Plaque
W.T.Copeland and Sons Ltd.
Category
Ceramics
Date
1891 - 1895
Materials
earthenware
Measurements
210 mm (L); 312 mm (W)
Place of origin
Stoke-on-Trent
Order this imageCollection
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
NT 285151
Summary
Plaque, saggar marl clay body, oval form with foot rim, decorated by William Yale, made by Spode-Copeland, Stoke-on-Trent, ca 1895; painted by hand in tones of brown, edge to edge, with a view of the Pike Pool at Beresford Dale, near Buxton, Derbyshire.
Full description
This oval plaque was painted by William Yale (1841-1921) and depicts a view of Pike Pool at Beresford Dale near Buxton – named after the grey limestone monolith that rises from the water. Yale worked as a ceramic painter for the Spode-Copeland Factory in Stoke on Trent. He began working at Copeland as a painter in 1869, aged 27, and was probably trained at a local art school or apprenticed before that. Around 1891, he established his own business on Liverpool Road, Stoke, as an independent artist, painting ‘blank’ (undecorated) tiles and slabs made by local manufacturers, including Minton and Copeland. Yale often painted on Copeland’s saggar marl ware – a type of earthenware with a yellowish colour and relatively rough surface. This plaque is made of saggar marl and was probably decorated about 1895, after Yale had set up on his own.An entry in the 1893 journal, 'A Descriptive Account of the Potteries' describes Yale's work and business: 'His show rooms will be found to contain a beautiful assortment of hand-painted porcelain plaques, tiles, panels, terra-cotta, etc., the designs being for the most part original, and including heroic and fanciful figures, landscapes, flowers and fruit, and other subjects suitable for every description of mural and hearth decoration. It should be mentioned that Mr. Yale acquires the pottery in its rough, undecorated state, from the best manufacturers, painting it with his own hand, and submitting it to the final processes of firing and fixing, in kilns attached to the premises. Of course, the goods cannot possibly be sold at the price of stencilled ware, or of ware that has been treated by slap-dash methods ; but in view of the unquestionable excellence as works of art, they are offered at surprisingly cheap rates, and we believe that both the general public and house decorators will find themselves amply repaid by a visit to Mr. Yale's handsome place of business.'
Marks and inscriptions
Underside of base: Pike Pool / Beresford Dale / No 541 (hand painted, brown enamel) Underside of base: COPELAND Front of plaque: W. Yale (hand painted, brown enamel)
Makers and roles
W.T.Copeland and Sons Ltd., manufacturer William Yale (1842 - 1921), painter
References
Andrew, 2015: Colin Andrew, ‘The Copeland Artist William Yale’, Northern Ceramic Society Newsletter, No. 180, December 2015, pp. 8-19 Wilkinson, 2002: Vega Wilkinson, Spode-Copeland-Spode: The Works and its People, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, pp. 236-7