SHARDS Spring 2020

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WINTER/SPRING 2020

LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT Dear Members, Dear Ceramics Study Club members, In a year like no other, I hope this letter and issue of SHARDS finds you staying safe and well. I believe that I can speak for everyone in our group when I say that I have missed the monthly meetings, the chance to hear excellent talks on a wide range of ceramic subjects, and especially the opportunity to get together on a regular basis. For me, a silver lining to the Covid-19 pandemic cloud is the opportunity to hear a variety of lectures from around the world delivered via Zoom but even so, I am looking forward to the time when we can return to our regular programming and meeting space in Boston.

Creating the 2020-2021 program has been a real challenge! The staff at King’s Chapel Parish House is developing a reopening plan but for the foreseeable future, the facility remains closed to outside groups. In some years, a field trip is planned for our September meeting however this year the logistics made that option impossible: limiting the size of groups and offering only timed tickets defeated the purpose of a club visit to a museum, for starters. Therefore, Anne Lanning has come up with a hybrid model for our program this year. We are grateful to the Pottery and Porcelain Club Inc. of Providence and, in particular, Daisy Schnepel of the program committee (and CSC member) for inviting us to attend their fall program which will be offered online. If all goes well, we hope to resume our regular meetings in January, although if that is not possible, the plan is to offer them remotely. The Blue Book is in production and a copy of the program schedule will be sent out soon. A link to each fall lecture will be emailed to members a week in advance. This isn’t the perfect solution for everyone but under the circumstances, it is a great alternative and will allow us to hear some excellent presentations.

Finally, I want to thank members who have generously made a donation to the Ceramics Study Club. I am gratified at the number of households who responded to the letter included with the renewal form at the beginning of the summer and I am especially grateful to Jeffrey Brown who Page 1

volunteered to address all of the envelopes by hand and in style! This is what makes our club so special and I am honored to be a part of it. I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

With best wishes, Carolyn Parsons Roy President, Ceramics Study Club of Boston

FIELD TRIP TO BUSCH – REISINGER MUSEUM BEGINS OUR NEW YEAR Co-written with Gabriella Szalay Two field trips in one program year! Program Director Anne Lanning continued to find new ways to educate and delight us January 30th with a behind - the - scenes group trip to the Busch – Reisinger Museum at Harvard University. We were warmly welcomed by fellow CSC member Gabriella Szalay, the Renke B. and Pamela M. Thye Curatorial Fellow in the Busch - Reisinger Museum, Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, Harvard Art Museums, who spoke to on European porcelain in the museum’s collections. The Busch – Reisinger Museum was originally founded in 1903 as the Germanic Museum. It is unique among North American Museums in that it is the only one dedicated to the study of art from the Germanic-speaking countries of central and northern Europe, in all media and in all periods.

First, during tea and coffee in a beautiful baronial paneled reception room, club members were introduced to some of Gabriella’s colleagues and we got an opportunity to learn about some of the individual positions in the department and the work that they carried out there. We were then led upstairs to the wonderfully skylit Art Study Center where there were approximately forty objects from the Busch – Reisinger porcelain collection laid out for our inspection. Gabriella then walked us through the various objects and then introduced us to three remarkably skilled conservators on staff who explained some of the processes they used to restore some of the objects before us. Some of the highlights of our visit are as follows: Although we were in a Germanic museum, Gabriella actually started her talk with two pieces of French porcelain. One was a turquoise ground baluster vase with gilded decoration, the other a rather contemporary-looking piece with an almost crystalline, glassy glaze. Both were from Sevres, and dated to 1899 and she wanted to remind us here of the intense rivalry between the German and French porcelain companies and how, in this era of great international expositions, these factories were always researching new glazes and techniques to set them apart.

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Left: Theodore Deck, Pate Siliceuse Vase, 1899, Sevres Porcelain Manufactory, Harvard Art Museums, Fogg Museum, Gift of the French Government, 1910.54 Right: Art Nouvelle Crystalline Vase, 1899, Sevres Porcelain Manufactory, Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of the French Government, 1910.57.

