Friday, December 05, 2008

tureens

The tureen in the picture above is an example of plain, basic ironstone ware made by Powell & Bishop. The moulded relief looks to be something like a sunflower design.
This next tureen is transfer printed with the Honfleur pattern.
Lastly, this transfer printed design includes sunflowers and peacock feathers. For all of these tureens, the basic shape is very similar and shows how the factory used basic mould designs and then decorated them in various ways. This method helped to keep costs down as the "design" of a piece was not so interested in the shape of things, which pretty much remained the same for decades, but concentrated on the surface print design. All this was to change in the Art Deco period when designers such as Clarice Cliff invented bold new shapes like conical teapots to interest homeowners. Then, the shape of things became integral to the integrity of the entire design.

1 comment:

Juliette said...

As you seem to be an expert I have just rescued from the dump a (perfect) lovely tureen with lid, marked Oriental ivory on an brolly with man , Bisto, England. It's cream coloured with small gold circles and Greek key pattern, has a look of the 30's being squarish in shape....just wondered if you knew the design name by any chance?

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Sometimes, life doesn't turn out the way you expected. And sometimes, it is exactly as it was 'meant' to be. I believe that life is a both a learning experience and an obstacle course to be climbed and clambered over in the most creative way possible! In doing so, you'll get to where you should be even if it's not where you'd imagined.