Born in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, in 1863, Stevens attended The Academy in Antwerp, and by the 1890’s was a well established watercolour artist, mainly depicting rural scenes in Yorkshire, where he settled. He was a founding member of the Staithes Art Club in 1901, based around Whitby.
Stevens exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Walker Gallery Liverpool, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and the Yorkshire Union of Artists.
His works are often large, and show an impressionist basis, with great depth achieved though careful control of the watercolours. He was particularly fond of reflections on water.
He became known as a prolific professional artist, particularly rural scenes of farmland with massive ancient gumtrees.
However, his earliest career was as an ‘equilibrist’ – an acrobatic performer who could amaze with balancing & juggling acts. He travelled from Adelaide to Perth in 1900 to perform, and was well received as an entertainer.
Part of the act was ‘speed sketching’ – he would produce a finished painting – of a landscape or room interior – from a blank canvas to a finished work in under 3 minutes. It was this talent which took over and earns him a living as a professional artist.
Most of his work was done in watercolours, where he achieved a pleasing technique of detailed foreground interest – inevitably massive ancient gums – framing distant hazy hills, with perhaps a farm in the middle distance. They were actual locations, and are sometimes named on the back.
Arnold Jarvis (1881-1959) watercolour – Victorian Southern Coastal Scene
Some coastal views were also produced. From the titles recorded, it is possible to trace his travels – a few in South Australia, a few in New South Wales, but the vast majority in Victoria – around the Grampians, through the Western District, and along the southern coastline are the areas that appear multiple times.
Arnold Jarvis (1881-1951) watercolour, English thatch cottage & steamship, c. 1910
An anomaly is a small number of ‘Thatch Cottages’, which are very accurate depictions of classic English thatch houses in the style of Myles Brisket Foster. He was an earlier artist than Jarvis, dying right as Jarvis began to paint seriously, in 1899. Was Jarvis influenced by the earlier English watercolours that were popular at Australian art exhibitions of the early 20th century? Perhaps given it as a commission for a client after an original English Cottage Scene just like the popular – and expensive – Foster paintings. Or is this an indication that he travelled to the UK at some stage and painted while there? Nothing in the brief artist records indicate this, so the question must stay ‘open’.
A porcelain body developed in Britain in the late 18th century, which included a large amount (up to 50%) of bone ash. This body had the advantage of being white, translucent, and durable, the latter meaning the ‘thermal shock’ of hot/cold water being applied to the body was absorbed very well. As a result, pouring hot tea into a bone-china cup was not as likely to cause thermal-shock cracking to the porcelain.
‘New Canton’ began producing ‘soft-paste’ porcelain near the village of Stratford-le-Bow, east London, in around 1748. They imitated the Chinese Export ‘hard-paste’ porcelains that were so in-demand at that period.
There was an earlier patent for porcelain taken out in 1744 by Edward Heylyn and Thomas Frye, and a small group of items – some marked with an ‘A’ and therefore known as ‘A-mark’ – have been attributed to this earlier effort.
Frye took out his further patent in 1748, and began commercial production of items characterised by a dense body with a ‘greasy’ looking glaze and bright blue cobalt or colourful enamels.
Around 1755 there is a change in the body to a lighter ‘floury’ body.
Translucency can be quite clear, mostly with a brownish tinge.
Marks are not always found, but include mock-Chinese characters, numbers, ‘workman’s marks’, and occasionally crossed swords copying Meissen.
The factory struggled with sales and quality in the early 1770’s, closing in 1776.
Brightcut Silver was a fashion in the late Georgian era, where the plain upper surface of cutlery handles is carefully incised with a steel chisel, with repetitive patterns and borders, often incorporating flowerhead and neoclassical designs, the faceted result causing highlights to reflect brightly, hence the name.
Brightcut silver was popular c. 1785-1835. It had another period of popularity in the later 19th/ early 20th century, and in that period many plain Georgian pieces were ‘enhanced’ with brightcut decoration. Telling them from original work is tricky, but generally, they are not as confidently executed as the first brightcut products.
Cantonese is an ethnic group associated with the southern provinces of China, including the historical European-influenced colonies of Hong Kong and Macau.
While originating in Canton/Guangzhou, they were best known for their dispersal around South-East Asia, often as merchants in places like Hong Kong. They brought their distinct culture with them, including porcelain, enamels, and textiles, and this material culture is know as ‘Cantonese’.
Typical Cantonese Porcelain pattern from the 1850-80 period
As merchants, Cantonese traders were ready to interact with the Westerners who came looking for luxury goods from China. These interactions took place at specified trading ports, and Canton/Guangzhou was a major one – and so, the goods that came out of the port were known as ‘Cantonese’.
Ceramics were a major commodity, and were ordered from the main kilns of China such as those in Jingdezhen. ‘Cantonese Ceramics’ are therefore another type of ‘Chinese Export’. As there is a lot of the pink enamels, we could call it a type of ‘Famillie Rose’, a development of the style of Chinese porcelain popular in Europe in the 18th century.
The ‘Rose Medallion’ name refers to the central panel, here containing a Peony plant, a rock and a bird.
