Jug thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Jug

ca. 1760-62 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Vessels of this shape were first made as cream jugs for use with a tea or coffee service. This example lacks a handle and has no separate pouring lip, so it may have been intended as a small vase for flowers.

Design & Designing
Designs produced by one factory were frequently copied by another. This was especially the case at the smaller porcelain factories, which employed few if any designers. Chelsea's 'goat-and-bee' jugs, the prototype for this piece, are the earliest dated English porcelains. They were probably designed and modelled by Nicholas Sprimont, the factory manager. Staffordshire potters also reproduced this design in salt-glazed stoneware.

People
The Vauxhall porcelain factory was run by the partnership of Nicholas Crisp, a merchant and owner of a jewellery shop in the City of London, and John Saunders, a delftware potter. Crisp was also a founder and very active member of the Society of Arts. Until recently their products were attributed to the Liverpool factory of William Ball.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Soft-paste porcelain, painted in underglaze blue
Brief description
Vauxhall goat and bee
Physical description
GOAT AND BEE' JUG made at Vauxhall
Dimensions
  • Height: 11cm
  • Width: 5cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 01/09/2000 by AS
Gallery label
British Galleries: English porcelain factories frequently copied the designs of their competitors. The design here is copied from Chelsea's 'goat and bee' jugs, an example of which is displayed on the top left shelf. There was no legislation in the 18th century to protect the copyright of ceramic designs.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Hurst Collection
Object history
Made at the Vauxhall porcelain factory, London
Summary
Object Type
Vessels of this shape were first made as cream jugs for use with a tea or coffee service. This example lacks a handle and has no separate pouring lip, so it may have been intended as a small vase for flowers.

Design & Designing
Designs produced by one factory were frequently copied by another. This was especially the case at the smaller porcelain factories, which employed few if any designers. Chelsea's 'goat-and-bee' jugs, the prototype for this piece, are the earliest dated English porcelains. They were probably designed and modelled by Nicholas Sprimont, the factory manager. Staffordshire potters also reproduced this design in salt-glazed stoneware.

People
The Vauxhall porcelain factory was run by the partnership of Nicholas Crisp, a merchant and owner of a jewellery shop in the City of London, and John Saunders, a delftware potter. Crisp was also a founder and very active member of the Society of Arts. Until recently their products were attributed to the Liverpool factory of William Ball.
Bibliographic references
  • For this pattern, see Simon Spero, 'Vauxhall porcelain: A Tentative Chronology', English Ceramic Circle Transactions, vol. 18, part 2 (2003), fig. 61, where dated ca. 1760-62
  • Watney, Bernard. English blue and white porcelain of the eighteenth century, 2nd ed., London: Faber and Faber, 1973, pl. 50A
Collection
Accession number
C.433-1940

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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