Spode & the Royal Pavilion

 

It's not always immediately obvious, but Spode produced some spectacular ceramics for the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, for the Prince Regent later King George IV.

Got to the B page for links to my three blogposts, a sort of a mini-series, on my Spode History blog - click HERE>

Spode and April

Click here for my new SpodeHistory blogpost Spode and April.

Hamilton pattern on April shape

A Beautiful Dinner Service

What did the Spodes use on their dining table? Find out here.

And here's a clue...

Spode's Bottle Ovens... and a New Book

'Bottle ovens became the most important part of the pottery factory.
One disastrous firing could ruin a potbank.'


Bottle Ovens & the Story of the Final Firing 

by Terry Woolliscroft and Pam Woolliscroft

published by Gladstone Pottery Museum

August 1st 2018

ISBN 978 0 9505411 3 6

Buy the book!

Find facts and figures about Spode's bottle ovens on my blogpost Spode and Bottle Ovens

Spode Factory 1930s

Lots more about bottle ovens on Spode History's Bottle Ovens page

Winter etc

The seasons of the year are often a design them in both useful and ornamental wares made by Spode, and also, in parian figures. Find out about Seasons pattern on the S page here.

Plate (detail) Seasons pattern

Parian figure, 'Spring Flowers' c1875

Clobbering Plates

This lovely word - clobbering - is explained on the updated C page.

I shall tempt you there with a sneak preview of the plate which is featured.

Click HERE>

Statuary Porcelain and London

Two updates.

More about the London business on the L page linking you to blogposts on Spode History.

And also a little more about Parian on the P page. It was originally called Copeland's Statuary Porcelain.

Parian Updated 2017

I have added another link to a new blog post on parian on the P page.

If you love parian ware already or want to know what it is and learn more about the production of the Spode factory then have a look at my blog Spode History as well as the P page here... and of course the go-to book by Robert Copeland. Full details on my booklist.

As well as for statuary, parian could also be used for the manufacture of decorative items such as vases and tableware such as this water bottle illustrated here.

Parian water bottle handpainted and gilded late 1800s

Magnum, Marble and Missing

Go to the M page to find out about Magnum, Marble, Missing... and more!

Enjoy exploring these pages to find out more about Spode.

India and Cobalt

A couple of new additions to the ABC recently are India pattern (on the I-J page) and Cobalt (on the C page).

Enjoy exploring.

Old and New

Unique and beautiful patterns recorded in the Spode pattern books from the early 1800s have often been used by Spode designers as inspiration for more recent patterns.

Oval plate or stand, bone china, pattern 1875 on Dolphin Embossed shape c1813

The paintings of lilies of all sorts, used in pattern numbers 1875, 1923 and 1924 of c1813, were the inspiration for a pattern called Virginia introduced in 1996. Whether the old or the new the design of white flowers on white china is very clever and very beautiful.

Virginia was produced on a tableware shape called Mansard, which in turn was an older shape first introduced at Spode in 1932 for earthenware. Virginia was produced on bone china. 

You can find out more about the shape and the patterns produced on Mansard on the M page.

Bow Handled Bowpot, bone china, pattern 1924, c1813. Tablewares in this pattern are on Swag Embossed shape 

What is this?

Find out what this lovely object is by going to the P-R page and scroll down to Pierced ware.

Tumbledown Dick

This is a favourite pattern and a favourite pattern name of mine - I love its quirkiness. You can find out all about it on the T-V page.

The pattern from the 1820s came in many versions... here's a tempter to explore more!

What's in the Kitchen?

The K page has been updated.

Explore catalogue pages of 'Kitchen Requisites' from the early 1900s. The pieces often had a large K on them and were known as K pans.

Caramanian, Cabbage and Cats

It can only be that the C page has been updated so please take a look to see what's new.

Perfume, Petunia, Pheasant, Polar Bear and Pineapples

What on earth do all these have in common?

They are all on the P-R page along with updates to Parian and new addition Rouletted Wares.

The A page also had a new link to information about the Art Gallery.

It's no joke...

...there is new information on the I-J page. Click here for the I-J page and once there scroll down to find out what a Joke Cup is and its other names.

Also find out to what Jumbo refers. Here's a clue...

And another...

The Hunt Pattern

A new entry on the H page for The Hunt pattern.

A range of items in The Hunt pattern from a 1938 earthenware catalogue

Matchpots

Find out about matchpots on the M page.

Explore the 1820 Shape Book at Spode Exhibition Online

Ballet Dancer Figures

Antoinette Sibley

Is this the sort of thing Spode made? Yes - in collaboration with sculptor Enzo Plazzotta in 1973. A new pottery body was developed especially for the project.

Go to the B page for more information under Ballet Dancer Figures