CHAPTER III

ENGLISH DELFT

What is Delft?--Its foreign origin--Introduction into England--Lambeth Delft--Bristol Delft--Liverpool Delft--Delft Tiles printed at Liverpool by Sadler and Green--Wincanton (Somerset)--Prices of English Delft

Delft, of all earthenware, is, so to speak, the most earthen, and presents an object lesson to the student. It accurately conforms to the technical definition as to what constitutes the difference between earthenware and porcelain. It consists of a porous body (in the case of Dutch delft very porous, as we shall see later), covered by a thick coating of white, opaque enamel.

The porous nature of its body makes it light in weight, and the tin enamel which covers the brown body enables the potter to paint upon this white surface designs, usually in blue. This decoration is over the enamel, if it were under this opaque enamel, that is, on the brown underneath body of the ware, the coating of this white enamel would obliterate the designs. After a piece has been fired to the biscuit state and dipped in white enamel and painted upon when dry, it is, to preserve the painting, fired a second time, when it receives a thin surface of transparent lead glaze.

=Its Foreign Origin.=--Its name is derived from the town of Delft in Holland. It was about the year 1602 that Dutch potters invented this class of ware in their attempts, in common with all the other European potters, to produce some ware as decorative as the porcelain which had been brought to Europe long before by the Portuguese traders, and now was being largely imported by the East India Dutch merchants.

This first employment of a white enamel on a brown earthenware was clearly due to the very natural desire on the part of the potter to procure some surface upon which his decorations in colour would show well in contrast. All primitive potters have passed through several stages of evolution. Brown ware was at first plain, then it received scratched or incised decoration. Searching for greater contrast the potter applied his ornament in relief in white, as in slip ware, or he added coloured glazes, as in the Tudor miniature jugs.

But it seems that sooner or later the light background for the painted decoration must have become an ideal to strive for. It is, in effect, the same necessity which induces the signboard painter to cover his brown panel with a white background prior to painting in letters of red or blue some attractive announcement. But with the models of the Chinese potter now constantly before him the Dutch potter commenced at once to imitate them.

But pleasing as is the Dutch delft in its fine colours, incorporated as they are with the enamel and glaze and giving the rich tone so much admired by collectors, and faithfully copying the form of the Nankin models, it falls short of these Oriental prototypes in many important respects. It is admittedly an imitation of the _appearance_ of porcelain, and not an imitation of the qualities peculiar to porcelain. The Dutch potter in his delft did not, as in the case of other European potters, essay to copy the body of porcelain, and arrive at true hard white paste, as did Meissen. Apparently he took his earthenware, and with the limitations in technique in its working he produced a colourable imitation, in appearance only, of his blue and white Chinese models, and very fine some of these early seventeenth century Dutch delft pieces are, and highly prized by collectors.

But delft in comparison with porcelain may be said to be very similar to veneered furniture in relation to solid specimens. The veneer in the one case and the enamel in the other disguises something inferior beneath.

=Introduction into England.=--There is no doubt that, prior to its manufacture in this country, a great quantity of Dutch delft was imported and in general use in the middle years of the seventeenth century. In dealing with delft ware, in connection with the various types of earthenware at different periods of the history of the potter's art it must be borne in mind that delft was entirely of foreign origin. It owed everything to the inventiveness of the Dutch potters, and it gained very little when it became acclimatised in England, although it was manufactured here until the closing years of the eighteenth century, when Wedgwood's cream ware drove it off the market as a cheap and serviceable ware.

Naturally the close connection of the royal house of England with Holland accelerated the fashion of storing delft in closets and making considerable use of its rich colours as a decorative effect on sideboards and buffets. The lac cabinets and the fine blue and white delft jars at Hampton Court testify to the influence that the advent of William of Orange had on the taste of the country from the memorable year of 1688, when he landed at Torbay.

Delft was presumably being made in this country fifty years before that by Dutch refugees, but the thirties of the seventeenth century was not a very happy time to inaugurate the birth of a new branch of art in England. The rumblings of the civil war were in the air. It was in 1642 that Charles precipitated matters by going with an armed force to the House of Commons to arrest five members; and seven years later he lost his head in Whitehall. It is not until the last years of Charles II. that there appears to be any documentary evidence connected with the actual manufacture of delft in England. John Ariens van Hamme, evidently a Dutch refugee, a potter working at Lambeth, took out a patent for making "tiles and porcelain after the way practised in Holland." The word "porcelain" was used somewhat indiscriminately at this date and apparently meant anything having the appearance of the wares coming over in large numbers from the East, imported by our East India Company.

