One of the most popular Wedgwood patterns of its time, St. Louis is one of the Aesthetic Movement majolica designs that emerged from Wedgwood during the 1880s. In the Wedgwood pattern books it occupies second place in number of entries—79—just eleven less than the number one pattern, Fan. Made in both Argenta and full color versions it has long been one of my personal favorite majolica patterns.
Utilizing iconography taken from Japanese arts, the pattern is quite showy in its full color version and quite austere in its Argenta coloration. As one of the Asian abstract designs made by the company, it blends very well with other Aesthetic Movement pattern from the same period, Fan, Lincoln and Alaska, all utilizing some of the same motifs. The name itself appears to have been chosen at random in keeping with Wedgwood’s practice of naming patterns after places in the U.S. and Britain, e.g. Grosvenor, Chicago, Stanley, Salisbury, Alaska and Lincoln.
Basic St. Louis features alternating geometric pattern separated by thin dividers. Prunus blossoms and stylized chrysanthemums break up the geometry of the ground. The most prevalent full color treatment of the pattern showcases alternating panels of grey and turquoise with scalloped grey outer borders and chromium orange trim and dividers. Oyster plates come in cobalt and turquoise alternating panels, turquoise and grey and yellow and cobalt. The chrysanthemums are glazed in brown with cadmium orange centers. Prunus branches are green or brown with green leaves and rose and ivory blossoms.
There are other colorful treatments that simplify the different components by using a solid color for the ground panels and using similar colors for both the borders and the chrysanthemums.
The traditional Argenta treatment features an all over ivory ground with dividers and chrysanthemums in taupe with yellow centers and rose colored conventionalized flowers around the border. Prunus blossoms are rose and yellow with taupe branches and leaves.
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