Another object of more recent manufacture is a large tureen by the artist Arlene Sechet who went to the Meissen factory as a visiting artist and stayed (off and on) for seven years! The object she created here was completely inspired by Meissen – both its porcelains and the techniques used to make it. The large vessel (shown below) is actually formed in porcelain of a two-part mold, something used to make objects, but here it becomes the object. The artist also references the kiln in which it was fired with an exterior decoration painted to resemble the brick walls of the kiln, and a gilded number which is assigned to all “gold painters”. The interior is painted in underglaze blue in Meissen’s earliest pattern, the Blue Onion. An interesting bit of trivia: it’s called the Onion pattern, but the image is actually a pomegranate, most likely copied from a piece of Chinese porcelain. As the painters at the factory had never seen a pomegranate, they called it an onion.

Previous Page: Arlene Sechet, Casserole, 2012, Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, 2018.127 Page 3

One certainly cannot be in a Germanic museum without a discussion about Meissen and there was plenty to talk about as our tour continued. There were a couple fine examples of early Meissen bearing the inventory marks from the vast collection of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland founder of Meissen and collector extraordinaire (1670-1733). The creation of Meissen was in large part due to Augustus’ desire for porcelain; he passionately collected Chinese and Japanese export wares and these pieces were used as inspiration for designs on his own Meissen wares. Gabriella shared with us several examples of Meissen in the Japanese Kakiemon style known for its rather asymmetrical, spare design of natural and figural elements against a white open ground.

Plate, Yellow Lion Dinner Service, c. 1735-40, Meissen manufactory, Harvard Art Museums/BuschReisinger Museum, Gift of Ilse Bischoff.

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As other factories throughout Germany slowly figured out the arcanum, as the recipe for porcelain was called, they of course copied Meissen styles. We got to compare a Meissen cup and saucer with a similar one produced by the Hochst manufactory for similarities and differences.

Meissen on the left and competitor Hochst in the center. Some members suggested the Meissen had a whiter body, the Hochst body almost resembling pearlware. On the right the classic underglaze blue “crossed swords” mark of Meissen along with an overglaze black inventory mark from the Japanese Palace of Augustus the Strong. Left: Plate, c. 1735-40, Meissen Manufactory, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Transfer from Dr. Hans Syz. Right: Plate, c.1760, Hochst Manufactory, Harvard Art Museums/BuschReisinger Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Pflueger.

Examples of the restorers’ skills at the Busch-Reisinger; Left: An Ansbach figure of a courtier with a broken arm restored. Right: a Meissen figural group showing Venus and Cupid in a Chariot. Left: The Coutier, c. 1770, Ansbach Manufactory, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Pflueger. Right: Johann Joachim Kandler, Venus and Cupid in a Chariot, late 19th/early 20th century copy of an 18th century model, Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Nettie M. Namburg.

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Above Left: These pieces from an Art Nouveau breakfast set are a great example of how the Meissen factory always tried to remain on the cutting edge of fashion and market trends. Right: Gabriella asked for the members’ suggestions as to what this large porcelain coffee pot was…our members were stumped as to a maker.

Left: Otto Eduard Voight, Tray, Cup and Saucer, Saxonia Tea service, 1904-1910, Meissen Manufactory, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-reisinger Museum, Gift of J. lonathan Joseph.

FEBRUARY IS BITS ‘N’ PIECES On February 27th the CSC convened for one of our most popular programs, our annual Bits ‘n’ Pieces meeting where members bring pieces from their own collections to share with the group, or to look for help with the identification of an object. It is always an interesting array and really showcases our Club’s wide range of interests and knowledge. Here is a sampling of this year’s contributions with the editor’s apologies if he overlooked anyone’s offering:

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Previous Page and Above:The group can always rely upon Nic Johnson to bring in some attractive pieces of Turkish Iznik pottery. Nic tested us as to which was the older of the two and how can you tell. The older piece is the little Kutahyah pitcher because it has a deeply turned footrim and most importantly, it is composed of a fritware which helps date it to the early 20th century. The decoration within a reserve is also typical of this style. In contrast, the Iznik style plate is made of a clay body and is decorated in an attempt to look “Ottoman” and was made for export to Europe, cira 1930 of later. And in complete contrast, Nic brought in one of his “finds” – a charming Staffordshire salt-glazed teapot with a bird and botanical overglaze enamel decoration, circa 1760-1770. Although it has some condition issues, Nic found it in a second-hand shop for $18.00; the sort of story that keeps us all on the hunt.

