One of the features of nineteenth century ceramics in New Zealand is how colourful many of them can be. Transferware - that is, ceramic vessels decorated with underglaze transfer prints, designs quite literally transferred onto the unglazed pottery with a sheet of paper - are easily the most common household ceramic type found on nineteenth century sites in Christchurch. While much of the transferware produced in the first half of the nineteenth century was the traditional blue and white, referencing blue and white Chinese porcelain, by the second half of the nineteenth century an array of colours were available in transfer printed vessels. The colourful nature of the ceramics found in New Zealand and its fellow commonwealth colonies of Australia, South Africa and Canada has actually been considered a characteristic of British colonial material culture in the mid-late nineteenth century - particularly because it contrasts with the popularity of undecorated or moulded (but not printed or painted) white ceramics among Anglo-Americans in the latter half of the nineteenth century (Lawrence 2003: 26-27).
This is the kind of material culture analysis and patterning that I find fascinating, because it makes us ask why. In the study cited, the American trends are discussed in terms of things like class preferences and the effects of particular trade choices, while there is an obvious shared British-ness between the colonial Australian, Canadian and South African examples. It makes me think about the patterns in our household ceramics today as much as it makes me want to ask more questions of the Christchurch dataset in terms of pottery preference and socio-cultural contexts. Would you describe your household ceramics today as colourful? How many people still have a ‘good’ dinner set that’s entirely white and undecorated? Why is that the good one and - maybe - the colourful set the everyday one? Is it about the aesthetic of food + dish at the table, or is it about a sense of what constitutes ‘refined’ in table wares? What are we buying into when we purchase these items? Something to think about, that’s for sure.
Here, then, are a selection of transfer wares from the Christchurch collection. Although they’re isolated items in these photographs, it’s worth imagining them within their household setting - carrying food, at a table with decorated table cloths, particular wallpaper, a certain type of furnishing. As a result of my own aesthetic choices in presenting this blog, these examples do veer more towards complete artefacts from the 1850s-1870s period.
This gorgeous pattern is called British Birds and is an example of the classic blue and white transferware most commonly found in the nineteenth century. The shade of blue varied across different transfer prints - sometimes it’s dark enough to be called navy, while other prints are more of a soft sky blue in colour. This saucer was made by Samuel Alcock and Co. and dates to c. 1855-1959. Image: J. Garland.
Green was a popular choice for transfer prints, often found in association with floral/foliage prints and geometric style motifs, including Greek key borders. The maker of this saucer is unknown, as is the pattern name, but it likely dates to the 1850-1870s period. Image: J. Garland.
Brown might seem like an odd aesthetic choice for household table wares, but while not as common as the blues and green, it turns up more than you might think. This pattern is the Dresden pattern (one of several with this name) and the platter was made by Ralph Malkin between 1863 and 1881. Image: J. Garland.
This is a colour referred to as ‘mulberry’ by archaeologists and collectors, a sort of reddish purple or purple-ish maroon. Mulberry was a popular colour in the mid-nineteenth century (c. 1840s and 1850s), although it was produced throughout (Samford 1997). This is the Mycene pattern, but the maker is unknown. It was found in an 1860s-1870s context. Image: J. Garland.
Green again! This matching cup and saucer are decorated with the Napier pattern and were made by William Brownfield between 1850 and 1871. Image: J. Garland.
This one’s a bit fancy, with gold highlights applied over the top of the transfer print to add a bit of decadence to the design. This technique - the application of paint over the top of an underglaze transfer print is sometimes referred to as ‘clobbering’, which I find very funny. The name of this pattern is unidentified, but it was made by William Taylor Copeland c. 1847-1867. This would have been a higher end vessel than some of the others depicted here. Image: C. Watson.
Red is sometimes subsumed into the mulberry category, but this bowl is a bit brighter and more vibrant than the other mulberry example above, so I’m just going to call it red. This pattern is the Ravenna pattern, made by William Emberton c. 1851-1871. Image: J. Garland.
I just think this one’s quite pretty. Another classic blue and white pattern, this time featuring branches and leaf sprays alongside stylised flowers and scrolls. Neither the pattern name nor the maker are known for this cup. Image: C. Watson.
Another clobbered example, albeit one that’s a little more garish and a little less fancy than the previous one shown. It’s the green, I think, contrasting so much with the purple. This is the Andalusia pattern, made by John Thomson at some point before 1865. Image: C. Dickson.
And lastly, an old favourite. This idyllic pattern has the somewhat odd name “Duncan’s Rural Scenes”, referencing a series of transfer prints based on watercolours by Edward Duncan, featuring rural landscapes and scenes. It’s actually a combination of two pattern series - the central motif of the sheep is part of the Duncan Scenes, while the bramble border is part of what’s known as the Rural Scenes border pattern. This plate was made by William Taylor Copeland and dates to c. 1850-1867. Image: J. Garland.
-Jessie
References
Lawrence, S., 2003. Exporting Culture: Archaeology and the Nineteenth-Century British Empire. In Historical Archaeology, Vol. 37(1): 20-33.
Samford, P., 1997. Response to a Market: Dating English Underglaze Transfer-Printed Wares. In Historical Archaeology, Vol. 31(2): 1-30.