=Lambeth Delft.=--To Lambeth must be accredited the best results of English delft ware. The glaze is thinner and whiter than is used elsewhere and the tone of the blue is less crude. It is difficult to differentiate between the work of Dutch refugees and of English born potters. Drug pots and sack bottles formerly imported from Holland began to be made at Lambeth. Some of these bottles are dated and the dates upon them range from 1649, the year of the execution of King Charles I., to 1664, during the early years of the reign of Charles II., the year in which New York, then New Amsterdam, a Dutch settlement, was surrendered to the English.

There are not a great number of these authentic dated sack bottles known. Lambeth must also be credited with the series of plates having dates and initials, and with some of the "blue dash" chargers or dishes. These are usually decorated with blue dashes clumsily applied round the edge, sometimes brown is used instead of blue. In the centre of the dish is generally a figure, often on horseback, and the foliage of the trees in the background is done with a sponge hastily applied. The range of colours used is not great--blue, green, orange, puce, and brown. Sometimes four colours are found on one dish, but not infrequently the decorator has been content with two, in addition to blue, which is nearly always present.

The following are among the subjects found on these dishes, which are usually about thirteen inches in diameter:--Charles I., Charles II., James II., William and Mary, William on foot or on horseback, Queen Anne, the Old Pretender, Duke of Marlborough, Duke of Monmouth, and the celebrated Adam and Eve dishes, in which Eve was represented as Queen Mary giving a kingdom to her husband, represented by an orange as a pun on his royal house. Although portraits of Charles I. appear in this series, they are not contemporary, and were probably not made at Lambeth until after about 1670, and their manufacture continued for a little over a quarter of a century, that is, until the opening years of the reign of George I.

That delft was made in England a little earlier than 1672 is proved by the fact that in that year a royal proclamation forbade the importation of "painted earthenware" to compete with the same production "but lately found out in England." Here is an instance of trade protection, but it should be borne in mind at that date we were at war with the Dutch, who were in that year defeated off Southwold Bay.

Something should be said about the characteristics of this Lambeth delft. The body is fairly hard and the tin enamel or glaze is often found on the back of the piece; when this is not the case the back has received an application of yellowish lead glaze. The English clay being less spongy than that of Holland, did not take the enamel well, and often shows the colour of the body in pink lines through the glaze. English delft, owing to the glaze not being incorporated, is crazed on the surface. In regard to dated sack bottles, great caution should be exercised in buying them, as genuine examples of plain undated bottles have been skilfully redecorated by fraudulent hands, and the words Sack or Canary, together with a date, added.

There is an element of doubt about much of the Lambeth delft ware, as it is certain that some of the patterns were copied by the Staffordshire potters, and some of these copies are so faithfully done as to puzzle experts, but many of the cruder dash series of dishes and platters may safely be attributed to Staffordshire.

In the illustration of a dated candlestick, with the initials W.E. and coat of arms, and dated 1648, from the National collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, it will be seen that the authorities attribute an earlier date to the manufacture of delft at Lambeth than the above-mentioned royal proclamation in 1672 would seem to warrant. But so learned an authority as Professor Church is of the opinion that "a considerable manufactory existed there at least as early as 1631." It is interesting to compare the style of this delft candlestick with a brass one of early Dutch manufacture, which at any rate shows that the design, as well as the method of manufacture, was derived from Holland.

Pharmacy jars, decorated in blue and plain white delft, were also made at Lambeth; of this latter there are many small jugs and puzzle jugs, and a variety of fancy pieces. We give an illustration of a very interesting Pharmacy Jar with the arms of the Apothecaries' Company, and with motto inscribed. A shield below has the arms of the City of London.

