Clothing
+ Fashion
Jewelry +
Watches
Home +
Furniture
 Pottery 
+ Glass
Art +
 Photos 
Paper +
  Books  
Music +
Movies
Toys +
Games
Sports +
Outdoors
Ads +
  Signs  
Eras +
Themes

The geography of Staffordshire in central England conspired to make it a center for slipware and other types of lead-glazed earthenware. Thick layers of clay lay only a few feet below the surface. In fact, there was so much of the stuff within easy reach that 18th-century potters routinely dug clay right out of the roads, thus giving us the origins of the phrase “pot hole.”

Coal to fire the area’s signature bottle kilns was also plentiful in the northern part of ...

It’s thought that the two minerals first came together in 1467, 200 years before John Astbury introduced his red earthenware to the world, and almost 300 years before "Potter to Her Majesty" Josiah Wedgwood made his cream-colored, lead-glazed Queen’s Ware for Queen Charlotte.

The antique Staffordshire ceramics that we're most familiar with today are from these later periods, when as many as 4,000 bottle kilns spewed black smoke into the skies in the service of fine dinnerware and fanciful figurines.

One of the leading potters of the 18th century was Thomas Whieldon, who made everything from black tea and coffee pots to knife hafts for Sheffield cutlers to plates with richly ornamented edges. Whieldon had many apprentices (Josiah Spode and Ralph Wood are two of the most important) and he was a business partner for about five years with Josiah Wedgwood, who learned a lot from Whieldon before establishing his own firm in 1759.

Though rightly famous for his creamware, which was lightweight and seemed to shine thanks to its luminous glaze, Wedgwood also developed a line of unglazed black stoneware known as the basaltes. Some sported precise basketweave reliefs on their exteriors — these are highly sought by collectors. Others were decorated with terracotta figures — these Wedgwood-dubbed Etruscan Ware.

Charlotte was not the only monarch to choose Wedgwood. In 1770, Catherine the Great of Russia ordered a dinner-and-dessert set for 24 called the Husk Service and in 1774 he delivered to her a 954-piece dinner set known as the Frog Service. Other achievements by Wedgwood include the introduction of Jasperware (stoneware colored by metal oxides) and pearlware (a bluish version of his creamware).

By the end of the 18th century, Staffordshire potteries were producing Anglo-American wares for the newly independent colonies across the Atlantic. Pitchers were decorated with slogans that celebrated American independence and the young country’s love of liberty.

At the beginning of the 19th century, transfer-printed scenes of everything from Niagara Falls to views of Boston Harbor were produced on monochrome blue platters and plates. Today the 800-some subjects in this series are known as Historical Blue Staffordshire, or simply Old Blue.

Other wares made for the new American market were Gaudy Dutch, whose vivid pink, green, red, and green glazes were aimed at residents of Pennsylvania. And as many as 40 patterns of sponged ware, also called spatterware, came out of Staffordshire potteries to supply Americans with dinnerware, tea sets, and washbowls for the bathroom.

Key terms for Staffordshire Ceramics

Slipware: A technique in which an aqueous clay body is painted, splashed, or used as a dip for a dry clay surface.

Haft: The handle of a knife or sword.

About our sources | Got something to add?

▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Show & Tell - Share Your Stuff!

» See all Staffordshire Show & Tells

Interviews & Articles

The Lure of Collecting Historical China

I have long since become familiar with the query: "How did you start collecting historical Staffordshire china?" I was casually in… [more]

The Return of the Soup Tureen

Once again the tureen, after a long period of rest on the top shelf of the china closet, is making its appearance – not only as a … [more]

A Collection of Masonic China

In any discussion regarding Masonic emblems as a decoration on old china, one immediately thinks of a Liverpool pitcher. So many a… [more]

The American Scene on China

One thing suggests another in antique collecting, as with anything else. The person who buys a piece of antique furniture is apt t… [more]

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 are devoted to… [more]

▼ Expand this section

Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Thepotteries.org

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

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

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]



