Lives and Legacies

Tag: reproduction ceramics

  • Making 18th Century Glass & Ceramic Reproductions: An Update

    The replica Washington house at George Washington’s Ferry Farm has been open for tours for one year now but we still continue to add reproduction furniture and objects to the rooms inside. Since the house is a replica built using archaeology, historic research, and expert knowledge, we are using the same three foundations to create replica objects to display inside the house so that visitors may have a hands-on interactive experience.  Guests may sit on chairs, lie on the beds, pick up tumblers, hold tea pots and much more! Here in the archaeology lab at Ferry Farm, we’re always hard at work making new reproduction ceramic and glass items for the Washington house, as seen in this video.  Let’s take a look at some of our newest additions!

    This adorable little teapot is a reproduction of a ware type called Littler’s Blue which had a very short run between 1750 and 1765.  These pots were often gilded with gold so we found a tiny blue teapot and made it fabulous.

    We needed a decanter for the Washington house and while the shape of this one wasn’t perfect we were able to engrave it with a tulip motif based on artifacts recovered archaeologically at Ferry Farm. And because we caught gilding fever one of our very talented interns embellished it further to match eighteenth century examples. We also whittled down the ridiculous cork, although we’re searching for a more appropriate glass one.

    We’ve excavated a lot of Chinese porcelain with what is called at ‘Imari’ palette, which is defined by under the glaze blue hand-painting, over-the-glaze red painting, and gilding.  Reproduction Imari is hard to find so we turned this plain white teapot into an Imari.  Our inspiration was the 18th century teapot below featuring cute little silkie chickens!

    Our staff then set out to turn this colonial revival basin into a tin-glazed serving bowl.  Our excavations have turned up quite a bit of hand-painted polychrome tin-glaze so it was a must have for the new house.  We decided to copy the eighteenth century bowl below. A little bit of paint and presto!  Bye basin and hello serving bowl!  Can you spot the tiny bee hidden among the flowers?

    We’ve been very fortunate to have a few extremely artistic interns, one of whom decorated this milk glass tumbler with an eighteenth century design from the vase below.  Some artistic license was taken and we decided to leave out the odd crab/lobster/crayfish….thing at the feet of the lady.  We think she turned out pretty nicely and since we’ve excavated a lot of painted milk glass at Ferry Farm she is a good fit for the house!

    If you’d like to see any of these in person, please come take a tour of the Washington house replica at Ferry Farm!  Where, unlike most museums, touching the (reproduction) objects is highly encouraged!

    Mara Kaktins, Archaeologist
    Archaeology Lab Supervisor

  • Artifact, Object, Repro: Part 3 – Imari & Famille Rose Porcelain

    Furnishings posts logo finalToday, we revisit the Chinese Export Porcelain (CEP) reproduction ceramics now displayed or to be displayed in the future in the Washington house replica at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.  We’re examining the artifacts recovered at Ferry Farm, the complete 18th century objects those artifacts represent, and the reproduction pieces inspired by these artifact sherds as well as by the complete originals.  This is the final post in this three week series and in it we’ll take a look at two special styles of CEP known as imari and famille rose.

    Imari artifact excavated at Ferry Farm.
    Imari artifact excavated at Ferry Farm.
    Famille rose artifact excavated at Ferry Farm.
    Famille rose artifact excavated at Ferry Farm.

    These sherds are CEP like the blue and white porcelains we wrote about in part 1 but they are in different colorways, namely “imari” (blue, red, orange and occasionally some gilt accents) and “famille rose” (pink, orange and some green).  Sometimes, the exterior of teacups, bowls and saucers were painted an opaque brown, which is a style known as “Batavian.”  Our fragments suggest some Batavian pieces were in use in the Washington house, as well as some that show gilding. 

    Imari bowl in the Historic Kenmore collection.
    Imari bowl in the Historic Kenmore collection.
    Famille rose plate. Credit: Guest & Grey Antiques
    Famille rose plate. Credit: Guest & Grey Antiques

    Buildings, people and fish were all popular motifs in imari and famille rose palettes.  Famille rose was one of the earliest of the CEP decorative styles, dating as early as the 1720s.  If a colonial American family managed to obtain a piece of famille rose CEP, it would be a treasured possession for generations.

