This post records the Crown Ducal patterns that used the “Greystone” glaze. A white and grey mottle, high gloss glaze much favoured by Charlotte Rhead and used for some of her most popular tube-lined designs. Early references in Crown Ducal documents call the glaze “grey mottle”, but it gets renamed later to Greystone.
Not many patterns have this glaze, although collectors will be familiar with the five tube-lined patterns, Patch 4015, Blue Peony 4016, Persian Rose 4040, Persian Leaf 5391 and Caliph 5411. Or if you are very lucky you may have acquired one of the various special colour variations of Persian Leaf that appear from time to time.
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| The grey mottle, Greystone glaze |
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| Tube-lined designs by Charlotte Rhead with the Greystone glaze |
Another of her designs for fancies was 3728 and this is believed to be the first use of the glaze. It is not tube-lined but has enamelled leaves and bands in pink with gold lines and detail. Bernard Bumpus mistakenly recorded the pattern number as 5728 but it is described and illustrated in his book.
There is another simple design, number 3774 with green bands and copper lines, but I have yet to see an example. The next pattern for fancies with Greystone glaze and yet to be found is 4534. Some will recognise it as HJ Woods Bursley Ware pattern TL2. Bumpus has pictures of TL2 in his book and he also records the entry 4534 as a Crown Ducal Rhead pattern. Although the patterns are virtually identical, there is no mention of tube-lining in the Crown Ducal pattern books, We will just have to wait until one turns up to inspect it! As an aside, regarding the design, an early tube-lined prototype exists with different top and bottom border motifs and glazed more like Byzantine 2681.
There is another simple design, number 3774 with green bands and copper lines, but I have yet to see an example. The next pattern for fancies with Greystone glaze and yet to be found is 4534. Some will recognise it as HJ Woods Bursley Ware pattern TL2. Bumpus has pictures of TL2 in his book and he also records the entry 4534 as a Crown Ducal Rhead pattern. Although the patterns are virtually identical, there is no mention of tube-lining in the Crown Ducal pattern books, We will just have to wait until one turns up to inspect it! As an aside, regarding the design, an early tube-lined prototype exists with different top and bottom border motifs and glazed more like Byzantine 2681.
The final entry for fancies, and again as yet unseen, is 6065. It is a freehand floral design of simple trailing green leaves and scarlet and purple flowers with black tracery for the stems.
I have found nine entries for tableware with the glaze:
- 3781 Cotswold shape, pink band, gold line
- 3798 Cotswold shape, pale and dark crimson brown bands
- 3932 No2 shape, gold rim up to embossment, crimson brown and pink lines
- 3976 No1 shape, green band, gold edge
- 4004 No3 shape, dentilled edge in two greens and green leaf motif on shoulder
- 4005 No2 shape verge embossment picked out in enamels, gold edge
- 4172 No2 shape with “Charm” floral transfer in centre, gold edge
- 4194 No1 shape with feather and dot motif in verge
- 4202 No2 shape with print and enamel floral design
Only the last entry, number 4202 has been seen to date, so I do not think it was a popular glaze for tableware.
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| Pattern 4202, a print and enamel tableware design with Greystone glaze |
I have not found any direct evidence that the glaze is her invention, but Charlotte was fond of using this glaze. The earliest designs with it are either definitely hers or have motifs associated with her, so there is the possibility she had a hand in its creation. Support for this comes from the annotation in the pattern book for 3781, which says "See Miss Rhead". This design is not illustrated, but could be a tableware version of pattern 3728, perhaps without the leaf motif. Also, designs 4004 and 4194 incorporate leaf or feather motifs known to be hers.
Now for the inspiration that made me look at Greystone glaze. A 14" charger with freehand enamelled decoration. No pattern number and it is not recorded in the Crown Ducal documents I have seen. The charger has the typical backstamp style that was used during the period 1935-1938. I am bound to say that the design feels very much like the work of Charlotte Rhead.
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| 14" charger freehand enamelled design with Greystone glaze |
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| Pattern detail on charger |
Looking at the design and colours, the rim decoration of paired coloured lines reminds me of Omar 4036 and Basket 6198. The leaves are simplified versions from Blue Peony 4016. The colour palette is the same as Patch 4015, with the addition of the blue from Blue Peony. And of course, Greystone glaze. It is a lovely balanced design and worthy of having Charlottes name associated with it.
Those are the Greystone glaze patterns, but Charlotte returns to the glaze style in 1940 with her Trellis patterns, 6016 and 6017. Not Greystone, but Brownstone, and this is the name documented with the design. A series of pottery baskets were made with Brownstone glaze too, some with the Pinafore transfer, 6036-6039 and some without, 6058-6061.
Pattern 6069 is the Brownstone glaze with green rims top and bottom and with the small Pinafore floral transfers for fancies. If you are unsure what the Pinafore transfer looks like there is a picture that shows them in a previous post about the Premier shape:
http://rhead-crownducal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/crown-ducal-tableware-shape-premier-or.html
The same blend of Brownstone glaze, green rims and detail together with Pinafore transfers was applied to the Gordon shape tableware. The baskets, vases and tableware occasionally appear for sale at auction, but they rarely get noticed.
Drawing to a close with a poignant observation. The last numbered pattern in the surviving Crown Ducal pattern books, (before the book gets used for other purposes), is number 6367. It is exactly the same as pattern 6069, but not with Brownstone, it has Greenstone glaze. It would be good to think that Charlotte was experimenting to the end. This would be the early summer of 1941. The government had initiated restrictions on pottery manufacture in March 1941 and further restrictions on decorated pottery would soon come into force. Employees were already leaving to work for the war effort and Charlotte's departure from the company was imminent.
There are a couple of tube-lined patterns, 6567 and 6659 that have Greystone glaze but were not produced until Charlotte had left the company. It is difficult to date these designs, (best guess is 1942), but they were almost certainly made while the Board of Trade restrictions were in force. A high proportion of examples are found in Australia and New Zealand which is to be expected as decorated pottery was destined for the export market.
It is not quite the end though, just as I said in my post on Snow glaze that Charlotte took it with her to Woods, you can see the reinvented Greystone glaze on many of her Bursley Ware patterns. It is different, the grey is more subtle, but this is still Charlotte's Greystone glaze!
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| Detail of Trellis 6016 with Brownstone glaze |
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| BursleyWare TL.43 & TL.65 with a softer version of the Greystone glaze |
Edited 19th March 2019 to remove
invalid links.
