This unsigned North Carolina ring handle art pottery vase with ring lug handles is advertised as made by Arthur Ray Cole in the 1940s.

The wheel-thrown vase has a rutile crystalline rustic glaze, and the red clay body, with stilt marks visible on the bottom.

(All items shown in this article are availabe for purchase through GoAntiques.com. Click on the photos for individual item details)

For almost any acquisition endeavor, knowledge is power; whether one is collecting old masters, Oriental carpets, raw land in the South Pacific or the XYZ Corp. Ltd. However, if the object of one’s desire is relatively fragile, condition is a judgment of great importance, and the whereabouts not well known, then one’s personal knowledge becomes paramount to your success in the endeavor.

North Carolina art pottery has been made since the first decades of this century and was fashioned in large numbers. Thus, you would assume that finding it would not be problematic, if only you knew where to search. There is certainly an element of truth in that. The facts are that these sixth- and eighth-generation N.C. potters shipped their wares all over America by rail and later by truck. Some of the potteries shipped their wares in lots numbering in the thousands, so their pieces are out there, if you can determine where “there” is. With the advent of the Internet, finding these items is not as hard as it once was, but there are certainly other things to learn: The shapes and glazes, while not specific, were characteristics to identify potteries in general, but the successful collector should learn to identify the individual pottery or even the potter as well.

This nice and early vessel, made by J.B. Cole, has a flaring form and is covered in a lead green glaze.

The condition of this particular vase, made in the 1920s, is good, but has numerous nicks to the rim, a small ding to the body.

The art pottery movement in the Tar Heel state began as an adaptation for financial survival. Progress in the form of glass and plastic containers, the availability of electricity and even something call Prohibition, led to a decline in the need and demand for utilitarian wares. The potters in North Carolina had been fashioning these crocks, storage jars, churns and jugs for more than two centuries, but after the turn of the century they had to make different wares if they wanted to survive in the remainder of the 20th century. Those who were able to make the transition survived, but even then it was not an easy life.

The transitional forms and glazes used in the 1920s and 30s provide the collector with an interesting challenge. Not a great number have survived, and the particular examples have not been systematically documented. These pieces appear crude in the reflection of the changes in turning required for decorative pieces, and the glazes were often simple and not inspiring. A number of these pieces were salt glazed, or some variation of Albany slop might have been used, as the potters were familiar with these glazes. They also tended to employ those forms that were easily translated from their previous activity. Many of the potters had difficulty with fashioning the smaller pieces and had little, if any, experience with the decorative glazes. One can sometimes find these examples with a crude but appealing form and wonderful patina in junk shops, boxes at estate sales and at flea markets.

In the 1930s the potters became more accomplished, both in the turning of these decorative wares and in choosing glazes that increased the visual appeal of their creations. Another very interesting development was the change in distribution patterns from local to widespread, and a marked increase in the volume of wares produced so that many pieces were shopped all over the country. This means that the aggressive collector has an opportunity to acquire pieces from almost anywhere, but some locations are much more likely than others.

Where to Begin the Hunt

Most antiques shops that specialize in a particular form of antiquity or fine art dealers are not likely to have these hand-turned wares. The most commons place to find N.C. art pottery are in malls and in multiple-dealer shops where all the dealers carry a large variety of goods to appeal to the generic desires of the public. Estate sales can be very good sources, but one has to devote a great deal of time to this endeavor and be extremely patient. You can drive for hundreds of miles, wait for what seems to be a lifetime for the piece to come up, and then be outbid by a little old lady in tennis shoes who is reminded by the piece of her late great Aunt Tillie and who has a $20,000,000 trust account.

Antique festivals or shows will yield good results, provided you have stamina, are willing to use your own judgment and are prepared to bargain. The small shows at Liberty and Cameron, two North Carolina towns (more like villages), have good examples if you are prepared to pay from dealers who are fair but well informed.

You will discover that there will be a substantial difference in the asking price between signed and unsigned pieces; so you should learn to identify the characteristic clay, glaze, form and turning of the North Carolina potters. For the knowledgeable, there are unparalleled opportunities for acquisition, but there are no guarantees, absolutely no warranty and no return policies.

A pair of Pisgah Forest North Carolina arts pottery candleholders, with exterior and interior glazes in soft shades of seafoam green and faded rose pink. Made sometime between the 1940s and 1960s.

