Majolica Garden Seats

Minton majolica garden seat

It was a matter of chance that the British abolition of the glass tax in 1847 and window tax in 1851 happened around the same time as the invention of Victorian majolica. The vast English upper and middle classes had entered an era of ostentatious wealth where conspicuous consumption was the fashion of the day and nothing said wealth to the Victorians like the luxury of the home conservatory. New exotic species of plants, flowers and fruits were appearing from the far corners of the vast British empire and the only way to enjoy these things were in a greenhouse.

The history of greenhouses goes back to Roman times but the reemergence of the greenhouse in the last half of the 19th Century was the perfect opportunity for majolica manufacturers to use the environment to expand their list of products. Home conservatories became the center of entertainment in these newly wealthy households and majolica was great for grabbing attention. All at once majolica began to appear in conservatories on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tanglewood Conservatory showing a Brownfield garden seat

An unidentified jardiniere and garden seat 

used as a jardiniere pedestal 

Detail of a painting by Sébastien-Charles Giraud showing a 

Minton majolica jardiniere in a conservatory

Fountains and garden seats, formerly the domain of the iron trade emerged in the colorful majolica shown by Minton at the London Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851. Where the majority of the majolica fountains created during this period have since deteriorated the garden seats have remained for the modern collector to enjoy.

Minton blackamoor garden seat

All of the major English potters made garden seats. Minton, Holdcroft, Fielding, Forester, Copeland, Brown-Westhead, Moore, and Wedgwood produced these in prodigious quantities, usually with the same conceits that influenced their other wares. All of the major design styles popular during the time influenced their look: neo-gothic, Egyption revival,  naturalism, Eastlake,  Japonisme and  Orientalism all appeared.

Minton monkey garden seat

Minton concept drawings for two garden seats

Minton majolica garden seat in the Alhambra style

Minton majolica armchair garden seat

Minton majolica Indian garden seat

Wedgwood Fan garden seat

Wedgwood Rubens majolica garden seat

Unattributed garden seat 

Majolica garden seat attributed to Thomas Sergent

George Jones calla lily garden seat

George Jones pond cane/umbrella stand

Jones majolica bamboo and cattails garden set

George Jones Egyptian garden seat 

Wedgwood bamboo garden seat

Copeland majolica garden seat

Schiller & Son monkey garden seat

Julius Dressler majolica garden seat

Sarreguemines majolica faux bois garden seat

Brownfield majolica Hops garden seat

Thomas Forester majolica garden seat

Choisy-le-Roi majolica garden seat

Copeland majolica garden seat 

Wardle majolica garden seat

Minton majolica ribbon garden seat 

Adams & Bromley majolica garden seat. Also made by Brownfield

Minton majolica Chinoiserie garden seat

Brown-Westhead Moore majolica oak garden seat

George Jones daisy garden seat 

Banks & Thorley bamboo garden seat

Brown-Westhead Moore sphinx garden seat

Fielding majolica emu garden seat

Holdcroft fence and bamboo garden seat

Adams & Bromley majolica garden seat

Fielding Stork garden seat

Minton Gothic Revival garden seat

Minton Pugin designed Gothic Revival garden seat

Unattributed garden seat

Minton majolica stag garden seat

Minton chinoiserie garden seat

Minton majolica Chinoiserie garden seat

Minton majolica garden seat

Minton garden seat English Registration entry

Wedgwood majolica Lincoln garden seat 

Unattributed English garden seat

George Jones majolica pond lily garden seat

Copeland majolica Pugin style garden seat

George Jones majolica rustic garden seat 

Minton majolica Chinoiserie garden seat

Holdcroft majolica peacock garden seat

Mintons majolica banana leaf garden seat

George Jones acanthus leaf garden seat

Brown-Westhead Moore Egyptian garden seat

Holdcroft majolica blackamoor garden seat

Minton bamboo garden seat

Brown-Westhead Moore majolica garden seat

George Jones crane garden seat

Forester majolica garden seat

Villeroy & Boch majolica blackamoor garden seat

Villeroy & Boch majolica garden seat

Zsolnay majolica mushroom garden seat

Zsolnay majolica floral garden seat

Unattributed majolica garden seat

Minton majolica Chinoiserie garden seat

If you have your heart set on a garden seat, you better have a healthy bank account. Garden seats do not come cheaply. While you can pick up some unmarked examples in the $500-$600 range, expect to pay 2-5 times that for a marked example from a major potter with many designs going for several times those prices.

Still, it is a lovely addition to a collection and one that says boldly, "I love majolica!"

*This post has been updated since it was first posted