GEORGE JONES MAJOLICA

 

 

English potters have often looked overseas for ideas. In the 1700's inspiration mainly came from Asia (especially China and Japan) and from Europe (particularly Dresden and Sevres.) From about 1760 the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman world began to exert a massive influence on art and architecture. This looking into the past for ideas continued for most of the 1800's. William Morris, for example, was inspired by medieval arts and crafts. Other Victorian designers looked to different countries in different periods.

 

At the Great Exhibition in 1851 Minton's exhibited pottery in the style of a French potter of the 1500's – Bernard Palissy. Palissy had made striking pieces of tin-glazed earthenware, with designs of animals and plants. Well before Palissy's time the making of tin-glazed earthenware had spread through Europe from the Islamic world. Italian products are known as maiolica, in France faience, in Holland and Britain it is called Delft. At first Minton's called their version of this pottery Palissy Ware. However, after a few years, the word majolica (with a "j") came to be applied to it.

 

Ten years later a Minton employee, George Jones, set up his own pottery very close to Minton's. He produced a very distinctive majolica, whose designs equalled or surpassed some of their Minton equivalents. Many were quintessentially English, strawberries being a favourite motive. His table wares included fish, animals and plants in distinctive colours. Two fine examples were included in Horner's Acle auction on 26th March. One was a classic game pie dish whose cover is in the form of a fox with a goose. The dish itself is moulded with net swags and hanging game. The other piece was a fish dish, the cover of which has a salmon on ferns and leaves, while the base is moulded as a wicker basket. Both have the characteristic George Jones purple/pink interior, and are marked on the mottled, tortoiseshell bases.

 

In the same sale was an interesting selection of collectable pieces. One was a rare wooden propeller from an experimental bi-plane. There were also items of local interest, including two pair cased silver watches by the Loddon maker, Robert King, and watercolours by Batchelder.

 

The auction was held at Acle Gallery on Saturday March 26th