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A Caughley Porcelain Part Tea and Coffee Service
Ambrose Gallimore (British, d.1790) and Thomas Turner (British, 1749–1809)
Late 18th century
Soft-paste porcelain
Batemans Auctioneers & Valuers, United Kingdom
Sale number: 174, Lot no: 5,

The chinoiserie influenced porcelain set was produced by Ambrose Gallimore and Thomas Turner in the late 18th century from the Caughley Porcelain Factory in England. The set features scenery of nature and architecture of the oriental style. The patterns on the set are similar, only differing in size. The temple is surrounded by greenery and the sea, making the pattern mysterious, intriguing and having this fantasy-like quality. The temple pattern on the porcelains on display is one of the better well known Caughley Chinese-style designs. The porcelain tea and coffee set is made of soft-paste porcelain and they are decorated in underglaze blue, with some parts and details lined with gold. The gold gives the porcelain an exquisite touch and complements the blue and white color scheme of the porcelain.

Caughley ceramics was named after the place it originated from. It came about from around 1775 to 1799 at Caughley, near Broseley in Shropshire, England. Turner established the Caughley or Salopian Porcelain Factory in the early 1770s, possibly on the site of a pre-existing pottery and perhaps initially in partnership with Ambrose Gallimore. Turner came from Worcester as an apprentice (possibly under Robert Hancock) in the mid 1760s, he learnt the art of engraving on copper plates and transferring the designs to porcelain. These techniques were fully exploited at Caughley where 80% of the wares were decorated in underglaze blue usually from copper plates. Initially production was based on transfer printed imitation Chinese porcelain table wares imported into Britain during that time. Subsequently they ventured into producing porcelains that were chinoiserie influenced and placed less emphasis on imitating imported Chinese porcelains.

Team 8

Teh Xia Yin

U1330233L

Image courtesy of Batemans Auctioneers & Valuers

Ambrose Gallimore (British, d.1790) and Thomas Turner (British, 1749–1809)
A Caughley Porcelain Part Tea and Coffee Service
A Caughley porcelain part tea and coffee service with chinoiserie decoration in blue and white, comprising of a jug, teapot and stand, three cups and five saucers
Late 18th century
Soft-paste porcelain
Batemans Auctioneers & Valuers, United Kingdom
Sale number: 174, Lot no: 5

The chinoiserie influenced porcelain part tea and coffee service was produced by Ambrose Gallimore and Thomas Turner in the late 18th century from the Caughley Porcelain Factory in England. The porcelain tea and coffee set features scenery of nature and architecture of the oriental style. The patterns on the set are similar, only differing in size. The architecture pattern on the porcelain is of a temple and it is evident on the teapot, as it is bigger in size on the teapot. The temple is surrounded by greenery and the sea, making the pattern mysterious, intriguing and having this fantasy-like quality. The temple pattern on the porcelains on display is one of the better well known Caughley Chinese-style designs. The porcelain tea and coffee set is made of soft-paste porcelain and they are decorated in underglaze blue, with some parts and details lined with gold. The gold gives the porcelain an exquisite touch and complements the blue and white color scheme of the porcelain.

Caughley ceramics was named after the place it originated from. It came about from around 1775 to 1799 at Caughley, near Broseley in Shropshire, England. Turner established the Caughley or Salopian Porcelain Factory in the early 1770s, possibly on the site of a pre-existing pottery and perhaps initially in partnership with Ambrose Gallimore. Turner came from Worcester as an apprentice (possibly under Robert Hancock) in the mid 1760s, he learnt the art of engraving on copper plates and transferring the designs to porcelain. These techniques were fully exploited at Caughley where 80% of the wares were decorated in underglaze blue usually from copper plates.  Ambrose Gallimore and Thomas Turner were the main driving force behind Caughley ceramics. Initially production was based on transfer printed imitation Chinese porcelain table wares imported into Britain during that time. Subsequently they ventured into producing porcelains that were chinoiserie influenced and placed less emphasis on imitating imported Chinese porcelains. They produced some of the finest soft-paste porcelain made in England during their time and such porcelains were usually used for tea services, dinner services and everyday objects. These were usually seen in the households of then-emerging middle classes. Most of the Caughley porcelains were decorated in underglaze blue, although enamel colours and gliding were also used. The temple pattern as evident on the ceramics on display is one of the better known Caughley Chinese-style designs. Gilding was often added to the design, reflecting the trend in porcelains of that time. In the late 1700s, the company was a major force in the porcelain industry.

