Teapot and cover
Plymouth Porcelain Factory
Category
Ceramics
Date
1768 - 1770
Materials
Hard paste porcelain
Measurements
110 mm (Height)
Place of origin
Plymouth
Order this imageCollection
Saltram, Devon
NT 873164
Summary
Teapot and cover made at the Plymouth porcelain factory 1768-1770. Hand thrown in hard paste porcelain and hand painted in polychrome enamel and gold with a red peony, Kakiemon style pattern. Gilded border appears around the top of the pot, on the cover and on the handle and spout. Marked underneath with the Plymouth factory mark in red - a conjoined 2 and 4 (the alchemist's sign for tin.) Bearne's auction label underneath number 98929
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. 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.
Provenance
Bequeathed to the National Trust in 2003 by Miss Marion Ross Bethal.
Makers and roles
Plymouth Porcelain Factory, potter