While the remains of a tripod evidenced on the glaze of the bottom of a piece, coupled with the uniform sanding marks of a belt sander on the undersurface, may tell you this piece was made at Jacon B. Cole Pottery, this will be totally lost on 97 percent of antique dealers. You can thus translate this lack of information or interest on their part into opportunity for you. If you have exercised a bit of independent scholarship, the rewards may be extraordinary. The specialized pottery dealer will probably know as much, or more, as you will, but will most often be fair because the goal here for the dealer is repeat business.

Whether a piece is signed should not be an incentive or serve as a deterrent to the purchase of N.C. pottery. If it is for you, then you have simply not done the proper due diligence to identify the unsigned pieces, which comprise the vast majority of the pieces you will find. There are a few specialized N.C. pottery dealers and certainly you should buy from them as well as learn from them; but if this is your only method of acquisition, then you are going to miss a great deal of the pleasure in the process. Do much of your own searching because the chase can be as or more pleasurable than the act of acquiring.

Fundamentals of North Carolina Art Pottery

Certain basics to collecting North Carolina art pottery are as fundamental as the rod to fishing, the putter to the links, or the hoop to basketball. You have simply got to be able to tell a mold piece from a hand-turned one. Do not believe that the turning grooves will always be prominent or the telltale joining line readily apparent. Look at the handles; could they have been shaped by the human hand and fixed to the body of the piece manually? How translucent is the glaze? Does it have the deep patina of a kiln-fired piece or a more translucent sheen of a porcelain ware? Granted Pisgah Forest, a well-known line of N.C. potters, is fired at a higher temperature than earthenware, but the glazes are typical and almost all the Pisgah Forest pieces are marked.

Fabulous turquoise-blue crackle finish baluster-style vase by W.B. Stephen of the Pisgah Pottery Company of North Carolina.

It is nine inches tall and has Stephen's trademark pink glazed interior. This piece is fully marked and dated 1946.

North Carolina clay can usually be differentiated from other contenders but not always. Mitchfield clay from the Auman Clay Pit is basically white, and allows the glazes to be put to their greatest decorative use. The luster from a clear glaze over the natural clay is both lovely and identifiable. Candor clay, named from the small town in south central North Carolina, is so white that it has a similar appearance to porcelain, but the effect on the glaze will be different and the object will not have the very high-gloss shine. The appearance of redware is red, and most of the North Carolina clay is orange. However, it was a common practice to shellac the bottoms or to allow the glaze to run over the bottom of the piece and sand it smooth. The bottom might also become darkened by the firing process. The message here is to look at the clay and examine the undersurface of the piece, but be aware that you are not examining an object in pristine condition or understand that what you are observing might reflect some of the potting process and not just the properties of the clay.

Glazes are helpful in identification but seldom specific. However, you certainly need to be able to identify the colors of A.R. Cole when he operated at Rainbow Pottery, or the multiglazes of C.C. Cole, Jugtown’s very desirable Chinese blue, or the double-dipped glaze wares of North State Pottery. If you would like to acquire some rare and very desirable North Carolina pieces, learn to identify the cream-colored and cobalt-decorated wares of the Auman’s in the 1920s or the mottled “spotted” appearance of the early Jugtown pieces.

You will not be able to carry in your frontal cortex all the forms and shapes of even a single N.C. pottery’s wares. There are hundreds of entries in the 1932 J.B. Cole catalogue alone. However, certain common forms, such as Rebecca pitchers, suggest a North Carolina origin and the specifics such as a “rat tail” handle suggest a particular potter such as Jack Kiser. Since this pottery was made for a national market, regional shapes were not as common as with the utilitarian goods of yesteryear. Form and shape are very important.

This tall split handled pitcher is covered in a robin’s egg blue glaze with colorful splashes around the shoulder. Believed to be made in the 1930s.

Unmarked on the bottom, but attributed to Rainbow Pottery, the condition of this pitcher is excellent, with one small flake on the mouth.

When you begin your independent quest for N.C. pottery, pick up every piece you think may have a chance of being the object of your desire. You will get to see the bottoms of many pieces of Roseville, Fancoma and Fulper, and gradually you will come to be able to eliminate them quickly. You will soon come to “feel” the presence of a mold piece, but to differentiate Bybee wares made in Kentucky or some Gordy art pottery from Georgia from N.C. pottery.

