Soup Tureen thumbnail 1
Soup Tureen thumbnail 2
+1
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Soup Tureen

ca. 1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The growing use of tureens in the early 19th century enabled food to be kept warm, while the elaborate shapes and decorated lids added considerably to the splendours of the sideboard.

Design & Designing
Loosely copied from 18th-century Sèvres porcelain, Staffordshire porcelain patterns with ground colours and shaped panels in reserve became highly popular in the 1830s. This basic pattern (no. 5061) was also made in claret red, apricot, lime green and three shades of blue. The shape of this tureen, with its lobed form, moulded handles and scrolly bracket feet, follows closely that of contemporary silver or Sheffield plate.

Collectors & Owners
This tureen is from 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 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 rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service. Since 1902 the service has largely remained in store. 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 in the last years of Spode ownership. The factory archives, now available to collectors, show that the moulded shape is 'Amherst' (named after Lord Amherst, a popular Viceroy of India who retired in 1828) while the pattern 5061 was introduced in 1832. It would seem therefore that Josiah Spode IV, only nine years old in 1832, may have inherited it later from his own father, Josiah Spode III.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Soup Tureen
  • Cover
  • Stand
Materials and techniques
Bone china painted in colours and gilded
Brief description
Soup tureen with cover and stand of bone china painted in colours and gilded, Spode Ceramic Works, Stoke-on-Trent, ca. 1820
Physical description
Soup tureen with cover and stand of bone china painted in colours and gilded.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26.5cm
  • Maximum width: 35cm
  • Maximum depth: 24.1cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 06/07/2000 by RK
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
.
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
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
The growing use of tureens in the early 19th century enabled food to be kept warm, while the elaborate shapes and decorated lids added considerably to the splendours of the sideboard.

Design & Designing
Loosely copied from 18th-century Sèvres porcelain, Staffordshire porcelain patterns with ground colours and shaped panels in reserve became highly popular in the 1830s. This basic pattern (no. 5061) was also made in claret red, apricot, lime green and three shades of blue. The shape of this tureen, with its lobed form, moulded handles and scrolly bracket feet, follows closely that of contemporary silver or Sheffield plate.

Collectors & Owners
This tureen is from 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 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 rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service. Since 1902 the service has largely remained in store. 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 in the last years of Spode ownership. The factory archives, now available to collectors, show that the moulded shape is 'Amherst' (named after Lord Amherst, a popular Viceroy of India who retired in 1828) while the pattern 5061 was introduced in 1832. It would seem therefore that Josiah Spode IV, only nine years old in 1832, may have inherited it later from his own father, Josiah Spode III.
Collection
Accession number
586C to E-1902

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Record createdMay 27, 2003
Record URL
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