    Imari reproduction plate in the Washington house.
    Imari reproduction plate in the Washington house.
    Famille rose reproduction plate in the Washington house.
    Famille rose reproduction plate in the Washington house.

    Again, we have located individual pieces in period-correct shapes, that are decorated in colors and motifs that belong to the imari and famille rose palettes.  While interest in all things Asian may have reached its height in 18th century Europe, the style had several resurgences over the ensuing years, including in the early 20th century, which helped us greatly in our hunt for suitable reproductions of CEP.  During that time, Japanese potters began to churn out massive quantities of porcelain decorated in what became known as the “geisha girl” style, using green, orange and pink enamels.  The decorations depicted geishas in gardens near buildings.  While geishas may be a Japanese cultural theme, the colors, the delicate ceramic, and the inclusion of buildings and flowers all reference Chinese famille rose.

    These pieces were intended for the Western market, and were often found in American dime stores, or given away as premiums in packages of tea.  They were produced from the 1890s, through World War II and even during the Allied occupation of Japan.  As a result, they’ve become highly collectable and we were able to find several different forms to add to our collection of stand-ins for famille rose tea wares.

    Meghan Budinger
    Aldrich Director of Curatorial Operations

  • Artifact, Object, Repro: Part 2 – White Salt-Glaze and Westerwald Stonewares

    Furnishings posts logo finalToday, we continue our look at the different ceramics displayed or soon to be displayed in the Washington house at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.  We’re examining the artifacts recovered at Ferry Farm, the complete 18th century objects those artifacts represent, and the reproduction pieces inspired by these artifact sherds as well as by the complete originals.  Last week, we learned about the blue and white Chinese Export Porcelain reproductions gracing the house.  This week, in the second post of this series, will investigate the white salt-glaze stoneware and the Westerwald stoneware.

    These fragments are from white salt-glazed (WSG) stoneware dinner plate rims, and show two different styles of molded decoration.  The pattern in the above photo on the left was known as “dot/diaper/basket” and the pattern in the above photo on the right was known as “royal rim.”

     

    Molded WSG came into existence in the 1740s, so the Washington family was right on trend.  A few decades later, creamware would replace it as popular dinnerware, but the rim patterns found on WSG were often very similar to those used on later creamware.

    During the height of the Colonial Revival decorating style in mid-20th century America, the patterns used on WSG and creamware back in the 18th century had a major resurgence.  Several American potteries started producing white stoneware table wares, similar to WSG, with glossy surfaces similar to creamware, using molded rim decorations that were almost exactly like their 18th century predecessors.  The Canonsburg Pottery outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, produced dot/diaper/basket plates under the pattern name of American Traditional from the early 20th century through the company’s closure in 1978.  The Red Cliff Company pottery in Chicago produced plates with a rim pattern taken from the “royal” rim style on 18th century creamware (which was similar to an earlier WSG rim) under the pattern name Heirloom from the 1950s until their closure in 1977.  Similarly, Sears sold an almost identical plate under the pattern name American Federalist until the mid-1980s.  Luckily for us, all of these 20th century patterns are collectible and we found many of them in stores and on-line.

    C1 - Westerwald Artifact

    The above fragment came from either a mug or a jug made from grey stoneware decorated with cobalt blue glaze, known as Westerwald.  The Washington family owned quite a bit of Westerwald ceramic, as did the Lewis family at Kenmore.

    C2 - Westerwald Mug

    Westerwald pottery originated in 17th century Germany, and it is still produced there today.  It was a popular style for traditional German steins, often with pewter lids attached.  In the 18th century, it was often made for export to England and was therefore decorated with the “GR” emblem, referencing Georgius Rex (King George).

