Fruit Dish
ca. 1805 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This pearlware pedestal dish was originally part of a dessert service with dishes of various shapes, all finely painted with different birds. It is decorated with a golden eagle, and the bird's name has been carefully inscribed in English and Latin on its base by the ceramics painter, William Weston Young. He was employed to decorate pottery by the Cambrian Pottery in Swansea between 1803 and 1806. The base of the dish also bears the impressed pottery mark 'SWANSEA'.
In 1806 the Swansea pottery started a bold new venture to retail high-end pottery in London. They opened a warehouse in Fleet Street, the heart of London's shopping district at the time, and sent their best wares there for sale. Unfortunately the investment did not pay off and only two years later the auctioneers Christie's sold off all the unsold stock from the warehouse on behalf of the pottery owners. The sale catalogues from these sales provide a valuable record of the types of wares being made by the Welsh factory at this time. Lot 50 in the sale of 24th February 1808 lists 'a desert service, gold edge, painted with birds, 37 pieces' and probably included pieces like this pedestal dish.
The above information is taken from the published works of the Welsh ceramics specialist and ceramics researcher Jonathan Gray.
In 1806 the Swansea pottery started a bold new venture to retail high-end pottery in London. They opened a warehouse in Fleet Street, the heart of London's shopping district at the time, and sent their best wares there for sale. Unfortunately the investment did not pay off and only two years later the auctioneers Christie's sold off all the unsold stock from the warehouse on behalf of the pottery owners. The sale catalogues from these sales provide a valuable record of the types of wares being made by the Welsh factory at this time. Lot 50 in the sale of 24th February 1808 lists 'a desert service, gold edge, painted with birds, 37 pieces' and probably included pieces like this pedestal dish.
The above information is taken from the published works of the Welsh ceramics specialist and ceramics researcher Jonathan Gray.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) painted with enamels and gilded |
| Brief description | Fruit-dish of lead-glazed white earthenware painted with enamels and gilded, painted by William Weston Young, Cambrian Pottery, Swansea, ca. 1805. |
| Physical description | Fruit-dish of lead-glazed white earthenware painted with enamels and gilded. Painted with a golden eagle. Elongated quatrefoil dish supported on a high oval foot, and the rim and foot are decorated with a gilt band. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street |
| Object history | In his article (see below) Jonathan Gray discusses the period when the Cambrian Pottery of Swansea was under the direction of Lewis Weston Dillwyn and George Haynes. In early 1806 they opened a retailing outlet their 'London Warehouse' at 64 Fleet Street. Fleet Street was a well-established centre for ceramic retailing by this date, however the experiment was short-lived as Christies sold the unsold contents of the Warehouse in April 1808. 'From the surviving Christies records, it is clear that much of the fine pearlware and whiteware production made at the Pottery in the first decade of the nineteenth century was made for sale in London. For example, the Nelson and Welsh Bard mugs, butterfly services and other examples of richly decorated and gilded pearlwares decorated by Thomas Pardoe and William Weston Young (figs 32, 33) appear for sale in the Christies' catalogues, which makes sense given the need for premium products to appeal to the fashionable London gentry...' |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This pearlware pedestal dish was originally part of a dessert service with dishes of various shapes, all finely painted with different birds. It is decorated with a golden eagle, and the bird's name has been carefully inscribed in English and Latin on its base by the ceramics painter, William Weston Young. He was employed to decorate pottery by the Cambrian Pottery in Swansea between 1803 and 1806. The base of the dish also bears the impressed pottery mark 'SWANSEA'. In 1806 the Swansea pottery started a bold new venture to retail high-end pottery in London. They opened a warehouse in Fleet Street, the heart of London's shopping district at the time, and sent their best wares there for sale. Unfortunately the investment did not pay off and only two years later the auctioneers Christie's sold off all the unsold stock from the warehouse on behalf of the pottery owners. The sale catalogues from these sales provide a valuable record of the types of wares being made by the Welsh factory at this time. Lot 50 in the sale of 24th February 1808 lists 'a desert service, gold edge, painted with birds, 37 pieces' and probably included pieces like this pedestal dish. The above information is taken from the published works of the Welsh ceramics specialist and ceramics researcher Jonathan Gray. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 3477-1901 |
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| Record created | March 31, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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