{"id":33335,"date":"2024-05-14T10:55:53","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T08:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/775c4746-df90-4251-8d1d-f11bee7c26c8"},"modified":"2024-05-14T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T09:36:40","slug":"discover-the-quirky-and-cheerful-pottery-with-european-roots-beloved-by-americans","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/discover-the-quirky-and-cheerful-pottery-with-european-roots-beloved-by-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover the quirky and cheerful pottery with European roots, beloved by Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under-celebrated and misunderstood, this appealing speckled pottery, which was once mass-produced, is surprisingly elusive today. By Ellie Tennant <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 14 May 2024 at 08:55 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Spatterware is thought to have emerged in Scotland in the early 1830s, initially produced by a few independent potteries. <\/p>

Cheap and cheerful, these simple ceramics, with their distinctive speckled designs, proved so popular that they were quickly copied in vast quantities by larger, more commercial Scottish potteries and, later, by firms across England, Wales and Ireland.<\/p>

Spatterware rose plate, c1830\/1840, \u00a3225, The Antique Dispensary – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The term \u2018spatterware\u2019, which refers to the very specific ways in which the speckled effect is achieved, is often used incorrectly to refer to other types of spongeware, particularly in America. It is also frequently misspelt as \u2018splatterware\u2019, which causes further confusion for unwary collectors.<\/p>

\u2018The raw difference between spatterware and spongeware is very clear,\u2019 explains the refreshingly succinct Robert Young, of Robert Young Antiques. \u2018Spongeware is pottery that has been decorated with a shape or motif that has been cut \u2013 either into a sponge, a potato, a root vegetable or even a cork \u2013 and applied individually, print by print, motif by motif. <\/p>

By contrast, spatterware is freely decorated with flecks of colour and is, in effect, controlled splashing.\u2019So far, so simple. <\/p>

\"Spatterware
Spatter-decorated cup and saucer with red spatter and blue swag decoration, c1870, \u00a3200, Robert Young Antiques – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

However, there is a grey area, warns Robert. \u2018Spatterware can be decorated with a natural sponge that has not been cut into a specific shape but is used to simply apply pigment loosely in a freestyle fashion, resulting in a random, mottled spatter effect. <\/p>

Also, some spatterware with loosely sponged decoration features hand-painted brushwork motifs in the centre or borders with precisely sponged motifs.\u2019<\/p>

The \u2018controlled splashing\u2019 itself, which creates spatterware\u2019s appealing dotty finish, reminiscent of the speckled surface of some birds\u2019 eggs, was achieved using various methods. \u2018Often, pigment was blown from pipes to create tiny little airbrush speckles, or else simply flicked from a brush,\u2019 reveals Robert. <\/p>

\"Spatterware
Rainbow spatterware bowl, c1820\/1840, \u00a3300, The Antique Dispensary – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Stick spatter \u2013 where one stick was hit against another \u2013 was also used. \u2018You\u2019d hold a stick, which had a sponge on the end of it, loaded with pigmented liquid, then you\u2019d hit it with another stick and literally spatter the colour onto the pottery. <\/p>

Depending on how loaded the sponge was, what distance you held the sticks from the pottery and how hard you hit the sticks, you could control how fine the spray was.\u2019<\/p>

The same potteries that were manufacturing everyday, unmarked utilitarian spatterware were simultaneously producing much finer, higher-end pottery that would be sold at higher prices. <\/p>

\"Spatterware
Spatterware pitcher, 1800\u20131830 – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

\u2018Spatterware was not only affordable, it was almost disposable,\u2019 says Robert. \u2018It was usually done on the cheapest pieces. Spatterware mugs, for example, often don\u2019t even have a foot rim \u2013 they were very fundamental forms. Funnily enough, this is one of the reasons people like them now.\u2019<\/p>

Spatterware pieces were inexpensive to buy and they had a hard life. \u2018Part of the rarity is to do with the fact that very few survived,\u2019 explains Robert. \u2018They went into rustic homes and they weren\u2019t precious.\u2019<\/p>

Staffordshire became a hub of spatterware production. \u2018Much of it was done on piece work,\u2019 says Robert. \u2018People would collect blanks, take them home and decorate them, then return them and be paid per piece \u2013 it was a cottage industry.\u2019 <\/p>