When Turner’s health deteriorated in 1799, he sold the factory leases to the Coalport porcelain manufacturers John Rose, Edward Blakeway and Richard Rose in October and they continued manufacturing as the Coalport factory. Today, Caughley porcelains are highly sought after and highly collectible.

Apart from the history of the porcelain set and its origins, the porcelain set brings about an interesting insight about drinking tea and coffee as a lifestyle for the people at that time. Similar to the imported porcelain wares, tea leaves were imported and the demand was high. People often meet for tea or at coffee houses to socialize. This is particularly so for the women at home, where they meet at each others’ houses and socialize. It is also because of such culture that led to the spread of Do-It-Yourself chinoiserie decoration for the house. Thus, drinking tea or coffee has been often attributed to the chinoiserie lifestyle.

This porcelain tea and coffee set was found on a two day auction (31st May and 1st June 2013) at Batemans Auctioneers and Valuers in the United Kingdom. It came from the estate of the late David Powell MBE. Powell was a well respected person both in the farming and local community. He was in the Royal Marines and served with distinction. Powell was awarded the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) at the end of World War II for his contribution to the liberation of Copenhagen. The porcelain tea and coffee set is one of the many items up for auction from the estate of David Powell MBE.

Team 8

Teh Xia Yin

U1330233L

Bibliography

Geoffrey Godden ‘Caughley and Worcester Porcelains 1775-1800’ (London 1969)

The Caughley Society, ‘Caughley Blue and |White Patterns’, published by the Caughley Society, 2012

Caughley Porcelain Coffee Cup and Saucer, Temple. (2003, June 23). Retrieved November 2, 2015, from http://www.darwincountry.org/explore/002096.html

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CAUGHLEY PORCELAIN. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2015, from http://www.caughleysociety.org.uk/A-BRIEF-HISTORY-OF-CAUGHLEY-PORCELAIN

Caughley. A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume X, G.C. Baugh (Editor) (1998)

From choosing a topic to working on a proposal to doing the actual exhibit, the whole process was kind of stressful but fun. I probably have the most understanding team mates and I feel that we work well together. The process of finding the object to exhibit, writing the wall text and catalog entry were as tedious as the process of making the actual exhibit itself.

The detailed process of constructing the exhibit is recorded below:

To construct the exhibit housing, we got 12mm thickness plywood x 3. One is for the platform and the other two is the walls. To connect the walls together, we used a table saw (from the product design workshop) to make a groove on both the plywood to create a rabbet joint. Joinery is used as it is more strong then sticking the plywood side by side.

Wood glue is then used to join the rabbet joint and the platform to the walls. The drying of the wood glue is then sped up using a hot air gun. Thereafter, the platform is stained with black cherry wood stain.

The wallpapers are then cut using a pen knife to ensure it fits the walls and they are stuck on using double sided tape. The curtains are scrunched and stuck on using double sided tape too. The clear acrylic casing is then assembled using an A3 piece of 5mm thick acrylic and another piece of acrylic that has to be laser cut to fit the dimension of the width. The two pieces are joined together with acrylic glue.

The ceramic and table models are made using clay and painted using acrylic paint. The object labels and other details are then stuck on using double sided tape. The wall text and title of the exhibition are hand written on a clear sticker paper and is stuck on last. Some pictures stuck on are backed up with styrofoam board to make it look less flat.

Without further ado, here are the final exhibit photos:

 

Thanks guys for all your hard work 🙂 It was a pleasure working with you guys! Despite us being busy with our own work, we managed to get everything done and everyone is so nice and accommodating to each other. Below are some snippets of the process of constructing the exhibit!