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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.

I’m the curator of the ceramics bit of the Bowes Museum. It’s a big museum with 30 galleries of which thr… [more]

I started as a collector and I’m a web designer, so I thought I would design a website from my passion. I t… [more]

Jan-Erik Nilsson's extensive reference on antique Chinese porcelain. Jam-packed with information (e.g. on porcelain… [read review or visit site]

Mark Gonzalez's fantastic American Dinnerware site features a comprehensive index of potteries along the upper Ohio… [read review or visit site]

Dedicated to Watt Pottery collectors everywhere, this site features an extensive database on Watt creations includi… [read review or visit site]

The museum with the world's largest collection of Worcester porcelain is a good starting point for beginning collec… [read review or visit site]

Don't miss this collaborative reference guide to china and dinnerware used in public, commercial venues. The site c… [read review or visit site]

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]

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]

A great reference on ceramics from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Learn about different ceramics techniques and st… [read review or visit site]

This website boasts hundreds of beautiful ceramics items with detailed descriptions. Start browsing here, and keep … [read review or visit site]

This microsite from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts features objects from the Institute’s permanent collection,… [read review or visit site]
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She learned it is an ironstone flow blue platter from the late 1800s, named because the blue ink of the pattern flowed onto the platter instead of leaving a...Read more
(2) 1799 Massachusetts papers with articles by Paul Revere and John Adams; 3 toy horses; over 100 pieces of Flow Blue sold in lots; Gutmann prints;...Read more
The auction items included Flow Blue china, carnival glass, stoneware, rare fruit jars, ironware, ironstone, primitives, glass, china, Victorian furniture,...Read more
Walls may also be adorned by antique leaded- and/or stained-glass windows and rows of plates — antique Flow Blue are favorites...Read more
Over 30 dealers will bring everything from primitive furniture to Victorian accessories,as well as Depression glass, pottery, flow blue, sterling and silver...Read more
Delft jug; Asian ceramics; Imari chargers; flow blue items; English scenic china; Baccarat glass; set of Wedgwood china; set of Lenox Christmas china;...Read more
Limoges fish set; Noritake; Ovingtons; Asian large Flow Blue vase; stone Buddah; bronze shell vase; miniature portrait; pr Old Paris lamps sgd C Knight;...Read more
Austrian porcelains; Royal Doulton figurines; Flow Blue and Mulberry; Imari; Bohemian glass; English scenic transferware; salt glazed; stoneware;...Read more