=Bristol Delft.=--There is no doubt that the delft of Bristol has not yet been thoroughly exploited. Farther removed from the influence of a constant stream of Dutch examples, the potters took some of their designs straight from Oriental models. Richard Frank and Joseph Flower are two potters who had works at Bristol. They are known to have manufactured delft as early as the opening years of the eighteenth century, contemporary with Lambeth, when the industry at this latter place was in full swing, and delft was made at Bristol until the middle of the reign of George III., after which delft was no longer fashionable.

It is not easy to distinguish between the productions of Frank and Flower, nor is it less difficult in some instances to state definitely whether a piece is Bristol, or Liverpool, or Lambeth, and we might add Staffordshire. There is a very interesting delft plate decorated in blue, representing a balloon ascent. In date this is about 1784 and it may be attributed to Bristol or Liverpool (see illustration, p. 107).

But as a rule it is held that Bristol delft is bluish in tint, and has a more brilliant and even surface. The ware is decorated with Oriental landscapes, and a considerable number of tiles were made and painted for use as pictures in the fireside in old Bristol houses a century and a half ago. Bowen, John Hope, Michael Edkins, and Thomas Patience are some of the painters who worked at the Frank pottery. There is one subject picture representing Hogarth's _March to Finchley_, and it was certainly executed more than once as there is one set consisting of forty-two tiles and another of seventy-two tiles of the same subject.

A peculiarity of some of the Bristol delft is the ground of powdered purple or brown with white panels, having a decoration in blue. We illustrate a bowl of this type of ware, which, although not having the white panel, is representative of this class as the fish is on a white ground with outline decorations in blue (see p. 115).

Another fine style of decoration is that known as _bianco sopra bianco_, that is, a pattern of foliage or sprays of flowers enamelled in white upon a dull, greenish-white ground (see illustration, p. 115).

There are many dated pieces of Bristol delft with initials, bowls, marriage and election plates, and sometimes tile pictures. At the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a fine plate with the initials E.M.B., and dated 1760, the initials being those of the painter, Michael Edkins, and his wife Betty. This was made at the factory of Richard Frank, and was presented to the National collection by the grandson of the painter.

In the collection of pottery at the Bristol Museum there is an example attributed to Brislington which in colouring is slightly duller than the Bristol examples. Connoisseurs of Bristol delft divide the ware into the earlier period prior to 1735, when the decoration followed Dutch prototypes, and they attribute much of the thinner or finer potted examples to Joseph Flower, but after that the Bristol potters struck out for themselves, and imparted more originality in their ware. Landscapes appeared on the ware, but not seen through Dutch eyes, and a slight variation was given to the form of the bases of the bowls and plates, falling into line with typical shapes employed by other English potters.

We illustrate a very remarkable piece of Bristol delft which is dated 1740, and bears the initials I.F., which may probably stand for Joseph Flower, whose factory was on the quay at Bristol. This plate, which is 13-1/2 inches in diameter, has a painted illustration with the inscription in a medallion, "A Voyage to the Moon, by Domingo Gonsales from the Ile of Tenerife."

We do not know what is the particular story connected with the making of this plate, nor why such a subject should have been chosen. But there is no doubt that the painter of the plate took his design from a book entitled "The Man in the Moone, or a Discourse of a Voyage thither, By Domingo Gonsales, The Speedy Messenger." We give a facsimile of the title-page. This was a romance written by Francis Godwin, bishop of Hereford, and in the second edition of 1657, the title-page has the addition, "By F.G.--B. of H." There were many editions of this book, which became very popular. A French edition under the title of _L' Homme dans La Lune_, is dated 1671, and has the same illustration as the first English edition, with the exception of the inscription on the medallion.

This is not the place to give details of this interesting volume, which describes in language as faithful as that of Defoe, the voyage of Domingo Gonsales, a shipwrecked Spanish adventurer, from Teneriffe to the Moon in a car he invented, which was carried by a flock of wild geese he had trained in his solitude. After a stay of a year in that country, and meeting with adventures with the inhabitants of that kingdom, he sets sail for the earth and lands in China. He by great fortune hears of some Jesuit fathers hidden away in Far Cathay, who welcomed him, "much wondering to see a lay Spaniard there," and by them his story is committed to writing.

