Mug
Plymouth Porcelain Factory
Category
Ceramics
Date
1769 - 1770
Materials
hard paste porcelain
Measurements
142 mm (Height); 93 mm (Diameter); 70 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Plymouth
Order this imageCollection
Saltram, Devon
NT 870978
Summary
Baluster shaped mug made at the Plymouth Porcelain factory 1768-1770. Handle missing. Hand thrown in hard paste porcelain and hand painted in polychrome enamel and gilding. Decorated with two exotic birds against a green landscape. The rim is gilded in a geometric pattern. Handle missing. The underside is marked in gilt with the Plymouth mark - a conjoined 2 and 4 (the alchemist's sign for tin.) Paper label underneath number 244. Second label reads 'Plymouth 1768 Hard. Porcelain' - possibly in the hand of Edmund Parker, 2nd Earl of Morley. The Saltram Collection (1967): No 285, p.63
Full description
The Plymouth Porcelain factory was established by William Cookworthy (1705-1780) in 1768. It was the first to produce so-called ‘hard paste’, or ‘true’ porcelain in the UK. This meant that it combined the materials of china clay (kaolin) and china stone (petunse) to produce a hard-fired body to the same recipe as Chinese porcelain. Many European factories attempted to re-create Chinese porcelain which was famed for its translucency and much in demand. The recipe for porcelain was a closely guarded secret. Only a handful of factories managed to re-create it, the first being Meissen in Germany in 1708. Cookworthy was a chemist based in Plymouth who experimented with the china clay he found in Cornwall. Tests and trial firings went on for over 20 years before he was finally able to establish industrial production in Plymouth in 1768 In its first year, the factory almost entirely produced blue and white decoration. As they developed experience in firing the new material, they also started to introduce pieces hand painted in coloured enamels on top of the glaze. This coincided with the arrival of a workman from France, often referred to as ‘Mon Soqui’ (thought to be Michel Socquet, an intermittent Sèvres painter, working in England, ca. 1764-72). Soqui appears to have brought with him recipes for coloured glazes and techniques for painting in coloured enamels. At this time, tablewares including mugs such as this one, were produced with exotic bird decoration. These birds are often attributed to the painter Soqui. Cookworthy adopted a conjoined 2 and 4 as the mark for the Plymouth factory, which represented the alchemist’s sign for tin. This piece is marked on the base in gilt. A handwritten label on the base reads 'Plymouth 1768, Hard Porcelain' and another with the number 244. These are collectors' labels, possibly added by Edmund or Montagu Parker. The factory produced a range of domestic and decorative wares in blue and white and in polychrome enamels. However, the factory was beset with manufacturing problems. Impurities in the materials, challenges with firing the kiln, and potters inexperienced in working with the new material meant that the quality of porcelain was extremely varied. The factory only ran for two years before it transferred to Bristol under the management of Richard Champion (1743-1791) in 1770. At Saltram, there is no evidence that the Parker family acquired Plymouth porcelain directly from Cookworthy and the factory. At that time, they were busy purchasing some of the finest ceramics that money could buy. The lower quality of Plymouth porcelain may well have been unappealing. Plymouth porcelain saw a rise in popularity in the later 19th century, when collectors realised its cultural value as the first UK factory. Many of the Plymouth pieces at Saltram today were acquired either by Edmund Henry Parker (1810-1864), 2nd Earl of Morley who kept a large porcelain collection at his London residence, Kent House in Knightsbridge. Or by his brother in law, Montagu Edmund Newcome Parker (1807-1858) who also amassed a substantial collection of ceramics. Both men donated part of their collection, including items of Plymouth porcelain, to the Museum of Practical Geology (now the Victoria and Albert museum), London.
Provenance
Possibly acquired by Montagu Edmund Newcome Parker (1807-1858) or Edmund Parker (1810-1864), 2nd Earl of Morley and by descent to Edmund Robert Parker (1878-1951), 4th Earl of Morley and accepted in lieu of payment of Estate Duty and transferred to NT in 1957.y as part of the Endowment
Makers and roles
Plymouth Porcelain Factory, manufacturer
References
National Trust (Great Britain), The Saltram Collection., 1967, No. 285, p.63