The Two Temples
Plate
ca. 1805 (made)
ca. 1805 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Practical and technically excellent Staffordshire porcelain or refined earthenwares often copied closely from Chinese prototypes, began to flood the market in the early 19th century. This plate is copied almost exactly from a Chinese export version, including the octagonal shape. What is different is the use of transfer-printing in preference to the labour-intensive Chinese method of hand painting.
Trading
Miles Mason (died 1822) had been a successful china merchant in London, dealing in imported Chinese porcelain, before moving to Staffordshire and starting his own pottery. His determination to become a manufacturer was certainly influenced by the East India Company's decision in 1791 to cease importing Chinese porcelain.
Materials & Making
This plate tries hard to copy Chinese porcelain, with its hard grey 'hybrid' English pottery body and its authentic pattern. It did, however, resemble the late-18th-century products of Caughley (Shropshire) and Worcester, and was already old-fashioned by 1805. Miles Mason, with his experience of dealing with changing public taste, soon took the Staffordshire potteries along a completely new path with his invention of 'Patent Ironstone China', a cheap but hard earthenware with colourful 'Japan' patterns.
Practical and technically excellent Staffordshire porcelain or refined earthenwares often copied closely from Chinese prototypes, began to flood the market in the early 19th century. This plate is copied almost exactly from a Chinese export version, including the octagonal shape. What is different is the use of transfer-printing in preference to the labour-intensive Chinese method of hand painting.
Trading
Miles Mason (died 1822) had been a successful china merchant in London, dealing in imported Chinese porcelain, before moving to Staffordshire and starting his own pottery. His determination to become a manufacturer was certainly influenced by the East India Company's decision in 1791 to cease importing Chinese porcelain.
Materials & Making
This plate tries hard to copy Chinese porcelain, with its hard grey 'hybrid' English pottery body and its authentic pattern. It did, however, resemble the late-18th-century products of Caughley (Shropshire) and Worcester, and was already old-fashioned by 1805. Miles Mason, with his experience of dealing with changing public taste, soon took the Staffordshire potteries along a completely new path with his invention of 'Patent Ironstone China', a cheap but hard earthenware with colourful 'Japan' patterns.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Two Temples (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Earthenware, transfer-printed in underglaze blue |
| Brief description | Plate with the 'Two Temples' pattern, earthenware, transfer-printed in underglaze blue, made by Miles Mason, Lane Delph, Staffordshire, ca. 1805 |
| Physical description | Plate of earthenware. Octagonal with rounded corners. The middle is transfer-printed in underglaze blue with a Chinoiserie landscape and with a border of floral and diaper ornament. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'M. Mason' (Impressed) |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street |
| Object history | After the Willow and Mandarin patterns the Two Temples pattern was one of the most widely copied fantasy Chinese designs. It got its name from the fact that the two temples were positioned so closely as to appear as one. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Practical and technically excellent Staffordshire porcelain or refined earthenwares often copied closely from Chinese prototypes, began to flood the market in the early 19th century. This plate is copied almost exactly from a Chinese export version, including the octagonal shape. What is different is the use of transfer-printing in preference to the labour-intensive Chinese method of hand painting. Trading Miles Mason (died 1822) had been a successful china merchant in London, dealing in imported Chinese porcelain, before moving to Staffordshire and starting his own pottery. His determination to become a manufacturer was certainly influenced by the East India Company's decision in 1791 to cease importing Chinese porcelain. Materials & Making This plate tries hard to copy Chinese porcelain, with its hard grey 'hybrid' English pottery body and its authentic pattern. It did, however, resemble the late-18th-century products of Caughley (Shropshire) and Worcester, and was already old-fashioned by 1805. Miles Mason, with his experience of dealing with changing public taste, soon took the Staffordshire potteries along a completely new path with his invention of 'Patent Ironstone China', a cheap but hard earthenware with colourful 'Japan' patterns. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 2588-1901 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
