The Collector's Handbook to Keramics of the Renaissance and Modern Periods Part 7

FIG. 105.--VASE AND COVER.]

Fig. 104, a b.u.t.terboat, leaf-shaped, is painted with flowers; dated 1771.

STOCKHOLM is the same manufactory as Rorstrand, but the mark was altered when the latter town was united to the capital.

MARIEBERG, near Stockholm. The second Swedish pottery was established in 1750, on the expiration of the monopoly of Rorstrand, by M. Ehrenreich, under the patronage of Count Scheffer, Councillor of State. The fayence was something like Delft ware, and it was also ornamented with transfer printing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 106.--PLATE.]

Fig. 105, a vase and cover, is coloured in relief; date about 1770.

Fig. 106, a plate with pierced border, has a s.h.i.+eld of arms and flowers; dated 1768.

CONTINENTAL PORCELAIN

Porcelain has this distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic, that when held up to a strong light it appears translucent, unlike fayence, which is perfectly opaque. Its fracture is hard and white internally, like a broken piece of alabaster.

Porcelain of soft paste has the appearance of an unctuous white enamel like cream; it is also to the touch of a soft, warm, and soapy nature, something like the surface of fine fayence. The _pate tendre_ is also soft in another sense, being unable to bear so great a degree of heat in the furnace as hard porcelain. The soft paste may, therefore, be easily cut or scratched with a steel point or a file, which would have no effect upon the hard paste; it is consequently liable to become much scratched by frequent use. The hard paste or true porcelain is of the whiteness of milk; it feels to the touch of a hard and cold nature, and is somewhat heavier than the soft; underneath the plates and other pieces the rim or edge is left unpolished, or without glaze.

The painting upon porcelain is executed after the ware has been baked.

Whilst in a biscuit state, the piece to be painted is dipped into a diluted glaze; it readily absorbs the water, leaving on the surface a thin coating of components which quickly dries into a solid sh.e.l.l, uniformly thick over all its parts, and sufficiently firm to bear handling without being rubbed off during removal into the seggar or case which protects it in the kiln.

The amateur must be upon his guard in collecting porcelain, and not place too much reliance on the marks which he may find upon the ware.

When the mark is not indented on the paste, or baked with the porcelain when at its greatest heat (_au grand feu_), it gives no guarantee of its genuineness. The mark was nearly always affixed before glazing. It is necessary in forming a correct judgment of the authenticity of a piece of valuable china, such as Sevres, that many things be taken into consideration: First, above all it is most important to be satisfied whether the porcelain be of hard or soft paste, and whether such description of paste was made at the particular epoch represented by the mark; then, if the decoration be in keeping with the style adopted at the time indicated, the colours, the finish, and various other _indicia_ must also be taken into consideration.

ITALY

FLORENCE. The first successful attempt in Europe to imitate porcelain was made at Florence as early as 1580, under the auspices of Francesco I. de' Medici, but it was not so hard as that of China; that is to say, it was not composed of _kaolin_ and _petuntse_, but was a soft paste and _translucent_, which is one of the princ.i.p.al tests of porcelain. For some reason, the manufacture of this porcelain was abandoned after the death of the inventor.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 107.--CRUET.]

Fig. 107, a cruet for oil and vinegar, has scroll ornament in blue; on either spout A and O (Aceto and Olio). About 1600.

Fig. 108, a bowl, is painted inside and out with blue flowers. About 1600.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 108.--BOWL.]

DOCCIA. The manufactory was founded in 1735 by the Marquis Carlo Ginori, contemporaneously with the manufactory at Sevres. About 1760 it rose to great importance, and large groups were executed from the models of the most celebrated sculptors. In 1821 the moulds of the Capo di Monte porcelain were transferred to Doccia.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 109.--TEAPOT.]

About 1860 the fabrication of the imitative Capo di Monte ware of the 18th century, in coloured _mezzo-rilievo_, was brought to great perfection, as well as the successful imitation of the maiolica of Xanto and Maestro Giorgio of the 16th century, by the invention and introduction of metallic l.u.s.tres in the colouring.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 110.--BASIN.]

Fig. 109, a teapot, is painted with flowers and purple border.

Fig. 110, a basin, has a band of flowers in relief. Diameter 5-1/2 in.

NAPLES--CAPO DI MONTE. This manufactory was founded by Charles III. in 1736. It is considered of native origin, as the art, which was kept so profound a secret in Dresden, could, at that early period, have scarcely had time to be introduced here, and the character of its productions are also essentially different. The king himself took great interest in it, and is said to have worked occasionally in the manufactory. The beautiful Capo di Monte services and groups in coloured relief are of the second period, _circa_ 1760.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 111.--VASE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 112.--SAUCER.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 113.--CUP AND SAUCER.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 114.--COFFEE-POT.]

Fig. 111, a vase, has green ornaments, on gold ground, and medallions of figures.

Fig. 112, a saucer, bears a portrait of Ferdinand IV. and legend.

Fig. 113, a cup and saucer, is painted with landscape and figures.

Fig. 114, a coffee-pot, has cla.s.sical subjects.

TREVISO. There was a manufactory of soft porcelain probably established towards the end of the 18th century, carried on by the brothers Giuseppe and Andrea Fonteba.s.so.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 115.--eCUELLE.]

Fig. 115, an ecuelle, with blue ground, has gold fret borders and oval medallions of Italian buildings, landscapes, and figures.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 116.--CUP AND SAUCER.]

Fig. 116, the cup is painted with a garden scene, with a man and woman holding flowers, the former also holding a bird, the latter a cage.

TURIN--VINOVO. Vittorio Amedeo Gioanetti established a manufactory of porcelain at Vinovo or Vineuf in 1770. Attempts in this direction had been previously made, but they were unsuccessful, and it was not until Gioanetti applied himself to the manufacture that it succeeded. The ware was noted for its fine grain and the whiteness of its glaze, as well as for the colours employed in its decoration.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 117.--eCUELLE.]

Fig. 117, an ecuelle, is ornamented in gold, with initials and the Royal Arms.

VENICE. Porcelain of soft paste was made here probably about 1720.

The "Casa eccellentissima Vezzi" was founded by Francesco Vezzi, a goldsmith of Venice. He invested the sum of 30,000 ducats in a porcelain company, amongst whose shareholders were Luca Mantovani and others. The site of the Vezzi manufactory of porcelain was at S. Nicolo in Venice.

How long after Vezzi's death it was carried on does not appear, but judging from the statements made to the Senate in 1765, it did not long survive him, and the secret of his process for making porcelain had evidently not been disclosed.

Materials for making porcelain were to be obtained in the Venetian dominions, but not such as to produce the _hard_ or Oriental porcelain; they were therefore procured from Saxony, as were probably also some of the workmen, which will account for the fact that the "Casa eccellentissima Vezzi" produced both _hard_ and _soft_ paste.

The pieces made at the Vezzi manufactory are painted with masquerades, grotesque Chinese figures and decorations in relief, flowers, birds, arabesques, and geometrical patterns and colours, statuettes, &c., especially in the Venetian red which pervades all the decorations, the handles, borders, and mouldings being sometimes covered with silver or platinum, producing the effect of oxidised metal mountings. Another striking peculiarity in the decoration of porcelain of this period is a border of black or coloured diaper work formed by crossed lines, having in the interstices small gilt points or crosses bordered by scrolls.

These specimens are mostly of hard paste in the form of bowls, plates, tureens, &c.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 118.--VASE AND COVER.]