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

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

The Egyptian Revival Movement in Majolica

 

The Victorian period was filled with style “revivals.” Renaissance Revival, Gothic Revival, Jacobean Revival, Romanesque Revival, Rococo Revival and Neoclassic Revival to name a few. All of these had influence on every field of decorative endeavor from architecture to jewelry to paintings to fabrics and furniture. None, however, had more influence on ceramic manufacturers than Egyptian Revival.

Most ceramic companies during the late Victorian age created pieces with Egyptian themes and the influence was broadly shown in Europe. Great Britain ruled the world in the last half of the 19th Century and those who could afford to took advantage of friendly overseas travel to experience other lands. The Grand Tour, where upper middle class adventurers would travel through Europe in search of worldly enlightenment, became a staple of Victorian life. As the British Empire expanded to the Middle East, Africa and India it would increase places of interest for travel. 

The strange fascination with ancient Egypt had roots at the tail end of the 18th Century.

Bonaparte before the Sphinx by Jean-Léon Gérôme

The Vanderbilt family on their Grand Tour in Egypt

Ever since Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and brought back strange and exotic items to Europeans, interest in Egyptomania flourished throughout the continent. After the coronation of Great Britain’s Queen Victoria, the world would have seventy years to wait before the biggest ancient Egyptian discovery would occur—that of the undisturbed tomb of King Tutankhamen—but icons of ancient Egypt like pyramids, scarabs and the sphinx made for fashionable decor in Victorian homes that majolica manufacturers were more than happy to cater to. English potters George Jones and Wedgwood fed this appetite for Egyptian revival material with zeal. 

Wedgwood created a full line of majolica wares with Egyptian silver plate fittings in the 1860s.






They made candlesticks and desksets shaped like Egyptian funerary skiffs, canopic jars and ancient Egyptian sphinxes.

Wedgwood skiff desk set in majolica with griffin head at the prow

Wedgwood majolica Egyptian candlestick


Wedgwood majolica candlestick in green malachite

Wedgwood sphinx candleholder

Egyptian motifs found their way into Wedgwood majolica designs like this Reed jug, cattail jug and this Christopher Dresser jardiniere with flying fish.

Wedgwood majolica Lotus jug

Wedgwood majolica reed syrup

A Christopher Dresser Wedgwood majolica design

George Jones made a stunning sphinx adorned jardiniere, candlesticks and centerpieces in majolica and used Egyptian motifs in other pieces.

George Jones majolica jardiniere

George Jones majolica candlestick

George Jones majolica centre

George Jones lotus jardiniere

George Jones lotus vase

Egyptian inspired Jones orchid moon flasks

Egyptian inspired Jones orchid moon flasks

Jones snake handled pate dish

George Jones majolica garden seat

There is also an entire subset of desert pieces featuring camels.
George Jones majolica camel flower holder

George Jones camel compote

Royal Worcester majolica camel

Holdcroft majolica seated camel

Rörstrand majolica camel & rider

Gusrafsberg majolica camel & rider

Massier majolica camel

Massier majolica camel

Massier majolica camel

WS&S majolica humidor


Anton Tschinkel majolica camel humidor

BWM Arabic figure with camel

In addition to the figural vase of the camel with and Arabic figure shown above, Brown-Westhead Moore created an innovative garden seat with an Egyptian motif and a sphinx garden seat as well. 

Brown-Westhead Moore majolica garden seat

BWM majolica sphinx garden seat

The Copeland Lotus Pitcher remains a standout in the field of Egyptian design.


Wilhelm Schiller & Son created a number of pieces with Egyptian themes.


WS&S vases. A Christopher Dresser design

An adaptation of a Wedgwood design

WS&S majolica box

Linthorpe and Ault also made Egyptian pieces based on Christopher Dresser designs

Linthorpe Dresser jardiniere

Ault Dresser jardiniere, also made by Linthorpe

Ault Dresser jardiniere, also made by Linthorpe

Linthorpe Dresser jardiniere

Jules Dressler, Royal Dux and Eichwald of Bohemia all made Egyptian themed majolica.


Dressler jardiniere

Royal Dux card tray
Eichwald majolica cigarette box

Numerous other pieces of Egyptian themed ware can be found as well

Sarreguemines lotus decorated majolica vase


Gerbing & Stephans majolica planter

Gerbing & Stephans majolica ewer

Adams & Bromley in commemoration of the 
erection of Cleopatra's Needle in London in 1877


Thomas Sergent sphinx adorned deskset

Minton moon flask with an Egyptian themed painting

Minton Christopher Dresser triple amphora vase

Minton Hollins majolica Egyptian themed tile

Egyptian revival garden seat

Many, many more pieces were created by Minton, Wedgwood, Schiller and Dressler in non majolica ware which attends to the popularity of the subject. I hope this gives you at least a taste of the profound influence of Egyptian Revival design on Victorian majolica.

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