French immigrant Goutard Leonce. The pattern's numerous images depict underwater life, but despite the name, this is not the tame realm of the parlor fish bowl. Instead we find curious and sometimes fierce specimens; the carp on our dessert plate is a relatively friendly example. In contrast to "Naturalist" wares, here a single vignette has expanded to dominate the plate; Minton uses additional prints of aquatic plants, often overlapping, to reinforce the watery impression.
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When we thinkof the ceramics of the Japanese mania, we rightly think of those designs that lift elements directly from Japanese artifacts: tightly patterned grounds, flashing diagonals, Asian symbols and motifs, and so on. While they lack these overt signs, the Rousseau Service and the "Naturalist" pattern deserve their place in the advance guard of the movement. What they convey is a Japanesque sensibility, a way of looking at the world from an angle that differs from the traditional European view. The quality that seemed fresh, whimsical, a little confounding, but ever intriguing to the 1870's consumer and would-be aesthete exerts the same force on us today.
Acknowledgements and Sources
As is often the case with this website, we owe thanks to our good friend Stephen McMaster for his patient guidance to us on images and sources. Thanks also to our friend, ceramic scholar Rob Hunter, for sharing images of the Rousseau Service plates from his collection.
As always, the most accessible and best source for information on Minton remains Paul Atterbury and Maureen Batkin, The Dictionary of Minton, Antique Collector's Club 1990.
A little known element of James A. Michener's works is a seriously written and beautifully produced 1958 volume, The Hokusai Sketch-Books: Selections from the Manga. The images and Hokusai quotation come from this source (pp. 95, 91, 25). Thanks again, Stephen, for the loaner.
Information on Bracquemond and the Japan craze in France comes from the catalog of a wonderful 1975 exhibition shared by Rutgers, the Walters and the Cleveland Museum--Japonisme: Japanese Influence on French Art 1854-1910 (Weisberg et al.) I only wish I had seen it!
Regards, Tim
Posted By: Mark
Posted on: 2010-06-23 19:06:19
Featured Item:
American Historical Transferware Plate
"Peace and Plenty" by James and Ralph Clews
Coming up on July, we decided to look at American historical transfer. We even went a step further with the most traditionally revered of these wares, dark "historical" blue, for this month's featured item.
When I was a child growing up in the 1950's and 60's, I had the good fortune of a small town public library with a few books on antiques. The single shelf devoted to antiques offered a limited selection of venerable books on china such as N. Hudson Moore's The Old China Book (published 1903), Ada Walker Camehl's The Blue-China Book (1916) and Alice Morse Earle's pioneering work, China Collecting In America (published 1892). These books made it clear that if one was going to collect antiques, there was one noble calling and that was American antiques. In china, that meant goods made for the American market, what was called simply Historical Blue.
The thrill of handling these wares, with their national and personal resonances, represents maybe the final chapter of one childhood dream which did come true.
Our featured item this month is a dark blue plate in the "Peace and Plenty" pattern by James and Ralph Clews.
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Dimensions: Diameter 10 in.
Dates: 1820's
Price: $495.00
American Historical Transfer: Back Story
American historical transfer is a little piece of the big world of English transfer printed wares. The body is almost always earthenware, often glazed with a blue tinted clear glaze (to kill the yellow-ish tendencies of the earthenware body). Wares such as this plate were made in the Staffordshire region of England. However, other potting centers produced historical wares as well. Liverpool is noted for historical transfer printed creamware and one finds historical subject matter on the lustre ware produced in multiple regions of England.
The dark blue American historical transfer patterns originate in the 1820's. Later on in the 1820's and 30's, developments in technology afforded additional colors including green, red, brown, purple and light blue. Nevertheless, Americans have always been especially fond of the deep dark tones associated with what we refer to as Historical Blue. The impressed mark on the back of this piece tells us that it was made by James and Ralph lews between 1819 when the partnership started and 1835 when it was dissolved.
American historical transfer is all about American pride. The majority of patterns depict American scenery. Events such as the War of 1812 or Lafayette's 1824 return visit to America were also commemorated on transferware. Even national celebrities from the military heroes of the War of 1812 to the abolitionist Richard Jordan were celebrated on tableware. Finally, there is a small group of patterns best described as patriotic statements. These patterns range from literal depictions of state seals to allegorical tableaux. "Peace And Plenty" falls into this allegorical group.
"Peace and Plenty" focuses on a young male figure dressed in classical garb. Stalks of grain are laced through his hair. A shield at his side is decorated with the American seal, inscribed "Peace" above and "Plenty" below. The figure carries a sickle in his right hand and a basket of fruit in his left. Behind him sheaves of wheat, a distant seaside church steeple, buildings and a sun on the horizon complete the tableau.
So how is this historical allegory relevant? To understand this pattern, I think we should look at it in three parts; the figure, the shield and the background.
The Figure
The figure's costume and shield sugggest the Roman god Mars, depicted here as an allegorical figure for America. At this point, America was in a search for identifying symbols. Traditionally, the crown had stood for the state in European countries, a concept unbefitting to Americans. European countries were also defined by their boundaries, however there was no static geographical entity defining America. The constant expansion of states and territorities created the sense that expansion would continue without end. (Six states were added between 1816 and 1821: Indiana 1816, Mississippi 1817, Illinois 1818, Alabama 1819, Maine 1820 and Missouri 1821). If America was anything, it represented the nebulous realization of a number of ideals. In the search for models for this new idea--America--the founders looked beyond the governments of the 18th century back to ancient Greece and Rome. Conveniently, these ancient civilizations provided a pantheon of Roman gods to personify these new ideals.
