Vintage & Design Medina Floréz

 

English porcelain

The devil is in the details, the story behind my treasures ...

The devil is in the details, as I used to say to my youngest son when I explained mathematics to him. It is the same to find the different aspects behind these little gems, found recently in a flea market here in Sweden. The objects I am presenting today are a large plate of tray-type Mason`s brand and two other small ones belonging to teacups of the Ridgway brand. Both brands are of English porcelain.

The beginning of English porcelain occurred in the first half of the 18th century. We all know that before that date, the material used by the nobility to serve the table was generally silver. Materials for other social classes were of lower quality. Due to this curious fact, we can ask ourselves if, before this period, Europeans did not know porcelain. The answer is that yes, they imported it from China only for the richest. The cute little teacups that Europeans were amazed at were brought from China, as many products happen to be today. That is, by chance or not, history repeats itself.

Porcelain was created in the 18th century by the English themselves after various attempts and formulas. This new material gave a new face to silver dinner services, giving way to endless new accessories for tableware (tureens, fruit platters, saucepans, cream containers, jugs, small and large cups, serving plates, etc.).

But going back to the topic of my little treasures from the flea market, these porcelains are not Chinese, they look Chinese for their color and motifs, but they were made in 1800 in England. Mason's cake tray corresponds, according to the stamp, to the year 1835, approximately. This porcelain is from the tableware collection (Bow Bells Blue) of the patent ironstone of Charles James Mason. The patent was made by C. Mason in the year 1813, and it is called ironstone because it is considered very durable porcelain and that made this manufacturer lower its costs and could sell them in large quantities.

It should be noted that one of the characteristics that Mason`s porcelain had, like many other English porcelains of its time, is that many used Chinese and Japanese patterns with oriental landscapes and ornaments. The other characteristic was that many of the English porcelains were made by the transfer method of their drawings. The transfer was very popular in the 19th century and consisted of monochromatic printing on paper that was transferred to the ceramic piece using a metal plate, in this case, copper.

The Ridgway brand plates also have their history. The Ridgway family in Staffordshire was a family that for generations was in the pottery and porcelain business. Their porcelain, unlike that of C. Mason, was addressed to a middle and upper class of the population, making them high-quality products. This company also used the transfer method with very elaborate motifs for their porcelain. Also, unlike Mason's, Ridgway porcelain is glazed, delicate, and thinner. The plates that I found were made in 1832 and blue in color. They have oriental landscape motifs.

Porcelains of the Ridgway family were divided into two large branches. One of the sons, John Ridgway, made very high-quality porcelain and was appointed a Royal Potter during the Victoria era. The other brother, William Ridgway, exported much to the US market. That is to say, the two brothers brought a combination of quality and quantity to the brand.

Here, I show you the photos of my treasures.