Antique Mason's Patent Ironstone Dinner Service C1815
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An early and boldly decorated Mason's Patent Ironstone indented shape dinner service circa 1813 -1820 in date.
The vibrant Japan pattern depicting flowers and oriental temples. Printed in underglaze blue and then hand painted with iron red, cobalt and ochre.
It is signed with the printed 'Mason's Patent Ironstone China" stamp underneath.
2x meat plates,
2x lidded tureens,
2x gravy jugs
1x sauce tureen on stand,
2 serving plates,
1 small serving plate,
12x soup plates,
16x dinner plates,
9x luncheon plates,
16x side plates
5x fruit bowls.
Condition:
In excellent condition commensurate for it's age and use, with historic repairs to one of the lidded tureen handles and the sauce tureen handles, and showing little signs of wear.
Charles James Mason born in 1791 into family with strong pottery traditions was the most important member of the family.
He was destined to become one of the outstanding figures in the Staffordshire pottery industry. Today, when people speak of “Ironstone” it is invariably Mason’s to which they refer and to CJ’s work in particular.
From a very early age he assisted his father in the factory experimenting with new clays. He enjoyed the life and soon became a master-potter himself. Charles at only the age of 21 leap into the limelight when he registered the patent for Patent Ironstone China.
In 1815 Charles married Sarah Spode, who was the granddaughter of the first Josiah Spode the founder of the famous potting family. She was a very shrewd business woman and she encouraged her husband in all his new ventures. They had two children Florence Elizabeth Mason and Charles Spode Mason.
Ironstone - was patented by the British potter Charles James Mason in 1813. His father, Miles Mason married the daughter of Richard Farrar, who had a business selling imported Oriental porcelain in London. Subsequently Mason continued this business, but after the East India Company ceased the bulk importation of Oriental porcelain in 1791 he began to manufacture his own wares. His first manufacturing venture was a partnership with Thomas Wolfe and John Lucock in Liverpool, and he later formed a partnership with George Wolfe to manufacture pottery in Staffordshire.Other sources also attribute the invention of ironstone to William Turner of Longton, and Josiah Spode who is known to have been producing ironstone ware by 1805, "which he exported in immense quantities to France and other countries. The popularity of Spode's ironstone surpassed the traditional faience pottery in France.
A variety of ironstone types was being produced by the mid-19th century. "Derbyshire ironstone" became a particularly popular variety in the 19th century, as well as "yellow ironstone". Patterns with raised edges became popular in the mid-19th century, including "cane-coloured" Derbyshire ironstone.
Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)
was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.
While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.
Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.
The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).
Satinwood
is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.
The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.
It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.
Our reference: 06832
