Worcester Porcelain
Worcester Porcelain
The Regal Worcester factory was founded in 1751 and is really the only porcelain factory established in the mid-18th century which was in continuous creation until the present day. The founders were Dr John Wall, a doctor of medicine and William Davies, an apothecary. They established with soft-past porcelain functional wares, especially tea services. Their soft-paste porcelain had a distinctive property that made them famous all over the world – it could withstand hot fluid. This meant that their teapots and cups may have hot tea poured into them without cracking. Early pieces were within the Chinese style, sometimes using blue and white on types copied from English silver.
The first Worcester figurine was made in 1757 – ‘Cupid at Vulcan’s Forge’, and is thought to be modelled by Chelsea modeller John Toulouse. Worcester excels in figurines to this day. During the 1760s and 1770s Worcester porcelain was influenced by Meissen with colours including the really deep azure being introduced. By this time a few of Worcester’s porcelain was being painted in London under their London agent, Thomas Flight, who took over the company with his sons John and Joseph, when Dr John walled died in 1776. They were later accompanied by Martin Barr and the factory went under the name Flight and Barr, and other combinations of the names until 1840.
Throughout the Regency period Royal Worcester porcelain looked lavish and colourful and exhibited some wonderful gilding and painting. During this time Flight and Barr merged with the ‘Chamberlain factory and the ‘Grainger’ factory, who were both initially rivals of Worcester. In 1862 the ‘Worcester Royal Porcelain Co’ was established and wares were to become known as ‘Royal Worcester’.
In the mid 19th century ‘Parian’ was introduced and made a huge difference to their production. Parian is a durable material by way of a high feldspar information and is best for detailed modelling. This meant that figures could be produced with the finest of detail and quality. The material is furthermore best for gilding and enamelling, which meant that pieces can be produced with lavish detail.
Worcester proceeded to maintain with the fashionable trends during the Victorian period. They excelled in ‘pierced’ porcelain and reproduced ivory images in porcelain. Figurines were popular at this time and most the work was being done by modellers including Charles Toft and James Hadley.
Throughout the 20th century Worcester had fierce competition from Royal Doulton and as figurines were hugely popular Worcester and Doulton fought for market share. Worcester produced a range of animals, starting through a tortoise in 1910. It was modelled by George Evans and was a huge accomplishment. This encouraged Worcester to make further animals which included birds, seafood, a rabbit along with a mouse, which were being produced until the 1950s.
Throughout the early 20th century Worcester artists specialised in hand painting. This was put onto vases, urns, and traditional tea and coffee services as well as are definitely collectable. The pieces by the Stinton family and Harry Davies are a few of England’s best porcelain of all of the time and Highland cattle and fruit are very famous topics.
During the 1st World War Worcester produced figurines like those made in Germany in previous years. They also tried a cheaper manufacturing of figurines in a high-fired earthenware instead of ‘Parian’ ware, although this was not successful. The business tried to branch out in a brand-new direction by generating items including Toby Jugs and ashtrays, although Worcester didn’t excel at this.
Going back to their roots Worcester had ninety new figurines modelled, to maintain pace with Doulton. New modellers were created from London and the next several years were profitable. The most notable of these new modellers was Freda Doughty, whose contribution to the success of Royal Worcester figurines has been unrivalled since.
Worcester continue to be going strong and their output is varied, including tableware, giftware and the amazing ‘Prestige’ range. Current ranges include ‘Nine lives character cats’ and that is widely available. As with all Royal Worcester, each portion is made by hand and skilfully painted by artists.
Costs are between £15 – £25. A new Noddy set has recently been launched, including favourite characters from the book, Noddy, Big Ears, Mr Plod and Tessie Bear are all in the collection. Each figure is £25, while the whole set can be had for the deal price of £100. Worcester also perform a giftware range for kids, consisting of bowls, mugs and plates along with present sets in a tin, with costs beginning from £10.
A popular vary from Worcester is the Cicely Mary Barker flower fairy range, the famous images from Barker have been put onto plates and dishes and there are furthermore twelve wall plates to gather, each featuring a different flower fairy from Cicely Mary Barker’s collection.
Worcester try to maintain ahead of the competition by constantly introducing modern lines. Currently a Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen design range of mugs is available and Jamie Oliver tableware is additionally very popular. This does not indicate that Royal Worcester ignore the traditional. Currently, within the Prestige range, Clive Christian is behind a lavish and advanced service. This is described as being ‘rendered in raised gold on a lotion ground with rich burnished gold, accentuating the whiteness of the fine bone china’.
The business nevertheless create the old pattern, like the fruit and highland cattle. These works are inspired by John and Harry Stinton and they are produced in enamels inside the same manner they were 100 years ago. Royal Worcester have been during the forefront of the ceramics business for over 250 years and nevertheless make innovative and original pieces that entice buyers of tableware, giftware and collectors’ markets.
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