I recently came across a Crown Ducal
dripware glazed vase. Although I do not collect these I usually look closely to see if I can find an example
that matches the descriptions in the Crown Ducal
pattern books. The glaze on this one matched the description and picture for Glaze No. 84.
The vase will date to 1940/1942 because it has the AGR7 type backstamp but the style is a reprise of the Arcadian Glazes range from Crown Ducal in 1929.
I have not found any pattern numbers for the Arcadian Glazes
and later dripware productions of the 1930s & 1940s and so they are quite difficult to
catalogue. But there are 11 pages in one of the Crown Ducal pattern books that
document “Mottled Glazes Etc.” from Nos. 10 to 95. The notes for each glaze
vary from nil to a brief description specifying glaze names and method of
application. There are a few watercolour sketches for some of the glazes and
this is where I was lucky with my purchase as it is one of the few illustrated
ones.
Below are images of the vase and also a picture file of the
transcribed list of “Mottled Glazes” from the Crown Ducal pattern book. You
will probably need to save the list image in order to read it. The first column is the pattern book glaze number. The second column is whether or not there is small water colour sketch of the design. The description is my best attempt to try and transcribe the pencil annotations.
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| Glaze No. 84 on a shape 173 vase |
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| List of mottled glazes as transcribed from Crown Ducal pattern book |
Back to the beginning of the story, the ‘Arcadian Glazes’
range of dripware from Crown Ducal was introduced in the October 1929 edition
of the Pottery Gazette.
The typically verbose and enthusiastic writing about the
ware begins as follows:
"A. G. Richardson & Co.,, Ltd., Gordon Pottery, Tunstall,
whose new London showroom at 46, Holborn Viaduct, E. C. 1, in control of Green
Bros. & Edis, is now open, replete with a full range of the company’s
appealing productions in all departments, have brought out quite recently a
really admirable series of broken and variegated glaze effects in harmonious
colourings, to be known under the name of “Arcadian Glazes.” On the production
of lines such as these, as an adjunct to their staple trade in useful and
decorative tablewares, the firm in question are to be warmly congratulated, for
although the new art glazed wares are of a high order, portraying characteristics
which exemplify sound technique, the prices at which they are being offered to
the trade are unquestionably reasonable. We think we are justified in
emphasising the fact that the new decorations, although they are undoubtedly
the result of playful manipulations of colour amalgams, are in no sense to be
regarded as “amateurish”; nor are they likely to prove of an ephemeral order,
for they are distinctive and dignified, and worthy of being allotted a leading
place in the display of any good-class china shop."
The article goes on at some length in the same vein with the
only significant point of interest being that the Arcadian Glazes are likely to
be good sellers for the 1929 Christmas trade, beyond and for the overseas
market too. The image from the Pottery Gazette is reproduced below.
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| The "Arcadian Glazes" from the Pottery Gazette |
Below is an illustrated advertisement from The Sphere newspaper of 1932. It is part of a larger feature advertisement for Crown Ducal being sold at the Harrods department store. It is helpful that the shapes can be identified and that the prices are included.
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| Arcadian Glazes being promoted at Harrods in The Sphere of 9 November 1932 |
Because I have no collection of Arcadian glazed pots I will use images found from searching the net. I hope the owner of
these two pictures does not mind me reusing them, they clearly have a
collecting passion for the subject.
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| Arcadian Glazes |
If you have been able to save and view the list of mottled glazes you will find that vases 3 & 6, (from the left) on the bottom row in the picture above are most likely to be Glaze No. 13 (Blue 6336 & Flame 1180).
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| Arcadian Glazes |
Likewise vases 3 & 4, (from the left) on the top row in the picture above are most likely to be Glaze No. 19 (Flame 1180 & Green 6444).
Those are two easy ones but after that it becomes quite hard to link decoration with text which is rather ambiguous. To pursue this as a project one would need to incorporate known information from the main pattern books, where very occasionally these mottled glaze numbers are used in the description of individual patterns.
These are ones that I have found:
Glaze 60 used for pattern 4964
A freehand enamelled fancy, illustrated as a jug vase in shape 226/227/228/X8 style. The design is the inverted border of Charlotte's Arabian scroll pattern with green spout, bands and handle, scarlet and orange arches and blue circles. The vase rims are dashed and a row of Charlotte's painted stitches below the lower band.
Glaze 61 used for pattern 4963
A freehand enamelled fancy, illustrated as a jug vase in shape 245. Like above. The design is the inverted border of Charlotte's Arabian scroll pattern with blue bands and handles, puce and orange arches and pink and orange circles. The vase rims are dashed and a row of Charlotte's painted stitches below the lower band.
Glaze 62 used for pattern 4962
A freehand enamelled fancy, illustrated as a jug vase in shape X20 style. Like above. The design is the inverted border of Charlotte's Arabian scroll pattern with orange spout and handles, green bands, blue and orange arches and green and scarlet circles. The vase rims are dashed and a row of Charlotte's painted stitches below the lower band.
Glaze 64 used for pattern 5650
A difficult to find tube-lined design by Charlotte Rhead which in the past I have called "Abstract Trellis" but I may need to rename it as the phrase "Tube Lined Check" occurs both in the numbered pattern book and the glaze pattern book. The description for Glaze 65 where the green only occurs as the inside rinse, or the base of chargers more accurately describes the known examples of pattern 5650. Of the few examples I have seen, none had green on the outside or face of the design. As an aside, the designer of The Bowes Museum display catalogue, (2018) chose the charger centre of pattern 5650 for the front cover. Maybe not typical Charlotte Rhead style but definitely striking!
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| Glaze 65 |
A freehand enamelled fancy, illustrated as a vase in shape 133/129 style. The design is of a small branch with green leaves turning orange-brown.
Glaze 72 used for pattern 6189
The popular tube-lined design by Charlotte Rhead No. 6189 "Mexican".
Glaze 72 used for pattern 6198
Another tube-lined design by Charlotte Rhead No. 6198 "Basket".
Glaze 78 used for pattern 5981
A print and enamel design almost certainly by Charlotte Rhead for fancies "Floretta". A colourful glaze that Charlotte tried to use with tube-lined designs. The most notable being the "Iris" charger but also with a variation of the "Persian Leaf/Taragona" patterns. I have discussed the use of this glaze in a previous post. https://rhead-crownducal.blogspot.com/2013/08/charlotte-rhead-iris-charger.html
Interestingly, the only example I know of pattern 5650, with the pattern number on the base, which should use glaze 64 or 65 is in fact decorated with Glaze 78.
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| Various items that use Glaze 78 |
Glaze 79 used for pattern 5982
Another tube-lined design by Charlotte Rhead No. 5982 "Circular Fruits".
Glaze 83 used for pattern 6068
A freehand enamelled fancy, illustrated as a vase in shape 133/129 style. The design is of a flock of flying birds in a V formation with cloud outlines behind.
Since the glazes are not illustrated in the main pattern books the above descriptions are only of much use when an example has been seen. So glazes 64, 65, 72, 78 & 79 are the only ones from that source that can be positively identified.
It would be good to find out more about this subject and create a definitive record of Crown Ducal glazes but I fear much of the information may be lost. Perhaps someone who understands ceramic glazes better than I, and has a collection of Crown Ducal Arcadian glazes can marry up what they see with the glaze list above.
