2014, Vol. XV No.

Contents
Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom
Dick Henrywood................................................................................ 3
Something Borrowed...
Richard Halliday................................................................................ 4
The Transferware Recorder Images Wanted
Dick Henrywood................................................................................ 7
More on the Ship Tavern, Water Lane
Advertising Plate
Loren Zeller........................................................................................ 8
Transferware Collectors in Review
Loren Zeller.................................................................................... 10
Who Made the Pan
Frank Davenport........................................................................... 14
Transferware from a British Perspective
Dick Henrywood............................................................................ 17

Vol. XV, No. 3, TCC Bulletin 1

Something borrowed
By Richard Halliday
With Assistance from Sue Wagstaff

Dr. Paul Scotts Exhibition Table: Confected, Borrowed and Blue.

hen one thinks of the English

town of Bath, one thinks of the
stunning Georgian architecture
typified by The Royal Crescent, or
the Roman history that lies encrusted
within its very heart. From a transferware
perspective, Bath, and more specifically,
Pulteney Bridge, brings images of
Swansea Cambrians famous Pulteney
Bridge wrap-around scene usually seen
adorning high-quality hollowware pieces.
Recently, Dr. Paul Scott added his own
flavor to Bath and indeed transferware
with his amazing Confected, Borrowed
and Blue exhibition, which opened on
October 31 and will run through January
18, 2015, at the beautiful Holburne
Museum on Great Pulteney Street in Bath.
(http://www.holburne.org/ )
For the exhibits opening, a full
house was treated to a talk by Dr. Scott
and a glimpse of the exhibition. Upon
entering the large gallery space, visitors
encountered a huge table, enclosed in
a clear protective box. Dr. Scotts work

4 TCC Bulletin, Vol. XV, No. 3

was carefully arranged on this table. As

a testament to his attention to detail, the
exhibition table was covered with a runner
that subtly incorporated more than 800
Spode pattern names.
Of striking note, visitors will discover,
is Dr. Scotts re-appropriation and updating of the William Adams Palestine
pattern. To the foreground of 3 red
transfer Palestine plates, Dr. Scott has
added modern images of the Holy Land
in disarray. The juxtaposition of the old
and the new is obvious and typical of the
attempt to think about transferware in the
context of the political and social events
dominating the world today.
Dr. Scotts approach to the medium is
fearless. He fuses pieces together in a very
innovative fashion. For example, there is
the joining of the Wild Rose platter with
one in the Italian pattern to create the
Wild Italian pattern.
Another such combination is a 9
pottery silhouette of a cow standing on
a platter, titled Cow in a Meadow after

Thomas Bewick. Bewicks engravings

were used as source material for many
printed wares, with Mintons Bewick
Stag being perhaps the most familiar. A
bifurcated cow creamer forms the basis
for another display: Cow in a Meadow
after Damien Hirst. Hirst, prominent
in a movement known as Young British
Artists, is known for works featuring
dead and dissected animals. Here Dr. Scott
shows his sense of humour and doffs his
cap to contemporary British art.
Scattered around the exhibit table are
ceramic trees, modelled after those found
in popular transferware images. These
free-standing trees challenge everyone
to be aware of our surroundings in the
natural world.
Dr. Scott uses the anti-slavery images
seen in late 18th and early 19th century
ceramics to remind us that the slave
trade is still very much alive, primarily
in the form of the exploitation of illegal
immigrants. He created a tribute to the
21 Chinese cockle pickers (shell fish

Holdburne Museum, Bath.

The Wild Italian platter.

Tea set recalling the Chinese cockle pickers washed away in 2004.

Scotts reinterpretation of the Palestine pattern by Adams

Vol. XV, No. 3, TCC Bulletin 5

harvesters) who drowned in Northwest

England in 2004 when caught by the
incoming tide. All, apparently, were
illegals forced to face extremely difficult
circumstances to eke out a meagre living.
This tribute could easily be extended back
in time to represent the working conditions,
poor pay, and short life-span of the pottery
workers in the early 19th century.
Dr. Scott lives in Cumbria in the
Northwest of England and has long been a
major name in the world of ceramics and
print. His research and artworks can be
seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
London, The National Museum, Stockholm
Sweden, The National Decorative Arts
Museum, Norway and The Museum of
Art and Design, New York. In addition to
his many exhibitions, teaching roles, and
prolific writings, Dr. Scotts book, Ceramics
and Print, is an essential volume in any art,
historical or ceramics library.
It is amazing to see what Dr. Scott does
with our transferware and how he re-uses,
re-works and re-invents already established
designs and thinking. His new collage
works will be on show and available for sale
at the New York Ceramics and Glass Fair,
January 21st - 25th, 2015. On January 23,
Dr. Scott will be giving a lecture there. If
you can, visit the exhibition and be prepared
to be moved.

Cow in a Meadow after Damian Hirst

Cow in a Meadow after Thomas Bewick

Free-standing ceramic trees, similar to those found in popular transferware patterns.

6 TCC Bulletin, Vol. XV, No. 3

Transferware Collectors in Review

By Loren Zeller
Editors Note: In August, 2014,
Loren Zeller, TCC President, was
invited by Richard Halliday to visit
the transferware collections of several
TCC Members in the United Kingdom.

Loren was permitted to photograph

these extensive and important private
collections during a whirlwind 3 days,
and his hosts graciously gave him
permission to share these photos with

the TCC membership via the Bulletin.

Space does not permit showing more
than a few highlights from each over
the course of the next few issues of the
TCC Bulletin.

I. The Collection of
Patricia and Colin
Parkes, Hertfordshire:
The Parkes collection of late 18th
and early 19th century blue printed
wares is vast and focuses primarily
on early Chinoiserie patterns and
19th century British landscapes, as
well as other patterns in a variety
of thematic categories. Their lovely
home is filled with these marvelous
items. Space only allows me to show
some of their extensive collection. I
hope you will enjoy seeing it!

10 TCC Bulletin, Vol. XV, No. 3

Colin Parkes (left) sharing one of his favorite patterns with

Richard Halliday.

Vol. XV, No. 3, TCC Bulletin 11