Written in 1638, the following sentence in the _Preface_ sounds quite modern, "That there should be Antipodes was once thought as great a paradox as now that the Moon should be habitable. But the knowledge of this may seem more properly reserved for this, our discovering age." There is no doubt that the book had a very considerable circulation, and it is not improbable that Swift knew of it and incorporated some of the ideas of the author in his "Gulliver's Travels," which appeared in 1726. But it is not easily explained why this delft plate, dated 1740, bears the inscription and illustration of a volume published nearly a century earlier.

(_In the collection of Mr. W. C. Wells._)

=Liverpool Delft.=--Collectors of Liverpool delft would like to ascribe many pieces to that city. But, unfortunately, the difference between this and the other English delft is not so defined. One has to take the style of subject largely as a guide for the origin. There is a large punch bowl at the Victoria and Albert Museum which may certainly be attributed to Liverpool. It was painted by John Robinson at Seth Pennington's factory. A similar bowl is in the Mechanic's Institution at Hanley. It is painted in blue with a three-masted man-of-war inside the bowl. The flag is touched with red. The exterior shows an array of military trophies. It is somewhat confusing to collectors to know that the fine punch bowls of Seth Pennington, with his renowned blue colouring, are of delft, earthenware, and of _china_. These latter are of great rarity and value.

Another maker of delft punch bowls was Shaw, but it is not easy to determine with exactitude to which factory to ascribe some of these delft bowls, and there is room for considerable inquiry and exhaustive research to be made into the early history of the Liverpool potteries in general, as much information is needed to settle controversial points.

=Delft Printed Tiles.=--It is here that Liverpool stands pre-eminent in the transfer printed delft tiles. As early as 1750 Sadler and Green discovered the transfer printing by means of adhesive paper placed on previously inked copper-plates and laid on the earthenware as a decoration in black or in red, and sometimes puce. The signature of the engravers appears on some specimens, _J. Sadler, Liverpool_; _J. Sadler, Liverpl._; _Sadler, Liverpool_; _Green, Liverpool_; or _Green_.

The invention was invaluable as a decoration for china and earthenware in lieu of painting. The following affidavit was made in 1756 by John Sadler and Guy Green that they "without the aid of or assistance of any other person or persons, did, within the space of six hours, to wit, betwixt the hours of nine in the morning and three in the afternoon of the same day, print upwards of 1,200 tiles of different patterns at Liverpoole aforesaid, and which, as these deponents have heard and believe, were more in number, and better and neater, than one hundred skilled potmakers could have painted in the like space of time in the common or usual way of painting with a pencil, and these deponents say that they have been upwards of seven years in finding out the method of printing tiles, and in making tryals and experiments for that purpose, which they have now, through great pains and expense, brought to perfection."

There is no doubt that this invention revolutionised the decoration of all wares. In regard to the controversy which has arisen as to the prior claims of Battersea for its transfer decorated enamels, and of Worcester for similar decorations by Hancock, the whole matter has been exhaustively dealt with by Mr. William Turner in his "Transfer Printing on Enamels, Porcelain, and Pottery," in which the case for each claimant is minutely analysed.

Sadler and his partner Green conducted a large business in this transfer printing for other factories as well as, of course, for the Liverpool delft and other wares. Sadler apparently left the partnership somewhere between 1769 and 1774, so that the signature on the tiles by him gives the date of their printing. Green carried on the business until 1799, and so great was the fame of the firm that cream ware was sent from Etruria and by other Staffordshire potters to be printed at Liverpool, and up till 1799 Wedgwood's successors still continued the practice of having their cream ware printed by Green.

Liverpool tiles obviously differ from Bristol tiles inasmuch as the former were printed after 1756, but of course before that date Liverpool delft tiles must have been painted as they were elsewhere. There are many series of the Sadler and Green period, one notable one being a number of actors and actresses, including Garrick, Foote, Mrs. Abington, Mrs. Yates, and others, in character.

Fable illustrations from Æsop and others were largely printed, and some of Wedgwood's plates have been decorated in red, with fable subjects some five inches square, which, in spite of the festoons in which they are set, cannot escape from seeming what they are--square tile-subjects applied to the decoration of a round plate--and the result is not pleasing.

Among the signed pieces of Sadler and of Green, if any difference in style can be discerned in the results, it is indicated by the subjects they chose. Sadler's name appears on pastoral subjects with luxurious foliage and with dainty rustic scenery, while Green seems to have had a fondness for Oriental groups with a framework of fantastic furniture. The best collection of Liverpool delft in this country is in the museum at Liverpool.

