Robinson and Leadbeater were established in Stoke-on-Trent in 1865 and specialised entirely in producing Parian porcelain, a highly vitrified ceramic closer to European hard porcelains than English bone china. 'Parian ware' was Minton's trade name for the material due to the similar appearance to Greek Parian marble and was commonly used to create sculptural figures, busts and relief decoration. At the 1851 Great Exhibition in London more than ten manufacturers, including all the leading names in the British ceramic industry, included Parian in their displays. It was enthusiastically received and one commentator wrote that Parian “was becoming one of the most generally admired and gold-productive of all the achievements of ceramic art”.
Manufacturers charged high prices for their Parian wares from the outset and continued production throughout the nineteenth century due to popularity in Britain and overseas, much of Robinson and Leadbeater’s Parian was exported to the USA from the 1870s. Robinson and Leadbeater’s production is often overshadowed by that of other major factories such as Minton or Copeland. During their heyday Robinson and Leadbeater, who grew to operate two factories, were described in Jewitt’s 1878 Ceramic Art of Great Britain as ranking “with the best productions of many competing firms, while in fineness of surface and careful manipulation they are scarcely excelled.”
This group of letters was one of only a limited number made about 1900 for Edward Leadbeater’s family and demonstrate the Victorian taste for ornate floral decoration, here associated with religious love. The words are taken from the biblical text ‘God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.’ (1 John 4:16) and the flowers depicted probably have religious meanings for the devoutly Christian Leadbeater family; roses (purity), violets (humility).
According to family history Edward Leadbeater made this group for his daughter. As a trained potter he may have had a hand in making the letters although the type of floral modelling on these pieces required skilled work that was most likely finished by one of the female decorators in the factory. Flower making of this type was undertaken by a number of Staffordshire potteries and highly skilled modelling, as demonstrated here, created realistic and attractive decoration. Applied to a range of products from vases to mirror frames, this floral decoration would have complemented the wallcoverings, furniture and clothing in the owner’s home.
Today there is a revived interest in this technique through the work of contemporary artists such as Clare Twomey, Phoebe Cummings and Neil Brownsword. In 2015 the British Ceramics Biennial also worked with retired flower makers from Stoke-on-Trent to create a large scale installation by sharing the skills involved and getting the public to create the individual flowers.