Plate
Swansea Dyllwyn Cambrian Pottery
Category
Ceramics
Date
circa 1814 - circa 1826
Materials
soft-paste porcelain
Place of origin
Swansea
Order this imageCollection
Greenway, Devon
NT 118756
Summary
Plate, soft-paste porcelain, lobed and applied beaded rim, painted in enamels possibly by Henry Morris with the arms of Clark of Hereford impaling Parkinson above the motto 'Frangas non Flectes' enclosed with a directoire border incorporating flower-filled green urns, gold and green scroll work, inscribed 'Swansea' in iron-red, Swansea, Wales c 1814-26.
Full description
This plate is part of a large collection of Welsh ceramics brought to Greenway by Anthony Hicks from his parents’ house, Pwllywrach, and was made in Swansea c. 1814-1826. The Swansea factory had its origins in the 18th century when the Cambrian pottery was founded by William Coles in 1764. This factory found success making pieces that imitated the high quality basalt and creamware produced by Wedgwood in Staffordshire. The pottery was eventually taken over by Lewis Weston Dillwyn who, from 1814, employed the talented painter William Billingsley under whom the Swansea factory produced particularly fine work. Dillwyn continued to invest in the factory and experiment with the production of porcelain, producing a fine, glassy body. A large quantity of pieces of ‘blank’ Swansea porcelain was sent to London for decoration but the decoration on the border of this plate points to its decoration at Swansea, perhaps by the painter Henry Morris who copied many of Billingsley’s designs. The flower urns on this plate look to Billingsley’s ‘Prince Regent’ pattern for inspiration. Unusually, this plate also bears a coat of arms. Armorial porcelain was commissioned specifically at a cost; although the Swansea and Nantgarw factories did do such commissions, evidence suggests that they were far fewer in number than other factories and so examples, like this one, are comparatively rare. This plate is painted with the arms of Clark of Hereford impaling Parkinson (illustrated in W.D. John, Swansea Porcelain, 1958) and the motto ‘Frangas non Flectes’ meaning ‘I may be broken but never bent.’ (Alison Cooper, 2018)
Provenance
Introduced to the Property by Anthony Hicks
Credit line
Greenway National Trust Collections
Marks and inscriptions
Base of plate: SWANSEA printed in red
Makers and roles
Swansea Dyllwyn Cambrian Pottery, manufacturer possibly Henry Morris, painter