The search for N.C. art pottery can be an intellectual adventure, but you may find yourself on some remote porches, exploring a defunct florist or tracing the sales from the 1930s, of a nursery that insists they have the records in an abandoned warehouse. The rewards are great for the informed and diligent, but the process will be pleasurable for the less successful as well.

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Weller umbrella stands can still be found in the $200 to $300 range, but the "Baldwin" line piece, such as this one, routinely sells in the $750 to $1,000 range at auction.

Every dealer and collector has a soft spot for certain styles and periods of design that is almost a case of love at first sight. In my own case, it was Art Nouveau, a rebirth in design that reigned supreme from about 1895-1910. This Weller “Baldwin” series umbrella stand, with it’s vine like florals and hand-hewn look is a good example of the style produced in North America up until the First World War.

Sam Weller, the founder of Weller pottery, began with the production everyday items such as jars, jugs, tiles and utility pottery. With the move to Zanesville, Ohio, area about 1889, Weller followed the lead of other local potters and began making a line of art pottery.

Weller soon expanded into a line of Portraiture pottery with Indians, animals and themes based on the books by Charles Dickens, called “Dickensware.” A large number of other series wares such as Woodland, Oriental, Hunter, Auroral and Sicardo were also produced and well received at the time.

Like many manufacturers, Weller was forced to scale back production during the years of World War I, and the company concentrated on molded, mass-produced wares similar to those of the Roseville company. Sam Weller died in 1925, when the pottery was being run by his nephew Harry until his own death in 1932. The Weller pottery company survived the Depression and World War II, but it’s glory years were behind it when it closed for good in 1948.

The value for most original Art Nouveau designer pieces has climbed beyond the average collector, but some potteries like Weller automated enough of their production that many examples are still available at reasonable prices today. In the current market some Weller umbrella stands can still be found in the $200 to $300 range, but the “Baldwin” line (pictured above) routinely sells in the $750 to $1,000 range at auction.

Mike Wilcox
Wilcox & Hall Appraisers

Mike Wilcox is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

Sarreguemines Vaisselle

By Sherri Hall-Wilcox

Sarreguemines Vaisselle was established in 1748 in the city of Sarreguemines in the Northeast of France. This region was chosen for natural resources needed to produce ceramic in the 18th century, such as clay, an abundant water supply and wood, which was the sole source of energy. Beginning in the 19th century, Sarreguemines Vaisselle replaced clay with kaolin and wood with coal to fire the kilns. Later gas replaced coal as the primary source of energy. Some 250 years later, all of these natural resources are still found only miles from Sarreguemine’s Vaisselle factory.

Following the French-German war of 1870, the Sarreguemines region became part of Germany and prohibitive Customs duties were imposed. To avoid this, the factory was moved in 1872 to the city of Digoin, 250 miles southwest. Due to its reputation, Sarreguemines Vaisselle kept its name and the factory has remained in Digoin ever since. The company was awarded 12 gold medals in international competitions during the 19th century. Such was its reputation even Napoleon Bonaparte bought pieces, which can still be found today at Versailles and at the Trianon.

Dating Sarreguemines Pottery by the Marks:
A lot of the Sarreguemines pieces are clearly marked. The company has used many different marks over the centuries, which enables us to date most pieces.

• Typically, you will see the word “SARREGUEMINES” either impressed or printed. The impressed version was in use until circa 1900. The company used the printed mark after 1900.
• Between 1870 and 1890, the impressed Sarreguemines often has “MAJOLICA” impressed above it.
• Quite often, Sarreguemines pieces have several impressed numbers. The number existing of 3 or 4 figures usually refers to the model. One number between 1 and 4 refers to the size, and the last two digits refer to the production year (like 05 for 1905)
• The impressed “U & C” within an octagon stands for Utzschnieder et Company and was in use until 1890. From 1881 on you can find majolica marked as Sarreguemines D & V.
• Sometimes Sarreguemines pieces are marked “ESDEVE”. ESDEVE (read SDV) stands for Sarreguemines, Digoin, Vitry-le-Francois, with Digoin and Vitry being the two companies that Sarreguemines had created earlier when Sarreguemines was annexed to Germany.
• The ESDEVE mark was in use until circa 1930.