Above: Club President Carolyn Roy brought in two pieces with one question: Any idea where these pieces came from? The image on the left is a well-decorated tin-glazed lobed dish after silver forms of the period, later 17th century. The dealer from whom she acquired it said it was most likely from Nuremburg, but who knows for sure? The attractive later 18th century English punch bowl with chinoiserie decoration has a porcelain body which Carolyn was trying to identify. Though both pieces garnered much admiration, they stumped the group as to possible cities or factories of origin. Since our meeting, though, Caroline has been able to attribute the punch bowl to Liverpool, circa 1760-1765.

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Also, from Caroline Roy was this diminutive molded pearlware butter boat very clearly marked WEDGWOOD, most likely late 18th century. Louise Richardson contributed a tin-glazed handled cruet stand. While the interior bottom of the piece was glazed, the interior walls were not. Louise was puzzled as to why anyone ever kept it so long after the cruet jugs went missing. It certainly appeared to be 18th century, its origins, it was suggested, possibly continental.

Louise also brought the English salt-glazed teapot pictured above. Modeled in the form of a house, these pots usually have an incongruous ‘serpent’ spout, this one made even more peculiar by a sinuous human arm following the serpent’s neck with a hand clutching its head! Something a little more typical of these house teapots is that the two facades seldom match each other – note the coats-of-arms over the doors are different.

Dating to circa 1740-1750s when there was a fashion for these whimsically designed teapots.

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Above: Member Bob Barth brought in two fine red stoneware teapots century modeled after Chinese Yixing wares which were enormously popular in Europe at the end of the 17th century. Supply from China could not keep up with demand, so Dutch potters tried to perfect a substitute - and did so admirably judging from these examples. One teapot is by a potter named de Milde, the other by one named Caluwe and they date to circa 1700. Their wares were required to be marked – de Milde with his name and an image of a fox, and Caluwe with his name and a running stag. There was a third Dutch maker with only a few known surviving examples named Eenhorn and his pieces bear his name and an image of a unicorn. Unlike Elers pieces these pieces are thrown, not slip-cast, and unlike Yixing pieces they are not slabbed and seamed. The sprigged decoration is applied, imitating Yixing wares.

Above: It appears Jeffrey Brown’s passion for blue and white remains unabated with these three pairs of dishes. Left: a small pair of English pearlware plates with reticulated and basketweave borders and transferPage 9

decorated landscapes. The maker was identified as Robert Hamilton by our English specialist dealer, Greg Lovell. Circa 1820. Center: a pair of small, mid-18th century hexagonal, tin-glazed molded dishes, the design a combination European landscape and Chinese decoration around the shaped rims. Jeffrey assumed Dutch delft, but the mark is unidentified; Tracy Wiggin suggested perhaps a French or German faience factory?

Right: a pair of English Bow porcelain hexagonal plates with powder blue grounds and reserves with Chinese landscapes, circa 1760 – an attempt to copy earlier Chinese export porcelain wares of the Kangxi period.

Above: Dedham Pottery collector Jim Kaufman was excited when he acquired this replica Greek vase thinking it was a product of Dedham’s precursor the Chelsea Keramic Works. Further research revealed it to be a product of the Beverly Pottery from the 1860s-1870s whose work was similar to what was being done at Chelsea. It’s a redware glazed black with the body showing through for the decoration.

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR This is probably one of the thinnest issues of SHARDS I’ve ever produced due to our curtailed program season this year. As I am one of the first to complain about how much work this newsletter entails, I have to admit, sitting in my Covid – induced isolation, that I would have much preferred to have had a full docket of lectures to transcribe - such was my need for some mind-focusing task, as well as a mind-stimulating lecture and a socially-stimulating meeting with great friends. You don’t fully appreciate something until you no longer have it, so, here’s to you all remaining well and safe and to us gathering together again real soon.

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