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| Cabbage pattern 2061 V & A collections |
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| Stone China backstamp & pattern number 2061 c1814 |
In the late 1920s in the United States there was a growing interest in 'Oriental Lowestoft' - the name mistakenly given to China Trade Porcelain or Chinese Export Porcelain. The Spode company expanded their range of New Stone (successor to Stone China and later still referred to as Fine Stone) to include tea and coffee ware modelled after the popular Chinese shapes. Spode called this shape Lowestoft (see my L page). A large selection of antique Spode patterns were offered on Lowestoft shape as well as many patterns copied from the 18th century Chinese design which had been made specifically for the American market.
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| New Stone backstamp 1822-1833 |
In 1937 another version with extra tracing in gold on the branches and the leaf patches was recorded as pattern number Y4879. In 1948, after the Second World War (1939-1945), Cabbage pattern was again revived, particularly for the United States speciality shops like Tiffany in New York and V. C. Morris in San Francisco. The Morris shop was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who chose a service of Cabbage for use in his own home. This latest version was pattern number W50 and had yellow leaf patches instead of gold ones. All versions had a buff-coloured edge.
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| New Stone backstamp 1920-1960 |
A selection of the early 19th century Spode pattern 2061 is in the collection of the Spode museum. For for more information on Stone China please see pages 132-135 Spode & Copeland Marks & Other Relevant Intelligence by Robert Copeland detailed on my booklist.
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| Fine Stone backstamp 1960-1969 |
Caramanian
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| Caramanian pattern displayed on an antique dresser at Spode 2004 |
The centre designs were taken from Volume II of a three-part work entitled 'Views in Egypt, Palestine and the Ottoman Empire' published in 1803. Volume I covering Egypt and Volume III, Palestine, were not copied.
Volume II is given the wonderfully long subtitle:
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| Plate, Caramanian pattern featuring City of Corinth |
'Views in the Ottoman Empire chiefly in Caramania, a part of Asia Minor hitherto unexplored, with some curious selections from the Islands of Rhodes and Cyprus and the celebrated Cities of Corinth, Carthage and Tripoli, from the original drawings in the possession of Sir R. Ainslie, taken during his embassy to Constantinople by Luigi Mayer'.
Popular with those who had taken the Grand Tour, or perhaps wished they had, the pattern was a multi-scene design meaning that each different shaped piece in the range depicted a different scene. It was also produced on its own, new dinnerware shape which included oval shapes.
Full details of the scenes used can be found in the book 'Spode Printed Ware' by Drakard & Holdway which is detailed in full on my booklist page. Examples of pieces can be seen along with source prints on Spode Exhibition Online. The border designs were taken from 'Oriental Fields Sports' by Williamson and Howitt 1807 - click here for more.
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| Square dish Caramanian pattern featuring Sarcophagi at Cacamo |
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| Large dishes with removable drainers (left & middle); roast meat dish or 'gravy' dish (right) |
Also see my blog Spode and Rhinoceroses.
Cardew, Michael (1901-1983)
Much to many people's surprise the famous studio potter, Michael Cardew, worked at/with Spode.
Intrigued?
Click these links to find out more: Spode and Michael Cardew and Spode and 101 Ceramic Highlights
Cats
Click Spode and Cats for my blog with much more information about cats.
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| Plate, Copeland & Garrett, Caramanian pattern featuring Ancient Granary at Cacamo 1833-1847 |
Cardew, Michael (1901-1983)
Much to many people's surprise the famous studio potter, Michael Cardew, worked at/with Spode.
Intrigued?
Click these links to find out more: Spode and Michael Cardew and Spode and 101 Ceramic Highlights
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| Cardew at Spode, 1938 |
Cats
Click Spode and Cats for my blog with much more information about cats.
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| Mr Duesbury's Cat No.4 by Spode c2004 |
Cecil Beaton
See Beaton.
Charles Dickens
See Dickens.
Cheese Dishes
See Beaton.