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If you can’t see a mark on a piece of fine pottery or art glass, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. If your eye is trained to spot quality pieces but you are not able to find a mark, it can be well worth your time to keep on looking for one.

I once visited a very high-end antique store in Los Angles and was rather disappointed when I couldn’t find anything of interest I could buy and later resell for a profit. But, as I was leaving the store, for some reason I looked up at a top shelf where there were two extremely large vases. I asked the dealer if he would get a ladder and bring them down so that I could get a better look at them. Hesitantly, he did.

I examined the vases from top to bottom but couldn’t find a mark, even though I felt fairly certain they were Doulton Lambeth pieces decorated by one of their leading artists. I went over these pieces several more times but still couldn’t find a mark and was considering putting them back on the shelf. Being the stubborn person I am, as all that I refused to give up, so I examined them another time. Finally, I caught a glimpse of three letters within the body of the vase, “FEB” — meaning Florence E. Barlow, the sister of Hannah Barlow. This had just become my lucky day. The two Barlow sisters were Doulton’s best known decorators, and their vases always bring top prices.

Why hadn’t others found these marks? Very simply, the marks weren’t typically where one would find marks on pottery. I’m sure there had been hundreds of people who looked at the bottoms of these pieces and returned them to their shelf when they couldn’t see a mark. You see, ninety-five percent of these vases would have been marked on the bottom. But, not these. And, to make it more difficult, this particular mark, “FEB” had been incorporated into the actual design of the vase, making it almost impossible to find. But, not impossible to a persistant and stubborn person like me. This poor dealer had no idea these vases were special pieces.

I could barely hold my composure when I asked the price. “Two hundred and fifty dollars each,” was the dealer’s response. I didn’t know if it was time to dance or cry.

I returned to my car carrying these two precious bundles and carefully placed them in the back. Then, I pinched myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. You see, these wonderful 22″ vases were worth over $5,000 each at the time.

This type of find isn’t a rare occurrence. Lalique, Steuben and other art glass pieces with etched marks often present a huge challenge in finding the marks. The secret is to recognize the quality of the materials and the decorations on the piece. If they both meet the standards of a quality piece, then you should spend the time required to verify the maker.

The next show you attend, find a Tiffany Lamp and ask to look at it. I believe you will find it isn’t easy to located the marks because of their small size and because of where they are located under the shade.

You can learn to spot quality when you make a study of the most sought after pottery, porcelain, and art glass. Knowing the work and values of in demand artists will put you at the head of the class. You’ll be able to find the marks others miss.

Use every source you can in order to study. Search the Internet. See these pieces up close at shows. Invest in your own resource library. Used books can easily be found at reasonable prices through the internet. Choose your area of study.

When you spot that next high quality piece, be persistant in looking for a mark. It can pay you off tenfold.

For more information about marks, visit www.Marks4Antiques.com.

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www.31corp.com ]]> http://www.worthpoint.com/research_library/discover-mark-others-miss-valuable-pottery-and-art-glass/feed 5 http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/automobilia-china-part-two http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/automobilia-china-part-two#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:04:38 +0000 David Bausch http://blog.worthpoint.com/?p=2392132

Automobilia China Part Two

By David Bausch

While most of the early china objects depicting the automobile were from Europe (the home of the automobile), it wasn’t long until the automobile fever caught on here in the U.S. of A. While Royal Doulton of England, and Villeroy and Boch of Germany were making china picturing the automobile, it was Roseville of Zanesville, Ohio, that took up the effort to portray the automobile on China in America.

Roseville produced a large series of pottery known as “Tourist.” There were 29 different shapes of pottery that carried the Tourist design. I should say designs, because there was more then one design in the series. Usually, two autos are found on the larger items and one on the smaller pieces. Some of the cars are roadsters and others are touring cars of different styles; one of the series shows a car broken down with a flat tire. A flat tire was not an unusual problem; at least not in the very early days of motoring. I am sure many of the motorists could relate to that experience.

A large jardinière on a pedestal base will command a price of $2,500 to $3,000. A small bowl can run around $300 to $500. Condition is very important, crazing is very common on this pottery, and crazing reduces the value of any item in this series.

