ALL SHAPES & SIZES - A LOOK AT VICTORIAN CROWN DEVON

ALL SHAPES AND SIZES A LOOK AT VICTORIAN CROWN DEVON

I have always been amazed at the vast number of patterns, shapes and sizes of items produced by Crown Devon over the years. I must admit that my favourite design period is the late 1880s until the turn of the century when the pottery turned out a wide variety of ornamental wares in dozens of different patterns and shapes.These days,never a week seems to go by without a pattern or shape previously unseen, turning up.The Victorian era is not renowned for producing the best in pottery, but for me some of the shapes that the Devon pottery produced in this period were the best in it's long history. Here are some of my favourites:-'

SUPERB "SQUARE" SHAPED JUGS IN INDIAN PATTERN

HANGING PLANTER IN A COLOUR VARIATION OF ROYAL ESSEX PATTERN

RARE SHAPED GRADUATED JUGS IN THE SAME PATTERN

19th CENTURY EWER

BISCUIT BARREL IN CROWN CHELSEA PATTERN

SARDINE DISH IN CHRYSANTHEMUM PATTERN

RARE SHAPE! RARE PATTERN! THIS 19th CENTURY JUG IS IN AQUATIC PATTERN

PURE VICTORIAN SHAPE!! - THIS VASE CARRIES THE CIRCULAR CROWN DEVON BACKSTAMP

MAJESTIC URN IN SEVRES PATTERN

SAME SHAPE AS THE AQUATIC PATTERN JUG SHOWN EARLIER. THIS TIME THE PATTERN IS WINDSOR

19th CENTURY JUG IN DERBY PATTERN

A TALE OF TWO CHARGERS
BY
RAY BARKER
How often do you find a rare piece of Fielding's Crown Devon and then a similar piece turns up within a week or two? It has happened to me quite a few times and it happened again not that long ago.....and with, of all things, a bit of majolica.
The phone rang and a voice said ' I have bought your book in which you say that you have been looking for a piece of Fielding's majolica for over 20 years. Well, I've got a very rare piece for you. The voice gave his name and details of the majolica, which was a large charger with three lovely yellow roses on a maroon background with a 3D effect that I had never seen.
The voice said he would send me a picture and he would contact me again in about three weeks. I rang David Fielding who knows more than most about majolica and he exclaimed ' Well that is strange because this is the second time in a fortnight that I have been asked about a rose wall plaque.' A lady had phoned him about one which she was planning to put on eBay.
The eBay seller described the plaque, "This outstanding and extremely rare Fielding's wall plaque/charger, circa 1878 is among their very best work from this period. It measures a huge 16" in diameter and is entirely handmade. It is fully marked on the back, impressed FIELDING, pattern number 20/539 with the artist's initials OD.
In my first book, "The Crown Devon Story" published in 1991, I gave in chapter 16, page 83, extracts from the Ceramic art of Great Britain published in 1883....'Messrs S. Fielding and Company have introduced a new feature in Majolica in which they are producing a vast variety of articles of remarkable taking, pleasing and useful character.... 'The majolica colouring is judiciously used on the embossed decorations and the effect is very pleasing. One of the distinctive features of the Fieldings majolica is the masterly and effective way in which they introduce hand modelled flowers and foliage to some of their best pieces. Modelled and coloured true to nature in every minute detail and thrown in graceful negligence around the items, they become such perfect reproductions that it is difficult to divest the mind of the idea that the roses are not freshly gathered from the tree and temporarily twined around the piece for adornment'
The eBay plaque which had one yellow and two white roses, tinged with pink was bid to £280 but did not reach it's reserve. I understand that it has since been sold to a collector in the United States for a figure that delights me as owner of plaque number 2.
My plaque carries the same identification but with the pattern number 10/539.
Incidentally, whilst rummaging through a box of ashtrays at an antiques shop on the way to Ipswich, I came across a Bryant & May matchbox Holder cum ashtray which was marked FIELDING in small capital letters and the number 211. Along with the charger I believe that these two pieces were made in 1878 or 1879. Fieldings took over the Railway Pottery in 1878.

A TALE OF TWO SHOES
BY
TERRY MOORE

One of the major worries when buying pottery on Ebay is the accuracy of the item description. Whilst in the main I have been quite lucky in that the large majority of the Crown Devon that I have purchased has been received in the condition as described by the seller. There has been the odd piece with a hairline crack or a small chip that the seller conveniently forgot to mention but in the main the misrepresented pieces have been few and far between.
One of the biggest misrepresentations occurred a couple of weeks ago when I bought a pair of Royal Devon shoes. I had always wanted a pair of these shoes and over the past few years had come across two or three single shoes and a couple of pairs which were not perfect. The last two single shoes that appeared last year at an antiques fair both sold for over £300 each so around £600 would be the current going rate for a pair.
Two or three weeks ago a pair of Royal Devon shoes appeared on Ebay. This was the sellers description.
· Item: Crown Devon S Fielding & Co Blush Ivory Ware Shoes Porcelain
· Age: c1880 - 1917
· Size (approximately): Length – 8 ½ inches (21.5cms) / Height – 4 ½ inches (11.5cms)
· Condition: Very good – some staining to body throughout – light crazing throughout – some wear with scuffing to gilt – dust and dirt gathered throughout – all commensurate with age.
Well, that was a bit of a disappointment - 'some staining to body throughout' and 'wear with scuffing to the gilt' . A good look at the accompanying photographs still didn't really show up the staining or any problems with the gilding so I e mailed the seller asking "Can you tell me how bad the staining is?" to which I received the reply:-
Hello Terry :-)

There is a light staining throughout which is usual with these type of items as you are probably aware, due to their unglazed nature, there is heavier staining in the grooves, again all commensurate with the type of item this is.

So bearing in mind, these items are usually lightly stained, we would term these as very good condition overall.

The images in the auction do clearly show the level of staining :-)

We do offer a 100% money back guarantee, including return postage if the customer is not completely happy with the item :-)

Hope that helps,

No, it didn't really help - I have been collecting Royal Devon for many years and was totally unaware that staining was 'usual with these types of items'. Yes, I have seen pieces that have been very badly stained, fruit bowls that the acid had attacked over the last 100 years and jardinieres which had been attacked by water, but why should a pair of decorative shoes be stained. A closer look at the photographs revealed nothing - the shoes looked a bit grubby but I still couldn't spot any staining.

The last hours of the of the auction came and the price stood at £280, less than a half of the going rate. What should I do? Bid, or leave them alone? I decided to gamble and make my bid. The auction finished in the middle of the night so when I got up the following morning I checked on Ebay ony to find that all the other 'contenders' had chosen the opposite option and no one else had registered a bid. The shoes were mine at a two for one price! The problem now was just how bad the staining was going to be - had I been rash and would I end up with 'damaged goods'

The answer was provided two days later when the postman delivered my parcel. They were very professionally packaged and it took me what seemed like an eternity to unpack them. Then - the moment of truth. Yes, they were dirty, especially in the grooves, and yes they were grubby, but the staining as I had imagined it, just wasn't there. Out came the bowl of hot water, the bottle of cream cleanser, a cloth and a toothbrush. In less than 10 minutes, both shoes were pristine and in 'mint' condition. No staining whatsoever, no wear to the gilding - They had been just plain dirty!!

Whilst I must admire the seller for being 'over honest' in the item description, I can't help wondering why they weren't given a good wash in the first place. With this pair of shoes, I really think the seller shot himself in the foot!