English Dry - Bodied

Defining Attributes

Dry-bodied stonewares are characterized by a fine-grained, non-porous stoneware body requiring no glaze. They are often decorated with die stamped reliefs, sprig molded designs, or engine turning. Tea and coffee pots are the most common forms, but other tablewares and decorative pieces also occur. Common English dry bodied varieties include the red stonewares (often called "Elers-type" or Rosso Antico), as well as black basalts and jasperwares.

Chronology

Red Stoneware
Chinese red stoneware tea services were being exported to Europe by at least the 1660s. By the mid-1670s, English potter John Dwight was making imitations of the Chinese ware, as were various Dutch and German potters. Dwight patented his ceramic in 1684. The Elers brothers began making a superior red stoneware by 1693. Dwight appears to have stopped production of red stoneware around 1695, while the Elers were out of business by 1700, so these 17th-century wares would be very rare on American sites (Noël Hume 1970:121; Gusset 1980:211; Poole 1995:68; Green 1999:91-92,128). After this, red stoneware production did not resume until the 1740s at the earliest, but certainly by the mid-1750s. Engine turned decorations became common after 1760. Red stoneware tea and coffee wares were popular into the 1780s, and are often found on American sites dating to the third quarter of the 18th century. In 1776, Wedgwood produced his rosso antico variant, which continued into the 19th century (Noël Hume 1970:121; Barker and Halfpenny 1990:44; Poole 1995:68).

Black Basalt
Experimentation with black dry bodied stoneware began in the late 1750s, and was perfected by Wedgwood in the 1760s (Gusset 1980:208; Elliott 1998:26). This type of ware was widely imitated by other potters until the early 19th century, but remained in limited production through the 20th century (Noël Hume 1970; Lewis 1999).

Jasperware
Wedgwood began experimenting with this dry-bodied stoneware decorated with white sprig molded embellishments on a colored ground around 1774 and had perfected it by 1780. Jasperware is still produced by Wedgwood today, but other potters were making it in the 18th century (Poole 1995:86; Lewis 1999:100). Blue and white jasperwares were the most popular, but it was also produced in lilac, chocolate brown, sage green and black.

Cane Ware
Initially called “Fawn” by Wedgwood during its early development, this stoneware was made with buff and tan colored clays.  Although Wedgwood experimented with cane ware as early as 1771, it was not officially introduced in the company catalog until 1787 (Hildyard 2005:137; Buten 1980:173).  Wedgwood anticipated the Regency fashion for bamboo furniture and manufactured a variety of vessels with bamboo motifs—hence the commonly used designation of “Bamboo Ware” for this cane-colored ceramic. Glaze was sometimes applied to the rims of cane ware tankards to help prevent staining of the light colored paste (Buten 1980:176).  Cane ware’s heyday was from 1800 to around 1820 and was manufactured by a number of British pottery firms (Hildyard 2005:137; 223).

Description

Fabric
The English dry bodied stoneware paste is usually fine grained and non-porous, even semi-vitrified, although Dwight’s wares were often coarser and could have quartz and iron ore inclusions (Green 1999:91; Lewis 1999).

In the 17th century, Dwight’s dry bodied stonewares were wheel-thrown, while Elers vessels were mostly produced by slip casting. Both would turn their products on a lathe. In the 18th century, dry-bodied stonewares were generally thrown or molded (Barker and Halfpenny 1990:44; Green 1999:92).

Glaze
Dry bodied stonewares were not glazed, but some of Dwight’s vessels had a lustrous surface, possibly due to "heat polishing," while 18th-century vessels were also occasionally polished (Gusset 1980:211; Green 1999:90).  Cane ware meat pie dishes often contained an inner lining of creamware (Hildyard 2005:137).

Decoration
Dwight’s red stoneware vessels were generally undecorated, although he did apparently use sprig molds for a short time in the 1690s (Green 1999:128). The Elers commonly applied sprigs and die-stamped molds, often with floral designs, and occasionally painted their pieces (Elliott 1998:18; Lewis 1999:54). Eighteenth-century red stoneware was often decorated with sprigs or die-stamped molded reliefs, typically in floral designs or animal and human figures. Rosso antico often had reliefs in other colors, especially black (Mankowitz 1980:116). Engine turned designs were common after 1760. Pseudo-Chinese seal marks appear on the bases of some vessels, and were also used by the Elers (Barker and Halfpenny 1990:44; Poole 1995:68; Elliott 1998). Cane wares were sometimes embellished with enamel colors in both matte and glossy finishes, particularly during the last two decades of the eighteenth century (Buten 1980:174). Black basalt could be enamel painted, in addition to employing the decorative techniques found on red stoneware, such as engine turning (Elliott 1998:32). The sprig molded elements on jasperware were typically white (Lewis 1999).

Form
Dwight made red stoneware teapots and tea bowls, as well as jars and beakers. The Elers produced similar forms, along with cups, mugs, and tankards (Poole 1995:68; Elliott 1998; Green 1999). Eighteenth century red stonewares were mostly tea and coffee services; flatwares and other forms were rare (Barker and Halfpenny 1990:44). Black basalt was produced as teawares, as well as vases and other decorative pieces. Jasperware occurred as teaware, vases and other decorative pieces, and medallions (Poole 1995:86; Lewis 1999:99-100).  Cane ware was produced as teawares, tankards, meat pie dishes, tureens, bulb pots, bough pots and other decorative vessels.

Reference

Barker and Halfpenny 1990; Buten 1980; Elliott 1998; Green 1999; Gusset 1980; Hildyard 2005; Lewis 1999; Mankowitz 1980; Noël Hume 1970; Poole 1995.

Notes

Dry bodied stonewares were produced from local clays, sometimes with the addition of colored oxides or ochreous earths. There are many variations of color due to the clay mixtures and the firing environment (Mankowitz 1980:115). Dwight's pieces were generally dark red, but vessels ranging from greenish-brown to gray, or with a gray reduced core, have also been found (Green 1999:90). Some Elers vessels were chocolate brown, rather than red (Elliott 1998:23). Wedgwood and others made stonewares similar to black basalt, but in buff, light red, gray, and white, while rosso antico could range from dark red to chocolate (Mankowitz 1980:115). Jasperware could be tinted blue, green, lilac, black, and other colors (Poole 1995:86).