Automobile China by Royal Doulton

By David Bausch

Nothing speaks of the Edwardian era more clearly then the series of china produced by Royal Doulton of England. This china was designed by John Holdcroft, and was known as the Motorist Series. This series was produced in its factory in Burslem England from the years 1903-1913.
Royal Doulton produced a full line of china in this Motorist pattern including: dinner plates (large 10 3/8 inches and small 9 5/8 inches); mugs; biscuit jars; spittoons; flower vases (large and small); and a chocolate pitcher.

The different scenes were: “After the Run;” “A Horse, A Horse;” “Blood Money;” “Deaf;” “Itch yer on Gov’no;” “Nerve Tonic;”; “Room for One;” and “The New and the Old.”

John Holdcroft also designed a series of china at the same period of time using aircraft on china, including plates and pitchers. This aircraft series is quite scarce, but not a subject for this article; the aircraft china has a limited audience compared to the number of collectors of the Motorist series of china.

The value for a Motorist Dinner Plate (10 3/8 inches) has a range of $250-$300; a large compote can demand a price of $400-$450. Condition is always important.

Valuable Majolica earthenware hiding in plain sight

By Sherri Hall-Wilcox

One of the most valuable pieces of pottery that tends to lie about, its value unknown, is Victorian Majolica. To most, this brightly colored earthenware often appears too gaudy to possibly be antique or even worth anything, and since a great deal of it has no maker’s mark, it is often overlooked.

Majolica’s history begins in 1851 when it was exhibited at London’s Crystal Palace by Herbert Minton of Minton & Co. The demand was so great other European makers soon began production of their own lines of majolica. For the next 45 years, no home’s decor was complete without a variety of majolica centre pieces, fish servers, platters or umbrella stands. The market for majolica lasted until the end of the Victorian age and finally died out in the early years of the 20th century.

Majolica became popular again in the 1970s with the revival of public interest in the Victorian floral designs and chintz patterns. Pieces that had gathered dust for the better part of a century were brought out of attic trunks, dusted off and put on display. A whole new group of collectors were born in the process. By the late 1980’s, values for this gaudy tin-glazed earthenware began to appreciate at a great rate.

In the beginning, only the pieces by Minton’s and other early makers were the collector’s darlings, but by the 1990’s, these pieces were becoming well beyond the reach of the average collector. Even the unmarked pieces began to sell for several hundred dollars.

Just how valuable are individual majolica item? Well, the piece pictured at the top of today’s column is a not a record maker, but this George Jones majolica pedestal & jardinière, circa 1870, sold for $20,000 two years ago. Some pieces, such as a rare Minton Majolica Peacock, have sold for more than $230,000 at major auction houses such as Sotheby’s. How well values will hold up for majolica over time remains to be seen.

Chinese Export Porcelain’s Fascinating Journey from early china

By Lisa Marion of Marks4Antiques

Many moons ago, and as a novice collector of porcelain, I thought that the phrase “Chinese Export Porcelain” meant to include all items imported from China and primarily copies or imitations of European & American pottery. After reading several articles and books on the subject, and having visited numerous decorative arts museums or private collections, I came to realize that this term is reserved for a much older line of porcelain wares, made in China, that actually were once the envy and basis of European porcelain makers to imitate, not the other way around.

Chinese export porcelain has attracted the interest of a growing number of collectors on a worldwide basis. Nowadays, auction houses in major cities around the world regularly schedule sales devoted exclusively to Chinese Export Porcelain. Prices vary, depending on age and decorative appeal, provenance and of course condition, and seem to keep escalating all the time. A notable example, in 1786 George Washington purchased a 302-piece set of Chinese Export Porcelain for $150. In the early 20th century, Chinese export pieces of good quality could still be easily purchased at very reasonable prices.

While Chinese porcelain exporting dates back to the early part of the 16th century, interest went down drastically between 1850s and the 1900s, a period when imports to various western countries virtually came to a halt. So much so was this the case that a major English authority on porcelain marks, William Chaffers, in his first edition of Marks and Monograms on European and Oriental Pottery and Porcelain (1863), erroneously identified this porcelain as having been made at a small factory in Lowestoft, UK. This attribution was made despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of pieces, still existing at the time, had been imported into England for many years prior to 1756 when the little Lowestoft works were established. The factory ceased to exist in 1802.