Charles Dickens
See Dickens.
Cheese Dishes
Click here for the link to my Spode and Cheese blog.
Chinese Rose
Chinese Rose pattern was produced in a variety of versions with various pattern numbers. It was one of the most popular of Spode's colourful patterns on earthenware in the 20th century. The central design of Chinese Rose was copied from an old Spode pattern called India which in turn was derived from a Chinese porcelain pattern K'ang Hsi original of 1700-1722.
In the 19th century the term 'India' was a synonym for the Orient. This 18th century Chinese design was used by the Spode factory initially to meet a market need for replacements of Chinese porcelain in about 1813. The earliest pattern number recorded for the pattern India in the pattern books is 2489 of about 1816. This version was printed in blue and coloured in a range of colours by hand.
In 1911 this India pattern of the early 1800s was used as inspiration for a new pattern for bone china with pattern number R5008 and two years later in 1913 it was registered with the British Patent Office with number 629599 on 13th December.
Another name for the pattern was Rock Garden. Later it was reserved for exclusive sale in the London department store Waring and Gillow and was renamed Waring's Rock.
In 1931, the most well-known version of the design on Spode's Imperial earthenware was devised and the pattern became a best-seller as Chinese Rose with pattern number 2/9253 and produced on earthenware.
At least 11 versions of the pattern are recorded in the Spode archive. For example in 1939 tea and coffee ware was produced on bone china with pattern number Y5926 which had an ivory coloured 'groundlay' to match the colour of the earthenware. This was withdrawn in about 1962.
By the end of the 20th century the decoration had remained the same in design but was no longer printed and hand coloured but applied by lithograph, or 'water-slide', as it was known at Spode.
Spode maintained the technique of printing and hand colouring for as long as they could particularly to fulfil the requirement of the American market. When this pattern did move to lithography, the high quality was maintained following the appearance of pieces produced in the 'old' way even down to reproducing brush strokes. In fact some pieces were still hand coloured.
Occasionally faults occurred during production and due to the high level of quality control at Spode these pieces would not pass onto the next stage of manufacture. Some would be destroyed if the fault was very serious; others could be sold on as substandard or 'seconds'. This accounts for pieces of Chinese Rose pattern in the simple brown colour of the print (which was printed under glaze) with no added hand colouring as well as versions with only some of the colour. The colours were added in stages and fired between each colour.
The pattern was withdrawn in 2007. There is a more about this pattern on my blog Chinese Rose pattern.
Christmas Tree
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| Cheese stand with glass dome, Geranium pattern border with Copeland coat of arms c1830 |
Chinese Rose
Chinese Rose pattern was produced in a variety of versions with various pattern numbers. It was one of the most popular of Spode's colourful patterns on earthenware in the 20th century. The central design of Chinese Rose was copied from an old Spode pattern called India which in turn was derived from a Chinese porcelain pattern K'ang Hsi original of 1700-1722.
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| Catalogue page,1983 |
In 1911 this India pattern of the early 1800s was used as inspiration for a new pattern for bone china with pattern number R5008 and two years later in 1913 it was registered with the British Patent Office with number 629599 on 13th December.
Another name for the pattern was Rock Garden. Later it was reserved for exclusive sale in the London department store Waring and Gillow and was renamed Waring's Rock.
In 1931, the most well-known version of the design on Spode's Imperial earthenware was devised and the pattern became a best-seller as Chinese Rose with pattern number 2/9253 and produced on earthenware.
At least 11 versions of the pattern are recorded in the Spode archive. For example in 1939 tea and coffee ware was produced on bone china with pattern number Y5926 which had an ivory coloured 'groundlay' to match the colour of the earthenware. This was withdrawn in about 1962.
By the end of the 20th century the decoration had remained the same in design but was no longer printed and hand coloured but applied by lithograph, or 'water-slide', as it was known at Spode.
