Porcelain and pottery were big business in 18th- and 19th-century Britain. Alongside textile production, the manufacture of ceramics played a key role in the Industrial Revolution.
British ceramics factories were fundamentally different from their competitors in continental Europe, says Jody Wilkie, international specialist head of Christie’s European Ceramics department.
‘Firstly, British factories were privately owned, while many of the most successful manufacturers in Europe were established under royal or princely patronage and run with governmental support.
‘Secondly, the ceramic body itself was different. Shipping was costly, so British factories relied heavily on local raw materials, developing individual recipes which today help differentiate the products of one factory from those of another. ‘As a result, British porcelain has a very different feel from that of Europe, although it is a close cousin of the soft-paste porcelain produced in France at Vincennes and Sèvres.’
In the early days, British manufacturers drew inspiration from China and Europe. ‘But as the industry grew,’ says Wilkie, ‘factories employed more skilled potters, modellers and painters to develop their own distinctive styles, in some cases surpassing their counterparts abroad in innovation, creativity and charm.’
Chelsea
The Chelsea factory was established in the 1740s by Nicholas Sprimont, a silversmith from Liège. Its location in fashionable West London was ideal for meeting the demands of the area’s wealthy and aristocratic residents, keen to furnish their homes with porcelain.
Derby
Founded in the 1740s, the Derby factory not only produced elegant tableware, but also a broad range of figures and groups.
These often represented contemporary life in 18th-century Britain, with subjects ranging from elegant ladies and gentlemen in courtly dress to shepherds and nuns, as well as luminaries such as Shakespeare and Milton.