Chaffers’ erroneous attribution had one unfortunate effect: it was accepted as the gospel truth. Consequently, this pure Chinese porcelain has been called Oriental Lowestoft or Chinese Lowestoft for almost one hundred years, causing considerable confusion to antiques dealers and collectors alike. Today the term Chinese export porcelain is considered an accurate one since the porcelain was made in China, it was made for export, and it is true hard paste. This term has now been adopted by practically all leading international auction houses and galleries. We have also taken extra steps in our attributions of related marks and items on our Marks4Antiques.com databases. It is important to note that at no time did this porcelain have a generic name in the manner of Bow, Chelsea, Spode or Meissen, which took the name of the factory or town where made. Before Chaffers, Chinese Export china was referred to as India Company China in England.

The Origins of Chinese Porcelain
The manufacture of Chinese porcelain goes back a number of centuries, some experts say as early as 100 B.C. According to most historians, porcelain was made at different locations in China. But it was Emperor Woeng Wu (Ming Dynasty ca 1368–1398) who selected the town of Ching-te Chen, on the P’oyang River in the province of Kiangsi, to build kilns for the organized manufacture of porcelain, initially destined for the royal palace. Soon afterwards, other private factories were established near or around the area, and the town was to become known as “The Porcelain City.” Ching-te Chen was surrounded with all the necessary elements for the making of fine porcelain. In the riverbed was an excellent quality of white clay (kaolin); in the hills a good quality of feldspar (petuntse) for the glaze, abundant ferns, the ashes of which were mixed with the petuntse to harden the glaze, and pigments for the porcelain. Also in the hills were coal and wood to fire the kilns. In addition, the location on the P’oyang river, near P’oyang lake, gave the town access through a series of waterways and overland trails to some of the major seaports, including Canton, about four hundred miles to the southeast.

Over the years the importance of Ching-te Chen grew substantially. In the 18th century it is said to have had around 3,000 kilns and a population of a million people. In some ways the city can be compared with the modern-day auto-manufacturing center of Detroit, Mich. Practically everyone was engaged in some aspect of the porcelain industry. A type of production line was developed in which each individual had one specific task to perform in the manufacture of a single piece, a method first used in the U.S. much later, in the late 19th century, and which we now believe sparked our Industrial Revolution.

Export of Chinese Porcelain made at Ching-te Chen began fairly early. A steady flow of exports, however, did not begin until the arrival of Portuguese merchants at Canton in 1517. When barred from the ports of Ningho and Chuan, the Portuguese established a trade post at Macao. Since 1557 this coastal city has been their private possession. In 1596 the Dutch reached Bantam, and in 1598 a Dutch fleet of eight ships sailed to trade with the Far East. The British East India Company was set up in 1599 and established at Bantam in 1620. In 1698 the first French ship traded with the Far East.

In Come the Europeans
In 1699, the Emperor Kang Hsi finally opened the port of Canton to foreign trade and the English established the first hong, or factory, on the banks of Pearl River. They were followed by the French in 1728, the Dutch in 1729, the Danes in 1731, and Swedes in 1732, together with the Austrians, Russians, Indians, Armenians, the Spanish Manila Company, and finally the Americans in 1784. The largest number of hongs at any one time was 13. They were two or three stories high with the first floor reserved for business and the storing of merchandise while the second and third floors were used for living quarters for the staff. No women were allowed at the hongs and this restriction lasted until after the Opium Wars in 1841.

At first, with the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch merchants, all porcelain exported was of the blue and white variety and the forms were largely of Chinese origin. It wasn’t long, however, before the trading nations began to order forms and shapes that were more appealing to the European taste. The merchants supplied the Chinese potters with wooden models as well as actual European items in silver, pewter, faience, etc., to be copied in porcelain. As early as 1639, records of the Dutch East India Company show an order for 25,000 items was to be made from wood models supplied by the Dutch.

Much Chinese export porcelain survives today in near perfect condition largely because of the extraordinary number of pieces shipped to the major European countries and, after 1784, directly to America. These literally run into the millions. In America, imports increased sharply after the Revolutionary War and again after the War of 1812. In Europe, however, the volume of trade steadily declined during the 19th century, and virtually came to an end when the town of Ching-te Chen was destroyed and most of the inhabitants slaughtered during the T’aip’ing rebellion in 1853. The town and the kilns were later rebuilt, but it never again attained its prominent position in the manufacture of porcelain.