\"Spatterware
Sponge-decorated spatterware bowl, \u00a3230, Tim Bowen – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Americans imported a lot of Staffordshire spatterware but also started to make their own. \u2018The people who made it in England and Europe were settling in America so they took it with them,\u2019 says Robert.<\/p>

\u2018I don\u2019t mean they took suitcases filled with pottery, but they took the skills, the designs and theideas with them. That\u2019s how all American folk art developed. It has European roots, then takes on its own characteristics.\u2019<\/p>

In America, the term \u2018spatterware\u2019 is now often used to refer to all types of spongeware as well as spatterware. This confusion is compounded by online listings, as savvy auction houses and dealers tend to include both \u2018spongeware\u2019 and \u2018spatterware\u2019 in their descriptions and keywords to boost their Search Engine Optimisation, in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.<\/p>

\"Spatterware
Spatterware plate, made in Staffordshire c1800\u20131830 – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Pigment-decorated spatterware was mass-produced up until the 1930s when it became more commercialised and transfers were used to create the desired effect, reducing its character and charm. \u2018The pottery firms found a method of doing it very quickly and, regrettably, it lost its individuality,\u2019 says Robert. <\/p>

Although the majority of British-made antique spatterware on the market today was surface decorated with pigment, you can also find slip-glazed earthenware with spatter decoration, though it is rarer. <\/p>

\u2018These pieces were made more on the continent than in Britain. The Americans made more of it, too. You find it in Germany, France and Scandinavia,\u2019 explains Robert. \u2018Earthenware pottery was givena slip coat and then another coloured slip was spattered over the top.\u2019 <\/p>

\"Spatterware
Large antique English spatterware jug, \u00a3120, Heritage Trading at Etsy – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

In contrast to pigment-decorated spatterware, which is usually done using bright colours \u2013 mostly greens, blues and reds \u2013 and looks quite contemporary, slip spatterware is often in dull, muddy colours, and the various effects have unofficial names in the trade, such as \u2018leopard spotted\u2019 or \u2018tiger pattern\u2019. <\/p>

Robert currently has an attractive French spatterware slip-decorated pitcher in stock for \u00a3280, which dates from around 1850. It\u2019s an earthy orange with clay-coloured spatter decoration and has a rustic, simple silhouette.<\/p>

Very early spatterware was all slip decorated. \u2018I suspect it has roots way back \u2013 I\u2019d be very surprised if it wasn\u2019t happening in Greek and Roman times,\u2019 muses Robert. \u2018It\u2019s a fundamental form of decoration for domestic wares and was certainly around before any ceramics were commercialised. <\/p>

\"Casa
Casa Cubista terracotta spatter jug in White, \u00a330, Lusophile – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Pigment colours were very expensive, so early slip spatterware was always made using earthy colours. With these pieces, it\u2019s the object itself that collectors want, whereas with the later pigment-decorated ones it\u2019s the colours and freedom of pattern that appeals.\u2019<\/p>

While a rare object with a lovely combination of colours will still command a high price, demand for antique spatterware has waned somewhat in recent times. \u2018It\u2019s not such a collectors\u2019 market as it wasa few years ago,\u2019 says Robert. <\/p>

It\u2019s surprising really, because these pieces are fuss-free and embody timeless simplicity, suited to both contemporary and traditional interiors. New spatterware designs made by present-day artisans are emerging in trend-setting lifestyle boutiques on both sides of the Atlantic, too.<\/p>

\"Spiral
Spiral spatterware bowl, c1820\/1840, \u00a3500, The Antique Dispensary – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

\u2018Spatterware pieces have a similar freedom of expression that artists like Jackson Pollock explored, although he used lines as well as dots,\u2019 says Robert, with admiration. \u2018It\u2019s such a simple way to decorate pottery with colour, by loosely throwing it on, but the result is always so charming.\u2019<\/p>

The random individuality of each piece is the key to its appeal. \u2018It\u2019s more individual even than spongeware,\u2019 argues Robert. \u2018Spongeware changes plate by plate because the prints get wobblier edges, they get softer and harder depending on whether you have less or more pigment but, with spatterware, each object is different. <\/p>

Even if they\u2019re decorated with the same colours at the same time, you can\u2019t control where the splashes land on the pottery, so they have a unique individuality.\u2019<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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