SUNDIAL ANTIQUES
Early Blue & White Pottery and Porcelain, Sunderland Pottery
Worcester
Here's an interesting piece - this tea
bowl is not
marked and could be Worcester or Caughley, printed or painted! This piece is
damaged, and although I would alway recommend the purchase of perfect items when
available, my personal collection consists of a great many damaged items. The
problem is that quite often a perfect piece is exhorbitantly expensive! Since
I discovered that expert Henry Sandon collects damaged items -
well, what's good enough for him is good enough for me too!
I love the colourful Sunderland lustre, the pink
decoration is so distinctive - and it's local to my area. I have a very good book,
published by the Museum, which gives loads of information regarding the types of pieces
produced, the varying prints of the Sunderland Bridge
and also lists all the known
verses used on the pieces. Copies
available price £15 plus postage and packing.
I have found this book to be invaluable, as most of the pieces are unmarked, and it is a great help in identification.
I notice that a lot of items on eBay, for example, are described as "Staffordshire Sunderland" - this is nonsense. Staffordshire is in the Midlands and Sunderland on the North East Coast, there is no connection between the two. Many of the items so described are definitely Staffordshire, few are actually the sought-after Sunderland. Here are some real Sunderland pieces showing the verses:
Remember the transfers and lustre were often applied by children, these illustrations show three distinct types of lustreware painting. When they were made, these souvenir pieces would be rushed off as soon as possible. They were often made for sailors to take home as presents, so can be found a long way from home. One of the best collections is in a museum in Canada, unfortunately I don't actually know the location.