Description:
Staffordshire pearlware oval platter with a lobed rim, decorated with black transfer prints in the "Canova" pattern with a large urn in the foreground, condola-like boat in the mid-ground, and classical architecture in the background in the well; and a rim border of similar scenic vignettes alternating with floral reserves. Several Staffordshire potteries produced variations of the Canova pattern, which may have been named after the Italian neoclassical sculptor, Antonio Canova (1757-1822), who visited in England in 1815. The black transfer print on the base of this platter has a striding lion over "CANOVA" in a scrolling cartouche, over "T. MAYER . LONGPORT:" Mayer was a common name in the Staffordshire Potteries in the early 19th century, many of whom were probably members of a large family. Thomas Mayer manufactured earthenwares at Cliff Bank Works, Stoke, from about 1826 to 1835, and then moved to Longport where he worked from 1836-1838. This large platter provides a good example of transfer-printed decoration. A layer of oily black enamel was applied to an engraved copper plate. After scraping off the excess, an artisan printed the intricate design on a piece of tissue paper. Women workers cut the tissue paper and applied it to the once fired ceramic body. The enamel was transferred to the ceramic by means of burnishing, then the paper was plucked or washed off the surface. The platter was subsequently glazed and fired in a kiln to affix the decoration. The transfer printing is evident in the appearance of mismatched cuts in the border. From the Transferware Collectors Club database: "Williams2008 provides a discussion of this pattern on p.74-78 and includes an example of this view and its mark on p.75. Various views in the pattern are illustrated in WilliamsWeberI1978 pp. 214-5. The central pattern differs for each item. The cup plates do not have the distant buildings across the water. The gondola is not seen in all of the center patterns; however, the large urn on a pedestal is. See Snyder1997 pp. 123-5 for a number of pattern views, shapes, and colors in this "Canova" pattern. Snyder shows the view seen here at the top left of p. 124 in solid green. See other views in this database as well. LaidackerChinaII1951 p.59 describes this pattern as one of the most sought after light colored subjects to be collected as a set in America, suggesting that this was a major American export pattern for this factory. It was produced in pink, black, blue, brown, green, purple, and combinations of two colors. Additional makers of this pattern include G. Phillips and Goodwins & Harris. An interesting review of the life of Antonio Canova (1757-1822), Italian neoclassical sculptor after whom this pattern was named, can be found on p. 79 in Williams2008"
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2001.20 |
