BLUE ITALIAN: A BESTSELLER FROM 1816

November 2023 | BY Amy Rushworth

Spode’s Blue Italian is one of the most instantly recognisable of all ceramics patterns, a best-seller to be seen today in all the quality china departments and china shops of the land. So it is surprising to realise that this pattern, with its central romantic continental scene, was first produced in 1816 - just a year after the battle of Waterloo. After the Willow pattern it is the most common blue and white transfer printed pattern that we see, and a delivery of a large collection to our valuation office in Beverley prompted us to explore its origins.

The Spode company was launched in the 1760s by Josiah Spode, a self-made man if ever there was one. Josiah came from an extremely poor background - as a small boy he saw his father buried in a pauper’s grave - but despite this unpromising start to life, he had by his early 30s gained considerable experience in pottery manufacture and accumulated sufficient resources to go into business on his own account, opening his first small workshop.

Josiah was to prove to be an extremely creative and innovative potter. In 1784 he perfected the art of blue underglaze printing, a technique that revolutionised the manufacture of English tableware, and paved the way for the phenomenal growth of the industry towards the end of the 18^th century.

The technique, which is still used at Spode today, involves hand-engraving the design on copper plates. The engraved pattern is then filled with metallic oxide and oil colours, over which a sheet of tissue paper is laid before being passed through rollers. The tissue paper, now with the pattern in reverse, is cut out by hand and rubbed down on the particular item to be decorated with a stiff brush. The pattern is finally hardened on in a kiln before the piece is glazed and fired.

What happens next depends on what you read. What is certain is that towards the end of the 18^th century Spode created the first English bone china and the company attribute the breakthrough to Josiah himself. However, many specialists believe that it was his son, Josiah Spode II, who actually introduced bone china.

Josiah II was to run the company from his father’s death in 1797 until his own demise in 1827and this was a period of great creativity.

In 1813 Spode’s Fine Stone China was introduced, a material that, despite its delicate appearance, is actually dense, extremely hard and now in the 21st century has turned out to be able to withstand the best efforts of ovens, microwaves, freezers and dishwashers. That was real foresight!

Imperial Earthenware, also still in production today, which followed in around 1820, and in between came the introduction in 1816 of the famous Blue Italian pattern. The central panel of the design is taken from a 17^th century watercolour painting. The artist is believed to have been a Dutchman named de Moucheron and the scene is thought to show the ruins of the Coliseum in Rome. The border around the central scene is an interpretation of a Japanese Imari design.

It is possible to date pieces thanks to the Spode marking system, which was always very comprehensive and easy to follow. Also of help to collectors are several Spode guides looking at the history of the firm and its products, and a Spode Society.

Following Josiah II’s death in 1827, his son, Josiah Spode III, took over - but he lived for just two more years and that was the end of the family control of the company. Trustees ran the business until 1833 when it was sold lock, stock and potting wheel to W.T. Copeland.

Something to sell?

BACK TO DISCOVER

BLUE ITALIAN: A BESTSELLER FROM 1816

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Member Login

Confirm your Mobile Number