Doulton Lambeth Art Pottery - the Early Years

Ceramics A Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase by John Broad, A Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase by Emily J An 1877 Doulton Lambeth baluster stoneware decorated in Doulton's distinctive blue and with the Edwards, dated 1876, with Edwards' characteristic vase by Frank Butler. panels decorated in low relief with a floral design. stylised foliage motifs. Doulton Lambeth Art Pottery - The Early Years By Roland Head y the late 1850s, the name Doulton was synonymous with the latest and greatest Bindustrial and sanitation wares. Henry Doulton had understood the need for high quality, large-scale production of glazed, non-porous stoneware drainage pipes before anyone else, and the pipes made at Doulton's Lambeth pipe works were a core component of the sewage networks that helped modernize Victorian London. Indeed, such was Doulton’s focus and pride in his industrial ceramics business that he brusquely rejected early suggestions from Lambeth Art School master John Sparkes that he might want to expand into the field of decorative arts. Sparkes reported the rejection back to the school’s founder, Canon Robert Gregory, who is said to have replied that such an attitude was to be expected “from a Dissenter with no feeling for beauty, interested only in the arid puritan gospel of hard work and thrift, and more concerned with saving his money than his soul.” Such a judgement is perhaps a little harsh, given that Henry Doulton played a significant role in the creation of an effective sewage network for London and other cities, and in so doing helped to save future genera- tions from the appalling cholera and typhoid epidemics that regularly broke out in UK cities at that time. In Nottingham in 1830, the mortality rate for children under five was 48%. What’s more, Doulton was a cultured, well-read man who made regular financial contributions to the Lambeth Art School. As it turned out, all that was required to persuade him to experiment with art pottery was a more sophisticated and finessed approach from a friend. A Frank Butler Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase Tentative Beginnings dating 1879, 41cm high. Today, Doulton’s name is synonymous with decorative stoneware and china tablewares, and perhaps this is as much a reflection on how successful his pipes were as it is on the superb art pottery that emanated from his Lambeth studio. Doulton’s first, cautious foray into art pottery production came in 1862, when he exhibited some decorative stoneware Toby Jugs and a salt-glazed stoneware salt cellar. This bore a resemblance to Rhineland stoneware and was glazed in a buff brown, the sole decoration being an incised design coloured cobalt blue. This salt cellar was to prove the foundation of the Doulton Lambeth art pottery; the Rheinish style is identifiable in much of the output of this famous pottery, although Doulton’s team of artists and decorators did not merely create a pastiche of this readily-identifiable style but developed a unique, sophisticated and much more English identity for their designs, the best of which remain in demand today. By 1863, Doulton’s religious and political views were changing, as was his readiness to get actively involved with Sparkes and the Lambeth School of Art. He agreed to take on a position on the School’s managing committee and developed a good relationship with Doulton Lambeth stoneware jardinière by Mark V. Canon Gregory, paving the way for the next great expansion of Doulton Potteries. Marshall, with incised fish decoration. ANTIQUES INFO - September/October 12 Ceramics ‘Tea Time Scandal’ - a very collectable Doulton Lambeth stoneware mouse group by George Tinworth, 9.5cm high. An early Doulton Lambeth jug by Hannah Barlow, ‘Football’ - a rare Doulton Lambeth stoneware frog dated 1873. Already her mastery of incised animal group by George Tinworth, 13cm high. decoration is evident. Early Work All images courtesy of The first fruit of the new collaboration between Doulton and the School was a set of Woolley & Wallis (www.woolleyand- terracotta heads depicting notable European potters such as Wedgwood and Palissy. wallis.co.uk) These were to be used to decorate the façade of an extension to Doulton's Lambeth factory and were modelled by two of the School’s most able pupils, George Tinworth and Perceval Ball. In 1866, George Tinworth was employed by Doulton at the Lambeth pottery and become its first ‘arty’ employee. He begun to experiment with stoneware vases, often with brown or blue bands and their rims dipped in blue glaze, a style and colour that is a recognisable characteristic of Doulton’s Lambeth pottery. By 1867, a collection of vases, jugs and mugs had been created that was good enough to display at the Paris Exhibition that year, where it received a favourable response that persuaded Doulton to start building up a significant art department. The success of the pottery’s new artistic venture was finally cemented in at the International