American retailers and collectors use the term ‘Rose Medallion’ to describe the most common pattern found, which features a distinct peony flower in a roundel, often with a bird.
Dating is somewhat a problem, as it was made over a long period – beginning in the mid 19th century and going into the late 20th century.
A good idea of age can be inferred by the delicacy of the work; the later the piece, the ‘looser’ the painting. The gold also changes in the early 20th century to a bright harsh gold.
A dated piece in the Rosenberg Collection, Geelong, is a good indication of the earlier style, with a crest hidden beneath. This is the crest of the Mackintosh clan, with a rearing cat and the motto ‘PRENEY GARDE’ – and the date 1869. (as it is unlikely for a family crest to be placed where it isn’t seen, this crest must surely be a case of ‘lost in translation’, where an order from Scotland for a service with the Mackintosh crest was sent through, with a sample of the crest – being in a roundel, perfect for substituting for the usual peony in a roundel. Imagine their surprise when the recieved their service a few years later – with the crest beneath the piece instead!)
Founded by Ambrose Gallimore and Thomas Turner, Caughley porcelain works was a producer of fine tea-wares and and serverware that was often compared to the likes of Worcester. Throughout the factory’s operational years, it found its niche in producing mostly blue printed and painted wares, often gilt by Chamberlains of Worcester; aimed towards the growing English middle-class in late 18th Century England.
In 1799, the company was incorporated into the Coalport / Coalbrookdale manufactory just down the road.
Ralph & James Clews
Porcelain & Earthenwares, Staffordshire, c.1815-34
The firm of Clews first appears in the Staffordshire records when they rent the Cobridge Pottery in 1817; earlier references suggest they worked elsewhere for a couple of years prior. The firm filed for bankruptcy in 1834. In 1835 an advert announces their works are available to rent immediately, and by 1837 all trace of the firm ceases.
PRODUCTS
They produced masses of white earthenware with underglaze blue prints, predominantly for the American market.
They produced tablewares & services, alongside tea wares.
There was also some fine quality Jasperware with blue ground & white sprigging, in the Wedgwood manner.
Also in earthenware were Lavender-ground wares with white sprigged flowers.
For some of the production period, they also made some interesting porcelain products. While the pottery is marked, the porcelain is not: however, by isolating a unique bow-shaped handle on their marked earthenwares and finding the same mould on porcelain, it has been possible to attribute a series of otherwise anonymous Staffordshire Porcelain wares to the firm.
The porcelain is a bright white good quality bone-china type, typical of most makers in the Potteries at the time. Translucency is excellent, with a granular look and a slight blueish tinge. The glaze is good for the most part, but tends to have a lot of small inclusions and bubbling; this is probably due to a kiln design flaw, as some of it is soot debris. Plates with this were still decorated and included in services, so the quality control was not as high as it was at the more premier manufacturers.
On-glaze enamels are the same as other factories, and the artists were of medium to good quality. An exception is a group that were obviously sold in the white, and decorated in studios. The Bradley Studio in London can be identified as one such outside decorator, and none of their products have pattern numbers.
Pattern numbers reach the 400’s, possibly the 800’s. They are medium sized, painted in red (usually) neatly rear the foot rim.
Painted patterns are all very reminiscent of those seen at Swansea, reflecting the current taste and demand for colourful flowers & fine gilt work that lingered after Swansea closed. As noted above, the London Decorators used Clews blanks after Swansea (and Nantgarw) closed, obviously accepting them as substitutes.
The scroll & wreath pattern, borrowed from Sevres and used at number of English factories at the time, is often seen.
Clews Porcelain, pattern 169, Staffordshire, c.1825 at Moorabool Antiques
MARKS
Marks are apparently only found on the earthenware products.
Pattern Numbers Services had minimal pattern marking, as is often the case with smaller makers of the earlier 19th century, with only key pieces such as the shaped serving dishes in the part service pattern 169 illustrated above.
Patterns recorded at Moorabool Antiques, Australia:
The following two patterns, 70 + 197, have the same distinct moulding to the wreath. This differs from the examples above, and may be a different master-mould used at some stage, or may be another contemporary potter who also made both pottery & porcelain.
A Cream Jug is a small vessel, intended to pour cream as needed, usually in a dessert context.
Geoffrey Godden makes the term applicable for all small jugs under 9cm; anything larger is a ‘milk jug’.
Moorabool’s Guarantee: All items offered are as described regarding date, condition, and description.
We offer a money-back guarantee, for any return within reasonable time, excluding postage.
Buy with confidence!
POSTAGE
Getting your goods need not be expensive!
We make sure Postage is as affordable as possible – our experienced in-house team can ship safely anywhere in the world, for the best possible price.
Ask for a quote…
Use the ‘Compare Products’ below to keep track of items of interest.
(as it is unlikely for a family crest to be placed where it isn’t seen, this crest must surely be a case of ‘lost in translation’, where an order from Scotland for a service with the Mackintosh crest was sent through, with a sample of the crest – being in a roundel, perfect for substituting for the usual peony in a roundel. Imagine their surprise when the recieved their service a few years later – with the crest beneath the piece instead!) 
