Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 120, The Wolfson Galleries

Sugar Basin

1831 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
In the early 19th century English pottery and porcelain dinner services entirely superseded those imported from China. New types of object, such as this sugar basin for dessert, were increasingly modelled on silverware, with heavily moulded edges and sturdy handles that admirably suited the rich taste of the 1830s.

Collectors & Owners
This sugar basin is part of a service that was acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the Museum wished to accept only a token number of pieces, because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually they agreed to take it all, rather than destroy the integrity of a documented service. Since 1902 it has largely remained in store, although parts of the service have in recent years been loaned to 10 Downing Street. The British Galleries now provide a fitting permanent display of the many different shapes used in the service.

The Spode family provenance suggests that the service should represent the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in the last years of Spode ownership. The factory archives, now available to collectors, show that the moulded shape called 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831. This date exactly agrees with the introduction of the painted pattern (No.4964). It would seem therefore that Josiah Spode IV, only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited the service later from his own father, Josiah Spode III.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Sugar Basin
  • Cover
  • Stand
Materials and techniques
Porcelain
Gallery label
British Galleries: PART OF A DINNER SERVICE
About 1820; numbers 30-34, 1831
This large service is characteristic of the extensive and richly decorated porcelain that was available to an increasingly wide range of buyers during this period. Marketing through London showrooms played an important role in the selling of such ensembles. Massed displays were a familiar sight to the visiting public as in the Wedgwood showroom illustrated on the left.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Miss H.M. Gulson
Object history
Part of a service (568 to 591-1902) acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the V&A wished to accept only a token number of pieces because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually it agreed to take all of them rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service.

The family provenance suggests that the service represents the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent in the last years of the Spode family's ownership. The factory archives reveal that the moulded shape 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831, a date that exactly agrees with the introduction of this service's painted pattern (no. 4964). It would seem, therefore, that Josiah Spode IV, who was only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited it at a later date from his father, Josiah Spode III. According to a letter from Miss Gulson in 1902, the dessert services in the gift were made for the marriage of Josiah Spode III and his wife Mary Williamson.

Subject depicted
Summary
Object Type
In the early 19th century English pottery and porcelain dinner services entirely superseded those imported from China. New types of object, such as this sugar basin for dessert, were increasingly modelled on silverware, with heavily moulded edges and sturdy handles that admirably suited the rich taste of the 1830s.

Collectors & Owners
This sugar basin is part of a service that was acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the Museum wished to accept only a token number of pieces, because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually they agreed to take it all, rather than destroy the integrity of a documented service. Since 1902 it has largely remained in store, although parts of the service have in recent years been loaned to 10 Downing Street. The British Galleries now provide a fitting permanent display of the many different shapes used in the service.

The Spode family provenance suggests that the service should represent the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in the last years of Spode ownership. The factory archives, now available to collectors, show that the moulded shape called 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831. This date exactly agrees with the introduction of the painted pattern (No.4964). It would seem therefore that Josiah Spode IV, only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited the service later from his own father, Josiah Spode III.
Collection
Accession number
569 to B-1902

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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