Clubs & Associations: China and Dinnerware

Top eBay Auctions

Showing 60. See all 104 by  highest bidmost watchedcompleted
Pair Antique Staffordshire Large Glass Eye Pug DogsAntique Staffordshire Stick Spatter Jug, Great Colors! Rare Early 19th C Rainbow Spatterware 15 1/2 In Platter By Alcock - Mint Nr #1Antique Dark Blue Transferware Platter, Village Church Pattern, C 1840Gorgeous White Ironstone Canada Brush Vase Staffordshire PotteryAntique Staffordshire Yellow Ware Game Tureen With LinerVintage Jolly Negro Mechanical Bank, Black Americana, Small Size, Cast IronVintage Cast Iron Jolly Negro Mechanical Bank, Black Americana19c Staffordshire Blue Transferware Covered Punch Pot / Jug, GeneveseAntique Copeland Late Spode Castle Pattern Platter, C 1830C1820 Staffordshire Feather Edge Earthenware Long Eliza Plate, Swag & Shell Antique Staffordshire Figure On Horse, Empress Of France, Great Colors!Antique Staffordshire White Ironstone Butter Tub With LidFine Antique 19thc. Staffordshire Figurine "uncle Tom"Religious Staffordshire - English Staffordshire - Staffordshire Figures - Antique Staffordshire Dog / Spaniel, Rockingham / Treacle Glaze RedwareFine Antique 19thc. Staffordshire Figurine Shepherd W/ SheepSuperb 19th C. Staffordshire Figurine Group Of Three Males Drinking Around TableAntique Blue Transferware Creamware / Pearlware Pickle Dish, Shell ShapeAntique Soft Paste Pottery Pearlware Glaze Kings Rose Pattern PlateSet Of Three Medium Size Staffordshire Poodle Cut Dogs Early 1900's Antique Staffordshire Porcelain Begging Pug Dog FigurePair Vintage Staffordshire Cats, White With Bronze Metallic Lustre Tails & BowsAntique Staffordshire Porcelain Bisque Pug Dog FigureSuperb Pair Of Large 19th C. Staffordshire White & Gilt Decorative Hearth DogsAntique Blue & White Children's Tea Bowl No Handles Set Of 4 With Beehive DesignAntique 19th Century Pennsylvania Folk Art Redware Flower Pot With SaucerEarly Pearlware Blue Transferware Serving Dish, Nankeen PatternPair Of English Old Staffordshire Porcelain Greyhound Dog FigurinesAntique Transferware Asiatic Pheasant Footed Cheese Stand, Cake DishRare Asiatic Pheasant Small Serving Bowl B M & TFine Pr.antique 19thc. Staffordshire Figurines Boy & Girl On GoatsDark Blue American Clews Peace Plenty Historical Plate Stffordshire Pottery MintAntique Staffordshire Miniature Red & White Dog / SpanielVery Rare Antique Staffordshire Pearlware Floral Deco. Leeds Coffee Pot Ca. 1800Fine 19thc Staffordshire Figurine Of Shepherdess With SheepPair Of Large Antique Staffordshire Spaniels Dogs C. 1890Superb Large 19th C. Staffordshire Brown Decorative Hearth DogFine Antique 19thc. Staffordshire Figurine Man Eating Grapes*no Reserve* Antique Sunderland Lustre Motto Plaque Prepare To Meet Thy God Lot Of 4 Ca 1830s Staffordshire Blue Transferware Handleless Cups & Saucers Exc19c Gaudy Dutch Flow Blue Carnation Cup & Saucer19c Staffordshire Pearlware Colorful Colonial Punch Bowl C1840Fine Antique 19thc. Staffordshire Figurine Lady & AnchorStaffrdshire Jackfield Dogs - Staffordshire Spaniels - Jackfield SpanielsAntique Staffordshire Miniature Red & White Dog / SpanielVintage Antique Large 10 Inch Staffordshire Spaniel Dog Toby Pitcher Jug EnglandPodmore Walker & Co Mulberry Ironstone Corean Pattern Potato Bowl & PlatterVintage Antique Staffordshire Spaniel Pitcher Toby Jug England Large 10 Inch Antique Staffordshire Gentleman W/ Dog Under Foot Spill Vase.Antique Staffordshire Figural Parrot & Lamb Hand Painted Pen HolderSuperb 19th C. Staffordshire Black & White Hearth Dog With Wonderful DecorSuperb 19thc Early Staffordshire Black & White Hearth Dog 1830s Staffordshire Enoch Wood Red Transferware Fountain Platter Serving Tray19c Staffordshire Riley's Semi China Flow Blue Plate 9" C18405 Alcock Staffordshire Flow Blue Touraine Salad Plates 8" C188519c Gaudy Dutch Flow Blue Single Rose Cup & Saucer Early 19th C Rooster Decorated Spatterware Sugar Bowl Nr #3Staffordshire Furnivals Ltd. Pearlware Punch Bowl 1850Crown Staffordshire Hunting Scene Dinner Plate Fine Bone China
»» Get our weekly Staffordshire Ceramics email



Right now on eBay