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About Flow Blue China
Flow blue was a type of transfer pottery produced by Staffordshire, England, potters beginning in about 1820. Sold mostly in the U.S. market, flow blue was similar to traditional blue-and-white pottery, except that the blue color was deliberately blurred, an effect achieved by adding a cup of lime or ammonia to the kiln during glazing.
English manufacturers of antique flow blue included Wedgwood, Johnson Brothers, Minton, Royal Doulton, and Swansea. Patterns ranged from Blue Danube to Idris to the classic Willow. As for the objects themselves, they included toilet wares and teapots, plates and platters, vases and garden seats, and even dog bowls...
One interesting subset of flow blue is the blue-marble effect. All-over patterns such as Lazuli lent itself to this look: When given the flow-blue treatment, the pattern would blur so that from afar the object resembled a piece of carved, blue-veined marble.
By World War I, U.S. potteries were producing most of the flow blue for the domestic market, causing English potters to exit the business, which had never been popular in the U.K. to begin with. The desirability of the ware waned in both countries between the wars, but interest picked up again in the U.S. in the 1960s. Because large amounts of 19th-century flow blue had been shipped to, or manufactured in, the U.S., flow blue remains fairly reasonable to collect.
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Upcoming Events
- 66th Scripps Ceramic Annual
Jan 23–Apr 4. Claremont, CA. - White Ironstone China Association 16th National Convention
Apr 28–May 2. Dover, DE. - Noritake Collectors Society 2010 Convention
May 22–24. Grand Rapids, MI.
See all 21 China and Dinnerware events
Interviews & Articles
An Interview With Howard Coutts, Ceramics Curator Of The Bowes Museum
I’m the curator of the ceramics bit of the Bowes Museum. It’s a big museum with 30 galleries of which three or four… [more]
An Interview With Fiesta Dinnerware Collector Heidi Kellner
I started as a collector and I’m a web designer, so I thought I would design a website from my passion. I threw it … [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Gotheborg.com
Jan-Erik Nilsson's extensive reference on antique Chinese porcelain. Jam-packed with information (e.g. on porcelain… [read review or visit site]
Ohio River Pottery
Mark Gonzalez's fantastic American Dinnerware site features a comprehensive index of potteries along the upper Ohio… [read review or visit site]
Watt Pottery On Line
Dedicated to Watt Pottery collectors everywhere, this site features an extensive database on Watt creations includi… [read review or visit site]
Worcester Porcelain Museum
The museum with the world's largest collection of Worcester porcelain is a good starting point for beginning collec… [read review or visit site]
The Restaurant Ware Collectors Network
Don't miss this collaborative reference guide to china and dinnerware used in public, commercial venues. The site c… [read review or visit site]
Thepotteries.org
Steve Birks' super deep site is a tribute to a bygone era, chronicling how a pottery center of excellence (they did… [read review or visit site]
The Bowes Museum: Ceramics
This gallery showcases 2,130 of the 5,000 items in the museum's ceramics collection dating from 1500-1900. Include… [read review or visit site]
Ceramics at The V&A
A great reference on ceramics from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Learn about different ceramics techniques and st… [read review or visit site]
Gardiner Museum
This website boasts hundreds of beautiful ceramics items with detailed descriptions. Start browsing here, and keep … [read review or visit site]
The Art of Asia
This microsite from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts features objects from the Institute’s permanent collection,… [read review or visit site]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
Clubs & Associations: China and Dinnerware
- Flow Blue International Collectors Club
- Red Wing Collectors Society
- International Association of R.S. Prussia Collectors
- Homer Laughlin China Collectors Association
- Blue and White Pottery Club
- Transferware Collectors Club
Discussion Forums: China and Dinnerware
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Recent News: Flow Blue
Source: Google News
The outstanding lifetime collection of Dale Gabel will be sold Apr. 9-10 in St ...
PRLog.Org (press release), March 19th
Featured will be Daum Nancy, primitives, art glass, RS Prussia, lithographs, marbles, lamps, Royal Bayreuth, Flow Blue, Wave Crest, advertising items and...Read more
Morristown Antiques Show Lights Up A Snowy Weekend
Antiques and Arts Weekly, March 16thIn a corner cupboard, Jim was showing off (behind a locked 12-pane windowed door) some early and pristine pieces of Flow Blue in the cashmere pattern,...Read more
Ron Rhoads Auctioneer
Antiques and the Arts Online, March 13th
many other decorative pieces, Hobart Nichols New Hope School Frame, Art Pottery, Several Flow Blue Dishes, Rainbow Spatter Cups and Saucers,...Read more
William A. Smith, Inc.
Antiques and the Arts Online, March 12th
Accessories: Federal mirror with reverse painted tablet; Flow Blue Doulton planter; grained dome box; cylinder roll player; Telephone and Telegraph machine;...Read more
A passion for plates
Palo Alto Online, March 10thAn English-literature major, with a minor in history, Siddall was always attracted to blue-and-white ceramics, beginning with her grandmother's Flow Blue...Read more
Coyle's Auction Gallery
Antiques and the Arts Online, March 8th
bronze art metal craft desk set, porcelain plaque signed Wagner, nice 41 pc lot flow blue, sm porcelain plaque of mother and child, enameled plaque,...Read more
Beautiful glassware shared at library
Daily Times Leader, March 3rdBy Donna Summerall Ben and Shirley Rosenkrans bring the elegance of Flow Blue Iron Stone and pen and ink along with watercolor artwork to the Bryan Public...Read more
ANTIQUE ESTATES AUCTION
Maine Antique Digest, February 26th
7 “Shanghai” flow blue plates, Orient. terra cotta umbrella stand w/raised dragons & a jardinière, Staff. inc. teapot w/ships-child's mug etc.,...Read more
China and Dinnerware
- overview
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