Charming China
The early 19th century saw a growth in production of transfer decorated porcelain. Some of this new commodity was aimed at the newly wealthy merchants and professional classes.
The pictures on the pottery were sometimes left in sepia, or often coloured over the transferred image to make a 'superior' piece. This process was repeated in the making of children's toy theaters, 'penny plain and tuppence coloured'.
The subjects were unlimited, but popular themes were the three virtues 'faith' 'hope' and 'charity', verses, country scenes with shepherdesses or gardeners, or pairs of courting couples, all charmingly naive. Sometimes these items were produced for friendly societies or associations or decorated with the arms of guilds.
Many potteries produced these pieces, sometimes decorated with lustre as in Sunderland ware. The interest is that the scenes and figures were depicted in the costume of the day, rather than as was popular in later periods, 'romantic' figures. with historical dress.
The fact that most items were made for general use means that many have survived to this day and collecting them is not expensive and can give a link to ordinary people's lives of the Regency period.
PvB
#regency #antiquepottery #Sunderlandlustre
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