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| Unfinished plate sold as 'seconds' |
The pattern was withdrawn in 2007. There is a more about this pattern on my blog Chinese Rose pattern.
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| 'The Fine English Dinnerware' Spode catalogue, 1959 |
Christmas Tree
Click here to take you to my Spode & Christmas page. The page also has information about other Spode Christmas designs too.
Illustrated here is a plate (detail) of Christmas Tree pattern with a crimson border, pattern S2134, first recorded in 1939.
Cincinnati
In 1955, Spode was commissioned by the Society of Cincinnati to make 200 plates matching a Chinese porcelain service made for George Washington 1784/5. Click here for 'Presidential Porcelain from Washington to Winterthur' - a blog about the Chinese Porcelain service now part of the collection at Winterthur Museum.
The matching was done meticulously from an original piece lent by a member of the society.
Spode produced a new shape (shape number K951) to match the Chinese shape exactly with the double ridge near the edge. They used their Fine Stone body (ie Stone china - go to the S page to find out more).
The 1955 version was to be printed and then hand coloured. The Spode engraving included, as requested, every 'minor imperfection' of the handpainted original or rather every 'idiosyncratic brush stroke' of the 18th century original. This was all interpreted and engraved by the master engraver of the time Frank Boothby. The centre emblem or 'badge' was painted and gilded by hand over a feint line print. In fact Robert Copeland told me that the first sample was 'too perfect' and was re-engraved at the request of the society to resemble the handpainted original even more exactly!
The end result was met with glowing praise and it is no surprise that the firm of Spode was chosen for the project with their renowned high quality product and attention to detail.
The design was allocated pattern number W103 and other items were produced in 1964/5.
Clobbering
Experts disagree about exact the definition of this word but this is the one I was taught many years ago by a reliable source. It is the filling in of 'white space' in a transfer printed design by adding colour and/or pattern by handpainting over the glaze.
Clobbering was done to varying degrees of skill. Spode's of course was usually beautifully done!
It is not simply colouring over a design or colouring in the lines of a transfer print.
Sometimes the word is used in a derogatory sense for cheap earthenware pots, printed and painted, but this is incorrect.
There are other definitions of the word which can be found in Potbank Dictionary.
I also found a definition, not really specifically relevant to The Potteries, in The Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles as follows:
'Clobber - A black paste used by cobblers to fill up and conceal cracks in leather'.
The source of this was given simply as Dickens.
Cobalt
Cobalt blue is very important for the Spode company and the pottery industry in general. This is probably not the place to write about it in detail. It's a big subject!
References are made in recipe books in the Spode archive and also in works and archives relating to other pottery manufacturers.
Robert Copeland wrote about it in detail in his book 'Spode's Willow Pattern & Other designs after the Chinese'. Details of this book can be found on the booklist on my Spode History blog.
Whilst curator at the Spode museum I facilitated access to the archives for serious researchers into the subject of cobalt and this information is also in the Spode archive.
Many different types of blue were used, each with a different recipe.
A search on the web brings you all sorts of information about cobalt and ceramics; for example a thesis 'The cobalt blue pigment used on Islamic ceramics and Chinese blue-and-white porcelains' by Wen Rui, Oxford University. Click HERE>
Copeland, Richard Ronald John (1884-1958)
Known by his middle name of Ronald he was the grandson of William Taylor Copeland. He joined the firm in 1902 and was known on the factory as Mr Ronald. A little more about him can be found by clicking these links Spode, The Art Gallery and Trelissick and Spode and 101 Ceramic Highlights.
He is an interesting man and hopefully I will add more in the future to this entry. In 1915 he married Ida Fenzi (1876-1964) who is also immensely interesting - amongst other things MP for Stoke-on-Trent. Click here to see photographs of her in the National Portrait Gallery. It is through Ida Fenzi that the magnificent house Trelissick, inCcornwall came into the Copeland family. She inherited it from her stepfather Leonard Cunliffe.