    C2 - Westerwald Repro

    During one of our treks through a thrift store, we came across this lidded Westerwald mug, and we were amazed at how similar to our 18th century fragments it was.  So amazed, in fact, that we questioned whether or not it might actually be an antique piece (that somehow remained in pristine condition)! A look at the bottom revealed a very 20th century maker’s mark, however, but it also spurred a desire to find out more about the company that was producing such excellent Westerwald. The mark indicated that the Markpiece was “Original Gerzit,” and some internet research revealed that the Gerzit Company in Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany, was originally the pottery founded by Simon Peter Gerz in 1857.  The family owned and continued to operate the pottery through World War II, at which time they changed the name to Gerzit.  By German law established in 1887, Westerwald produced for export has to be marked Made in Germany.  Westerwald produced for sale in Germany doesn’t have to carry a mark at all.  Any Westerwald produced after World War II for export has to specify whether it was made in East or West Germany.  Putting all of that together, and comparing it to the mark on our newly acquired mug, shows us that it was produced sometime between 1949 (when the company name changed) and 1997 (when the company closed) and was originally intended for sale within Germany.  How it ended up in a thrift store in Virginia is anyone’s guess, but it was a very lucky find for us!

    In part 3, we’ll revisit Chinese Export Porcelains to see imari and famille rose artifacts, originals, and reproductions that will go in the Washington house.

    Meghan Budinger
    Aldrich Director of Curatorial Operations

  • Artifact, Object, Repro: Part 1 – Blue & White Chinese Export Porcelain

    Furnishings posts logo finalAs you may recall from past posts (here and here) about our hunt for reproduction ceramics and glassware to use in the Washington house at George Washington’s Ferry Farm, and taking a page from the Colonial Revival playbook, our sources have been varied and surprising – junk shops, flea markets, TV show props liquidation sales, attics of friends and relatives.  You name it, we’ve probably been there! Now it’s time to take a look at what we’ve found, and show you how we decided what passed muster to be placed in the Washington house.  In this series of posts, we’ll examine different ceramics and take a look at the artifact recovered at Ferry Farm, the complete 18th century object those artifacts represent, and the reproduction pieces inspired by the artifacts and originals.  This first post will examine blue and white Chinese Export Porcelain (CEP).

    Blue and White Artifact
    Blue and white Chinese Export Porcelain artifact excavated at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.

    The above tiny archaeological fragment was found on the Washington house site and identified by our archaeologists as being from fine, white porcelain tea wares, decorated in applied blue motifs.  Such tea wares are known as blue and white Chinese Export Porcelain (CEP) and were produced throughout the 18th century.

    This 18th century blue and white teapot in the collection at Historic Kenmore is an excellent example of an English attempt to create porcelain like CEP.

    Original porcelain made in China, where the technique was created and perfected, was highly coveted during the 1700s, but it wasn’t easy to come by and was often quite expensive.  Eventually, makers in England and other European countries tried producing this porcelain.  They were never quite able to simulate the very thin, nearly translucent white body, but they came close in replicating the decoration.  Colonists in Virginia, like the Washingtons, had an even tougher time coming across true CEP, so their collections of “porcelain” tea wares were often a mix of true porcelain and the thicker European variety.  The above teapot from the Kenmore collection is an example of an 18th century English attempt at creating porcelain like CEP.  While the ceramic body is sturdier than true Chinese porcelain, the blue decoration is very similar to CEP.

    Blue and White Repro
    20th century blue and white Chinese Export Porcelain reproduction teapot displayed inside the Washington house replica at Ferry Farm.
    Blue and White Repro teawares
    20th century blue and white CEP teaware reproductions in the Washington house.

    Above are some of the blue and white ceramics that we found to represent the Washington’s original blue and white CEP tea wares.  The difficulty in finding true porcelain continues even today! These pieces were selected because they all have blue decoration that is very similar to the typical motifs used in the Washington period, and their shapes and sizes correspond to what was available in the time period too.  In other words, from 5 steps away, they look just like period examples.  They were all produced in the 20th century, however, and represent manufactories in Germany and England.  Piecing together a tea service from multiple sources allowed us to accomplish another hallmark of 18th century tea wares: Nothing matches! Discerning buyers in the Washington’s time might choose a particular colorway that they liked and find individual pieces exhibiting those colors, but the idea of buying a complete tea set in one pattern was not a possibility until much later in the 19th century.

    In the part 2, we’ll examine white salt-glazed stoneware artifacts, originals, and reproductions that will go in the Washington house.

    Meghan Budinger
    Aldrich Director of Curatorial Operations