Generally, Mars is depicted with a helmet, shield and spear in his role as the God of War and bloodlust. However, Mars originated as the Roman God associated with agriculture. In this earlier role, he was called upon to turn away storms, disease and famine, as well as to promote prosperity of crops, animals and farms. Only later, as the Romans absorbed the Greek gods into their pantheon, did Mars take on the aspects of the Greek god Ares, the god of war and carnage. Mars shared this double aspect with the legendary Roman farmer/warrior Cincinnatus, a figure well-known to Americans of the period and closely associated with that most esteemed and recognized of American figures, George Washington ("first in war, first in peace...").
There is one attribute which marks Mars as the American incarnation of the Roman god, the inscription of the Great Seal on his shield.
The Shield and the Great Seal
The Great Seal was the first official symbol of America. Joshua Taylor in his essay "America as Symbol" (in America as Art, 1976) discusses the evolution of this symbol and its importance. In 1776, following the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to devise an official seal for the country. Six years later, a design was accepted based on the eagle, the ancient symbol of the supreme authority Zeus. By extension, this American eagle instantly linked this new country with authority and the respect demanded of the world. This is not to say the appropriation of Zeus' eagle for political ends was a new, original idea. European states had traditionally used the eagle for similar purposes. However the American seal depicts a bald eagle. American pride looked to our own native species to adapt this classical symbol. Further, reflecting its origin in the midst of the Revolution, this eagle clutches arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other. What an appropriate attribute for this god of war and agriculture, the multi-sided American Mars.
Mars' shield is also inscribed with the words that give this pattern its name: Peace and Plenty. The presence of those words connects us to the glamour, excitement and idealism of those first fifty years of our country's existence. Joshua Taylor, in the same essay, discusses the significance of such ideal terms:
"There were few periods in the past so inclined to think in terms of public symbols...than that in which the American Revolution was formulated and took place. Public rhetoric was based on the extolling of law and general principles, of universal rights and truths. Capitalized nouns--Truth, Liberty, Justice--seemed to take on more importance than active verbs."
The mantra-like power of "Peace" and "Plenty," inscribed on a warriors shield re-enforces the richness of meaning our symbolic figure represents.
The Background
The background of this pattern completes this American allegory centered around the American Mars. Sheaves of wheat, cut and bound, relate to the sickle in his right hand and the basket of harvest bounty he carries in his left. The sheaves of wheat also manifest the "Plenty" inscribed on the shield. The distant village, complete with church steeple, reflects the concept of "Peace." Finally, the rising sun represents the promise and blessings of "Peace and Plenty" awaiting this new society.
Your Collection
Collecting American historical transfer is simple. Collect what you like, a piece, a cupboard or a room full. Collect it by pattern or color--American scenes, depictions of events or allegorical compositions. There is only one rule, collect the old. These patterns were made in the first half of the nineteenth century. There is also a class of patterns made in the twentieth century which deliberately resemble these patterns. In terms of quality and value, however, we recommend a focus on the nineteenth century patterns.
The earlier patterns are well documented in the literature and often are marked with impressed maker's marks (as in the present case) or printed marks. Later patterns will always be marked "England" or "Made in England." If you need guidance, find a reliable dealer. They can take you through the paces relatively quickly. However, mostly just collect what you like. If you limit your collection to ninetenth century patterns, there are no mistakes possible here.
Conclusion
As I said earlier, I find this stuff thrilling. The people who originally owned this china lived those events, marvelled at those places and believed--fiercely--in those concepts depicted on American historical transferware. Acquiring these wares connects us to those people and the legacy we share in common.
One other reminder in closing --- careful what you say or the books you give to a child ----- you never know when it will change their world.
Later
Mark
References and Further Reading
Ellouise Baker Larsen's book American Historical Views On Staffordshire China (Dover, 1975) is our favorite. In the introduction to the first edition (1939), Homer Eaton Keyes, editor of the magazine "Antiques" said that it "takes its place as a standard work on the subject, and that is not likely ever to be superseded." Seventy years later, that quote, like the book stands unchallenged.
Keyes also presents an interesting point of view in his introduction regarding American historical transfer (as of September 1938). He also traces the scholarship by book and author up to that time.
If you would like to catch the American Historical Transfer "calling," I recommend a visit to my first book on antiques, Carl Drepperd's The Primer of American Antiques (Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1944), specifically his short chapter "Historic Staffordshire China and Pottery." (ppg. 115-119, 1944 edition). I still remember finding it thrilling when I first read it as a child. Re-visiting it for this piece, it is still just as thrilling. The very cool, appropriate, Eastern establishment Drepperd still waxes fairly evangelical in his altar call for American historical transfer.
For further discussion of American symbols, we recommend American As Art by Joshua C. Taylor, (copyright 1976, Smithsonian, published by Harper and Row); specifically his essay, "America As Symbol" (ppg. 3-35).
The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (William Smith, editor, John Murray, London, 1902) is credited as the original general source for our information on Mars and Ares.
The books referenced above by Ada Walker Camehl, N. Hudson Moore and Alice Morse Earle are also interesting, but superseded by Ellouise Baker Larsen for infomation. However they give wonderful insights into the first generation of American collectors for their chatty narrative, reminiscences and viewpoints. These women were all part of that great wave of collecting enthusiasm sparked by the Centennial. As interest and research develops on the Colonial Revival, these first hand accounts will assume a new importance.
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