Copeland, William Taylor (WTC) (1797-1868)
In 1955, Spode was commissioned by the Society of Cincinnati to make 200 plates matching a Chinese porcelain service made for George Washington 1784/5. Click here for 'Presidential Porcelain from Washington to Winterthur' - a blog about the Chinese Porcelain service now part of the collection at Winterthur Museum.
The matching was done meticulously from an original piece lent by a member of the society.
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| Spode plate, stone china, for the Society of Cincinnati, 1955 |
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| Chinese porcelain dinnerware, c1784 from which the Spode 1955 pieces were copied | . |
The 1955 version was to be printed and then hand coloured. The Spode engraving included, as requested, every 'minor imperfection' of the handpainted original or rather every 'idiosyncratic brush stroke' of the 18th century original. This was all interpreted and engraved by the master engraver of the time Frank Boothby. The centre emblem or 'badge' was painted and gilded by hand over a feint line print. In fact Robert Copeland told me that the first sample was 'too perfect' and was re-engraved at the request of the society to resemble the handpainted original even more exactly!
The end result was met with glowing praise and it is no surprise that the firm of Spode was chosen for the project with their renowned high quality product and attention to detail.
The design was allocated pattern number W103 and other items were produced in 1964/5.
Clobbering
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| Plate, earthenware, printed & handpainted, Group pattern 1589 c1811 |
Experts disagree about exact the definition of this word but this is the one I was taught many years ago by a reliable source. It is the filling in of 'white space' in a transfer printed design by adding colour and/or pattern by handpainting over the glaze.
Clobbering was done to varying degrees of skill. Spode's of course was usually beautifully done!
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| Zoom in/enlarge for detail of flowers & leaves in red & green |
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| Group pattern as a plain blue print, from Lovers of Blue & White |
Sometimes the word is used in a derogatory sense for cheap earthenware pots, printed and painted, but this is incorrect.
There are other definitions of the word which can be found in Potbank Dictionary.
I also found a definition, not really specifically relevant to The Potteries, in The Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles as follows:
'Clobber - A black paste used by cobblers to fill up and conceal cracks in leather'.
The source of this was given simply as Dickens.
Cobalt
Cobalt blue is very important for the Spode company and the pottery industry in general. This is probably not the place to write about it in detail. It's a big subject!
References are made in recipe books in the Spode archive and also in works and archives relating to other pottery manufacturers.
Robert Copeland wrote about it in detail in his book 'Spode's Willow Pattern & Other designs after the Chinese'. Details of this book can be found on the booklist on my Spode History blog.
Whilst curator at the Spode museum I facilitated access to the archives for serious researchers into the subject of cobalt and this information is also in the Spode archive.
Many different types of blue were used, each with a different recipe.
A search on the web brings you all sorts of information about cobalt and ceramics; for example a thesis 'The cobalt blue pigment used on Islamic ceramics and Chinese blue-and-white porcelains' by Wen Rui, Oxford University. Click HERE>
Commonwealth Games
Click here to see more about the item produced for this international event in 1962.
Convolvulus
Also known as Sunflower or Sunflower and Convolvulus. There is a mention in the entry Sheet Patterns from Spode under S.
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| Sunflower (detail) c2000 |
Copeland, Richard Ronald John (1884-1958)
Known by his middle name of Ronald he was the grandson of William Taylor Copeland. He joined the firm in 1902 and was known on the factory as Mr Ronald. A little more about him can be found by clicking these links Spode, The Art Gallery and Trelissick and Spode and 101 Ceramic Highlights.
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| Mr Ronald in his office, running the Spode firm |
Copeland, William Taylor (WTC) (1797-1868)
Click here to see a portrait of WTC from the Spode museum collection. William Taylor Copeland owner for the Spode firm from 1833 to his death in 1868 is portrayed as President of Bethlem Hospital.
