A look at the design, market and legacy of Victorian pottery

Monday, August 9, 2010

Japonisme: Fabulous Fans Pt. 4, Shorter & Bolton

Shorter and Boulton made a number of Japonesque designs in that brief time but the design for which they are best known is their "Fan" design.








They also created a variety of matching pieces, tea sets, plates and cups and saucers which we discuss in another post in this series. These pieces are believed to have been copied by the Trenton, NJ companies Eureka and Willets manufacturing. Because of the massive degree of copying among potters it is difficult to gauge which pieces were made in the USA and which were made by Shorter and Boulton. Only an English registration mark guarantees the provenance but craftsmanship can be a guide with the Shorter pieces slightly finer in their glazing.

These fan plates are relatively easy to find though pieces with intense color will command higher prices. The hollowware pieces, particularly the tea set, are much harder to find and will command a premium.

*This post has been updated since it was first published

6 comments:

  1. I just lectured (not on majolica) to the Majolica International Society...and then came home and bought one of those triangular "fan" pattern pitchers on Ebay. Who knew? (and I've been a curator for 36 years)

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    1. Eureka made some wonderful majolica. The pitcher to which you allude was, to the best of my knowledge, made in three sizes.

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  2. I have a pitcher like the owl and fan one without a lid. The owl faces are smeared and imperfect. There is no makers mark on the bottom. Other than the smeared faces, the piece really looks like these photos. Any thoughts on whether the errors render it more or less valuable? More/less likely to be a reproduction?
    Thanks!

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    1. To the best of my knowledge only the teapot in this pattern has been reproduced, not the pitchers. Neither the originals nor the reproductions are marked.

      Crisply modeled pieces with good definition and glazing will always command better prices than others.

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  3. Good morning. I have the pitcher, tea set sugar and creamer. Who could I contact to see what their worth.

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    1. Your best bet is to check the completed auction results from online auctions. Live Auctions allows you to view past results once you’ve registered. It’s free.

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