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Bristol Delftware |
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Tin-glazed Earthenware The addition of tin oxide to a lead glaze gives a white opaque appearance to pottery. It was produced in Egypt from 1000BC to 500BC, but then the secret was lost. Earthenware of this type was manufactured in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) by the 9th century. It was first made in Europe by the Moors in Spain and manufacture continued after the Moors had been excluded, the style being known as Hispano-Moresque. During the late middle ages it spread to Italy, where it is known as maiolica (the name coming from the Spanish island of Majorca), and then to France, where it is known as faience (from the Italian city of Faenza). In the early 16th century Italians took the art to the low countries, and from there it spread to Germany. In 1657 Jasper Andries and Jacob Jansen came from Antwerp to start a pottery in Norwich. Four years later Jansen moved to London, opening a pottery in Aldgate, which closed around 1615. The first of the potteries at Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames, began in 1613. The first Lambeth pottery followed in 1676. Southwark potters took the skill to Brislington, near Bristol, in the 1650s, and to Liverpool in 1710. There were also a number of potteries in Ireland and one in Scotland. The term delftware was not used until the second quarter of the 18th century, and came about due to the large amount made in that Dutch city. Much Dutch ware was imported into England during the 17th and 18th centuries. Prior to that, the English referred to the pottery as gallyware, gallipots, or white china. The boom time for English delftware manufacture was between 1740 and 1765. After that competition from the durable, and more easily manufactured, Staffordshire creamware caused a sharp decline. Manufacture had largely ceased in Bristol and Liverpool by 1780, although a limited amount was still being made in London during the first decade of the 19th century. Creamware was also exported, almost ending faience production in France and Holland. |
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