At this museum may be seen the printed work on delft tiles of a later Liverpool potter, Zachariah Barnes, who was only twelve years of age when Sadler and Green commenced their tile printing, but who lived till 1820, and had a considerable business in printing wall tiles of fine character.

=Wincanton Delft.=--A delft factory existed at Wincanton (Somerset), and recent excavations have brought to light material proving the class of ware made there. Nathaniel Ireson is believed to have started the works about 1730. There are examples of this delft bearing the name "Wincanton," and dated 1737. One specimen has the name Nathaniel Ireson, and is dated 1748. One of these dated plates is in the National Scottish Museum at Edinburgh, which we are enabled to reproduce as an illustration. It is decorated in blue, with the arms of the Masons' Company, and inscribed "Js. Clewett," and dated 1737. At the back of the dish are painted sprays of blossom, and it is marked "Wincanton." This is a remarkable specimen.

=Tudor Jugs.=--Though earliest in date, we mention this last, as the ware is not true delft. This is a class of Elizabethan ware, mostly small jugs some five or six inches in height, of brown-and-blue mottled surface. The exterior has all the appearance of Cologne stoneware, but the pieces bear a closer relationship to delft; they have a tin glaze, whereas the stone Cologne ware has a salt glaze. They are exceedingly rare and valuable, and some of them are mounted with silver bearing Elizabethan hall-marks. They are disclaimed by continental authorities, who refuse to acknowledge them as belonging to their factories, and they apparently were made in England. A great deal of mystery surrounds their origin, and no doubt further research will at some future date determine the history of these specimens which, under various fancy names, such as "Tiger" pattern, due to their peculiar mottling, bring considerable prices under the hammer.

To bring the story of English delft to a conclusion, it may be said that it had an ephemeral life as a ware for domestic use, until it was dethroned by Staffordshire salt glaze ware, which held the field until Wedgwood's cream ware drove this latter from the market.

DELFT PRICES.

LAMBETH. £ s. d.

Dish, octagonal, decorated in blue and white, bearing arms of Routledge family, with motto, _Verax atque probus_, dated 1637. Sotheby, February, 1906 7 0 0

Coronation mug, 3-1/2 in. high, portrait of Charles II., inscribed and dated "C. 2nd R., 1660." Bond, Bristol, April, 1906 38 0 0

Set of six plates inscribed "What is a Merry Man," &c., all dated 1734. Sotheby, June, 1906 41 0 0

Vessel modelled in form of cat, painted in blue, dated 1657. Sotheby, June, 1906 20 0 0

Plaque, with arms of Apothecaries' Company in blue. Christie, November, 1906 9 19 6

Wine bottle, inscribed "Sack, 1650," in blue. Sotheby, May, 1908 15 15 0

Plate with blue decoration on border, and C initials A E, 1698. Sotheby, April, 1908 3 3 0

STAFFORDSHIRE.

Delft dish painted with tulip and with blue dash border, 13 in. diameter; another with head of Charles II., and inscribed "The Royal Oak"; another inscribed G L. 1680. Sotheby, December, 1908 1 12 0

BRISTOL.

Plates, small, ordinary style, from 7s. 6d. to 1 0 0

Dishes, larger size, ordinary style, from £1 to 2 0 0

Plates, small, with initials and dated, from £1 10s., upwards.

Dishes, larger size, with initials and dates, or of especial interest, from £2 to £5 and upwards.

LIVERPOOL.

(Similar prices to those of Bristol.)

Puzzle jug painted in blue, with verse. Puttick and Simpson, December, 1905 3 12 6

TUDOR JUGS.

These jugs vary in character, but are always of some rarity, and range in value from £10, as a minimum price, upwards. With hall-marked silver mounts, in date from 1530-1600, they are greatly sought after. The West Malling Jug is the most famous specimen that has been sold of recent years.

The description is as follows,--

Fulham delft or stoneware, splashed purple, orange, green, and other colours. With silver mounts, having London hall-mark, 1581. Height, 9-1/2 in. Strong probability that it is nothing more than an old sack-pot. Sold at Christie's, February, 1903 £1,522 10 0

IV

STONEWARE