English Pottery Pearlware Blue Chinoiserie Bowl

Details

Description

Blue & White Exoticism: A Staffordshire Pearlware Chinoiserie Punch Bowl
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• Origin: Staffordshire, England
• Date: circa 1790–1800 (Late … Read more Blue & White Exoticism: A Staffordshire Pearlware Chinoiserie Punch Bowl
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• Origin: Staffordshire, England
• Date: circa 1790–1800 (Late Georgian Period)
• Material: Pearlware Earthenware, Underglaze Transfer Print (Cobalt Blue)
• Style: Chinoiserie / Export Style
• Dimensions: 11 inches (27.9 cm) Diameter x 4 1/4 inches (10.80 cm) Height

This is a large and impressive English Pearlware Punch Bowl, a beautiful example of blue and white ceramic production from the late 18th century. It showcases the technical and artistic peak of the Staffordshire potteries during the Georgian period.

The bowl is richly decorated using the revolutionary technique of underglaze transfer printing, rendering a complex and picturesque Chinoiserie landscape in a vibrant cobalt blue.

• Exterior Scene: The outside features a continuous, romantic panorama filled with stylized elements of an imagined China, including delicate pagodas, tiered pavilions nestled in lush, exotic foliage, and a prominent scene of figures crossing a complex, stepped or arched bridge.

• Interior Decoration: The interior well features a detailed central scene of a stately pavilion or pagoda complex. The wide inner rim is finished with a dense, detailed pattern composed of geometric latticework and decorative borders (like the trellis and stylized scallop motifs), all executed in the same saturated blue.

• Body: The vessel is made from Pearlware, a refined earthenware developed by Josiah Wedgwood that uses a slight cobalt wash in the glaze to achieve a brighter, cool bluish-white tint, successfully mimicking the highly prized Chinese porcelain of the time.

Historical Context: Industrial Art and Social Ritual

This punch bowl is a key artifact of the British Industrial Revolution and the social customs it empowered.

The Triumph of Transfer Printing
The intricate detail of this decoration was made possible by underglaze transfer printing, perfected by Staffordshire potters like Josiah Spode and others in the late 18th century. This process involved engraving the design onto a copper plate, printing it onto tissue paper, and transferring the pattern onto the unfired body. This meant that complex, high-status patterns that previously required expensive hand-painting could be reproduced quickly and cheaply, effectively democratizing luxury.

Late Georgian Hospitality
The punch bowl itself was the centerpiece of social and business life during the Georgian era, especially in taverns and middle-class homes in both Britain and America. Punch, a communal mixture of spirits, water, sugar, citrus, and spices, symbolized hospitality and friendship. The sheer size and decorative nature of this vessel served as a clear statement of the host's prosperity and fashionable taste.

The Enduring Exotic
The use of the Chinoiserie pattern confirms the enduring cultural fascination with the Far East. Though European access to China was limited, these fanciful scenes offered an exotic, escapist backdrop for domestic ritual, cementing the style's dominance in tableware as British factories successfully competed with actual Chinese porcelain imports.

References
• Copeland, Robert. Spode's Willow Pattern and Other Designs. Studio Vista, 1980. (General context for early blue and white transferware and Chinoiserie motifs).
• Godden, Geoffrey A. An Illustrated Encyclopedia of British Pottery and Porcelain. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1966. (References the development and characteristics of Pearlware and its application in large vessels like punch bowls).

(Ref: NY10561-npr) See less