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| The Copeland family coat of arms granted in 1819 to WTC's father William |
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| Backstamp, c1900-1910 |
You can also see where he fits into the company history by going to my Who Owned Spode? page. there is also more about him elsewhere on this blog. Click Polar for unexpected connections; and racing connections here.
Cottage
See 'Spode and Incense Burners'.
Cowslip
Cowslip pattern had pattern number S713 first recorded in 1934. The pattern was in production until about 1969. Usually the design was made on a shape called Chelsea Wicker.
The pattern was produced in response to the growing demand from North American retailers for exclusive patterns.
Another design, Buttercup pattern, introduced in earthenware on this shape in 1894, had proved particularly successful but was exclusive to a particular retailer. Cowslip was the nearest to Buttercup in design amongst several new patterns, introduced in the 1930s, for distribution to various retailers by Copeland &Thompson, the North American agent for Spode under the Copeland ownership.
Click Spode and Buttercups and Dandelions for some more about these patterns.
Cracked Ice and Prunus
A pattern with a lovely long name - Cracked Ice and Prunus.
Find out more about it and see some pieces decorated in the design which is known as a sheet pattern (more about them on the S page). Also you can find out other names for it... click HERE>.
For a coffee cup & saucer in an unusual colour way click here>
Cress Dish
Creamware cress dish & stand, handpainted, pattern 687 c1805. The drain holes are made by piercing. They are decorative as well as practical.
Find out a little more about this piercing technique on the P-R page and scroll down to Pierced ware.
Cutie Kitten
Cutie Kitten was one of the first patterns to be made on the then 'modern' Tricorn shape. In order to avoid paying the large royalties due when using popular and established children's characters, such as Peter Rabbit or Noddy, Cutie Kitten pattern was invented from scratch by Spode designer Christopher Boulton.
Cottage
See 'Spode and Incense Burners'.
Cowslip
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| A round tile in Cowslip |
The pattern was produced in response to the growing demand from North American retailers for exclusive patterns.
Another design, Buttercup pattern, introduced in earthenware on this shape in 1894, had proved particularly successful but was exclusive to a particular retailer. Cowslip was the nearest to Buttercup in design amongst several new patterns, introduced in the 1930s, for distribution to various retailers by Copeland &Thompson, the North American agent for Spode under the Copeland ownership.
Click Spode and Buttercups and Dandelions for some more about these patterns.
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| Backstamps for Cowslip with an impressed datemark for 1940 (lower right upside down!) |
Cracked Ice and Prunus
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| Barrel Scent Jar in Cracked Ice and Prunus pattern c1821 |
Find out more about it and see some pieces decorated in the design which is known as a sheet pattern (more about them on the S page). Also you can find out other names for it... click HERE>.
For a coffee cup & saucer in an unusual colour way click here>
Cress Dish
Creamware cress dish & stand, handpainted, pattern 687 c1805. The drain holes are made by piercing. They are decorative as well as practical.
Find out a little more about this piercing technique on the P-R page and scroll down to Pierced ware.
Cutie Kitten
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| Egg cup 1957 |
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| Hot water plate & deep plate, leaflet 1959 |
The early promotional leaflets for this pattern included the following copy in an attempt to give the character a personality:
'Cutie Kitten is a real sports lover, with a twinkle in his eye and a happy smile on his face. Each piece of Cutie Kitten ware, which is decorated by hand under the glaze, shows him enjoying some different pastime; even when surprised for a moment, he will soon be smiling again and on with the game'.
Details in marketing material of the time list the objects and their prices in shillings and pence, pre-decimalisation in the UK. The first range included: teacup and saucer (6/3d), deep plate 7" (5/3d K1054), handled mug (5/9d K1052), eggstand (5/3d, K1093), flat plate, 7" (4/9d K1053), bowl 4" (5/3d K1051). Later additions were a hot water plate (25/- K1157) and a baby plate (6/3 K1158). (The K numbers are the shape numbers).
The pattern was produced on a triangular shape and you can find a bit more out about this pattern in the Tricorn Shape under T.
