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Video: How the British forged antique porcelain, and 150 years later it became a collector's dream
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, porcelain products produced by the British using technology blush ivory, were extremely popular, and nowadays they have become collectible at all. Partly because the process of making this porcelain was very complex, but more of its value lies in its aesthetic, artistic and exclusive content. The main difference of this unique porcelain is the background, delicate, warm shade, color reminiscent of ivory and complemented by a slight "peach blush". And also gilding, artificially covered with patina and unique flower painting.
In the middle of the 19th century, Western European manufacturers finally managed to achieve the excellent quality of manufactured porcelain, which was not inferior to Chinese in its whiteness. This achievement became the subject of their pride. However, the irrepressible British decided that ivory-colored porcelain would look much more noble in the production of exclusive tableware and more appropriate in the sculpting of sculptures. And immediately they began to immediately develop a new technology that would allow the production of porcelain in a delicate warm shade, closer to skin color.
So, in the middle of the 60s of the XIX century, through trial and error, the British at the Royal Worcester porcelain manufactory invented a new technology for the production of porcelain. This is how parian and blush ivory appeared, the recipe of which was developed as the embodiment of the English idea, which manifests itself in the desire to get as close as possible to natural shades that imitate the color of skin, ivory, coral. Although at this time other European countries were moving in a completely different direction, striving for impeccable whiteness and the creation of thin translucent porcelain.
The first that the British began to produce from blush ivory were vases, similar to antique amphorae with curly molded handles in the shape of Pan. And it should be noted that the production process was very laborious. Therefore, the exclusive English blush ivory was produced only at Royal Worcester. This company very jealously guarded its patent rights for unique porcelain and suppressed all attempts to copy it.
In the production of blush ivory, manufacturers used varieties of special clays, the products of which were fired in special plaster molds brought from Paris. The result was parian porcelain in a delicate warm shade. It was also suitable for sculpting sculptures imitating marble figurines.
The most complicated technological process as a guarantee of English quality
After the first firing, the product was processed with glaze, the inner one was glossy, the outer one was matte. Then, with the help of airbrushes, which had just appeared for widespread use, the craftsmen tinted the products in places with a peach tone, shading certain places, which gave the product a gentle "overflow" of color. And where the gold finish was planned, the craftsmen applied coral-colored soil, which served as a strong base, and after grinding gave the product an antique look. This was followed by a second firing.
The next stage of creating blush ivory consisted of applying a floral pattern to the vases by lightly engraving from copper plates. This process resembled the use of decals and greatly facilitated the work of artists who painted finished products in the future. And it should be noted that the first masters to create cliches of floral ornaments were English masters - Edward Raby and Frank Roberts.
The applied light drawing was also baked at a low temperature, after which the unfinished product passed into the hands of artists, who manually prescribed the details of the ornament, put down the finishing touches and accents. And then fixing firing followed.
However, this was not all. After the fourth firing, the artists applied 22-carat gold to the piece, emphasizing the details and, as a rule, completely covering the handles and the base of the pieces. At the last stage, that is, after the fifth firing, the masters manually polished the gilded parts using a special mineral finely abrasive mixture. Such polishing significantly softened the shine of the gilding and made the product look as if it were not new "hot, hot", but an antique, covered with the patina of time.
And finally, I would like to say that the truly amazing exclusive blush ivory things fully correspond to the mentality of the British, who in the 19th century were considered the most technologically advanced nation that sought to introduce new technologies in all spheres of life, as well as in arts and crafts, including.
In the middle of the XIX century, also in Russia, began to be produced porcelain, which became famous all over the world under the name - Dulevsky. And this miracle was produced by the factories of the "porcelain king" Matvey Kuznetsov.
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