Porcelain Made Closer to Home
However, the principal cause of the decline in the trade is due to the gradual takeover of the porcelain business by English and continental factories. The secrets of Chinese production were mastered, primarily by German and Dutch craftsmen. They were in a good position to satisfy the European and North American customers for two reasons: that of taste and promptness of delivery. Orders taken by the East India companies would generally be two years or longer in filling. English and continental manufacturers either carried the items in stock or could supply them on short notice at competitive prices.

At first, it was not easy for the Europeans to copy the glazes and the colors so expertly developed by the Chinese. Until late 17th century, almost all export porcelain was of the blue and white variety. After the kilns at Ching-te Chen were burned down by warring factions in 1675, they were rebuilt by the Emperor K’ang-hsi and new colors were developed for decoration, most notably famille verte (green), and porcelain making reached a very high quality. Soon after, other colors such as rouge-de-fer and gold were developed and the quality of the porcelain reached an even higher level. Later, between the 1730s and the 1750s, the beautiful famille rose colors and decoration were perfected.

At the same time, however, during the height of the western trade, ship captains and managers (or super cargoes) were instructed to purchase pieces of heavier quality to reduce breakage in shipping. Concurrent with this change to heavier (and poorer) porcelain, the quality of decoration began its decline. The coarse, heavy porcelain, often with crudely decorated designs, bore little resemblance to that of fine egg shell quality and detailed decoration.

New designs were introduced at the end of this period and during the early part of the 19th century. Among them was the so-called Fitzhugh design in blue, green, orange, brown, mulberry, gold, black, yellow and combinations of colors, and the Rose Medallion, design in which a piece is largely covered with large floral medallions in rose, greens, and blues. Other designs introduced at this time include the Mandarin, in which the floral medallions enclose Chinoiserie designs in colors similar to those of Rose Medallion, and a design of overall flowers, birds, and butterflies in shades of orange and brown which today is referred to as the Sacred Bird and Butterfly design.

Faience pottery, also known as Fayence in France, is often used as a synonym to Majolica because of their similar appearance and use of tin glaze. Yet, most collectors distinguish Faience pottery by their characteristic polychrome (multi-colored) designs and mostly white background, whereas Majolica tends to have decoration all over along with pronounced raised decorative details (relief).

Although the earliest specimens date all the way back to 1200 BC in Greece, most Faience items found in the antiques market or many museums today are made circa 16th century onwards, and primarily in Italy, France, Holland and England. The most desired of Faience pottery originates from France, such as the Quimper, Ruen, Luneville regions, or from Italy near Turin or Savona and Florence. Of course, as with most other popular pottery or porcelain, some Faience pieces now also come from China and other Asian economies, and in spite of their decorative appeal, these are not antique.

Most antique Faience pottery was of a quasi-utilitarian nature, like jugs or plates, but with a distinct aesthetic flair. Vases and other decorative ware were also made in those older days, but many tend to be of rather regular shapes. Designs tend to be floral or geometric in nature, and some have simple depictions of pastoral scenes with one or two persons carrying farm duties.

The vast majority of antique Faience was made in small studios or by individual artists. These early pieces were signed with the artist’s initials or monogram, along with a symbol or the full name of their location. Hence, QUIMPER or other names of regions where Faience pottery was made do not reflect any actual manufacturer or maker, but rather a number of art studios or artists that worked in the area. Much later, around very-late-18th century onwards, some studios were much larger or became collectives, and some marks and signatures from that period are linked to a specific company, as in the case of the HENRIOT factory in Quimper, France.

Old Faience is very popular nowadays and can fetch high prices at auction. Because early examples were made of earthenware and, as noted above, were of utilitarian nature, many show clear signs of distress and wear such chips or cracks. However, this is to be expected and in most cases it does not detract from their value. In fact, some collectors believe it adds character to a Faience piece. This is unlike what you would expect on a Meissen porcelain figurine or a pair of Sevres urns that are usually more valuable if in perfect condition, even though they date from a similar period, since the latter were meant to be used for display only.

Please see “My Collections” for some examples. The above is by no means an exhaustive account on Faience pottery, but rather a starting point for an interesting discussion. Please feel free to contribute your own experiences with Faience to this blog.

Alex and Elizabeth are WorthPoint Worthologists.