Exhibition in 1871, which took place in South Kensington. By now, Tinworth had mastered the technique of etched, ‘sgraffito’ decoration that became such a recognisable characteristic of Doulton’s Lambeth wares. Before being fired, designs would be etched into the soft clay with a sharp tool that created a furrow into which colour could be added and prevented from bleeding into the surrounding area, a technique used by many of the Lambeth artists and mastered beautifully by then Lambeth School of Art student Hannah Barlow, who used it to decorate her pieces with hand-drawn animals. Expansion Doulton’s Lambeth art pottery always remained true to its original artistic ethos. Henry Doulton believed that artists should be given as much freedom as possible. His A tall Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase by Florence policy was: “Those who have imagination, let them cultivate it, for imagination is a Barlow, with pâte-sur-pâte decoration in green and valuable gift. Others may not have imagination but they can develop patience, industry white. and fineness of touch.” On this basis was the pottery run, and as a result volumes remained quite low despite Doulton employing a growing number of artists from the Lambeth School and elsewhere. The 1870s was largely a decade of learning. There was a high rate of kiln losses, but the pottery's mastery of glaze, technique and design improved and in 1882 the whole art pottery operation was moved into new, dedicated premises. Who To Look For All Doulton Lambeth wares are marked with the artist or decorator’s mark. These are fairly well documented, but collectors should look out for wares marked with an ‘X’, followed by a number. These were the result of a lower cost range introduced in 1882, for which pieces were designed by the artists but decorated by assistants. Although they were not of notably poorer quality, some of them were made in larger volumes and they are less desirable to collectors, who prefer to be able to attribute their pieces to recognised artists. Over the years, leading artists became associated with particular themes. George Tinworth is noted by today’s collectors for his witty and cleverly designed animal An earlier Doulton Lambeth stoneware vase by figures and tableaux, but he also produced large architectural panels as well as elabo- Eliza Simmance, baluster form and tubelined rately decorated vases featuring incised patterns, beading and mouldings. Hannah decoration. ANTIQUES INFO - September/October 12 Ceramics Barlow was especially noted for her skill at drawing incised Collecting Doulton Lambeth ‘sgraffito’ animals. Her sister, Florence, was also noted for her Although examples of Doulton Lambeth can be found relatively animal designs, but these were normally decorated using the pâte- cheaply and easily, anyone seeking to build up a worthwhile sur-pâte technique, while their brother Arthur had a particular collection should focus on good pieces that are attributed to a talent for organic, plant-like forms. Arthur Barlow died in 1879 at well-known artist. the age of 34, so his signed work is much rarer than that of his The best pieces cost upwards of £1,000, for which you get large, sisters, although not necessarily more valuable. Other notable exquisitely decorated vases by artists such as Hannah Barlow and artists include Elise Simmance, Edith Lupton, who specialised in rarities such as the George Tinworth Steeplechase Mouse Group, a complex floral designs, and Louisa Davis and Emily Edwards, model featuring frogs riding mice over a steeplechase jump which who both tended to use heavily incised classical foliage motifs in sold at Leyburn auctioneers, Tennants, in March 2011, for a their designs. hammer price of £4,800. Doulton was a very progressive and enlightened employer and Similar but smaller vases and jugs can be had for £500 - £1,000, employed a large number of female designers as the list above while below this level you are more likely to find pieces with ‘X’ suggests. However, there were also male designers of particular markings or by lesser-known artists, although smaller pieces by note, including Mark Marshall, who had formerly worked for some of the best-known artists can also be found. What you buy is Martin Brothers, and who had a particular talent for creating an individual choice, but as always, one really good piece will modelled animals both as figurines and as relief decoration on always be more desirable and saleable than several average pieces. vases and other shapes. Further Reading Finally, no mention of distinguished Doulton Lambeth artists The Doulton Lambeth Wares, by Desmond Eyles and Louise could exclude Frank Butler, whose floral work and irregular- Irvine (ISBN: 978-0903685795). shaped vases are highly prized, and Arthur Pearce, a long-serving designer who often executed tiles and architectural designs for Doulton and who had a depth of artistic experience and academic knowledge that few others could match.

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