382: A Slop Bowl Revelation

Photo: Chronica Domus

One of the most fulfilling aspects of writing Chronica Domus is the interaction I share with you, my readership, through the comments section. I enjoy the stories you share, the wit, repartee, and the nuggets of knowledge you collectively pass along.  I always learn something new, thank you.

Occasionally I receive emails too.  One morning last week, while enjoying my early morning cuppa, a most interesting email from a reader in the United Kingdom landed in my message box. Fiona, a keen collector of Spode ceramics, wrote to tell me that she had read my post on slop bowls, found here, and wanted to share some information on the bowl which I had described as a particular favorite of mine.  It is pictured in the photograph above.

Fiona kindly informed me that I had erroneously written that the bowl had been decorated using a process known as bat printing.  She went on to explain that the monochrome pastoral scenes had in fact been accomplished by hand painting. Furthermore, Fiona was able to pinpoint the exact year of manufacture, 1803, which was two years earlier than my best guess. I was gobsmacked. How, I wondered, had she known all this?  I had long assumed that these early pieces were exclusively decorated through the bat printed method.

Fiona's extensive knowledge of early Spode led her to believe my bowl had a pattern number associated with the decoration, 382.  Champing at the bit in anticipation of validating Fiona's hunch, I toddled over to my slop bowl, which currently resides atop the drawing room's secretary bookcase.  I took a quick gander at its base, and there they were.  Three little numbers, 382.  Fiona was indeed correct. 

Photo: Chronica Domus

No doubt about it now, this bowl had been hand painted and not bat printed as I had mistakenly assumed

Photo: Chronica Domus

Suddenly, I was staring at what I had previously thought to have been printed scenes with fresh perspective and slightly wider eyes. The little vignettes were very obviously painted by a skilled artist upon closer examination, something I would have missed entirely were it not for Fiona's astute observations. No wonder this particular slop bowl appealed so strongly!  It has long become a most cherished bowl, particularly because of its handsome decoration.  Knowing it was hand painted has only increased its charm and appeal.  I adore it.

Ever the dipso that I am for knowledge, and having had my curiosity aroused by Fiona, my thoughts turned next to the various cups and saucers I own bearing similar vignettes to the slop bowl.  Had I been wrong about those pieces too? Were they also hand painted? Individually painted ceramics represented a far more costly method of decoration than bat printing, and certainly more time consuming to be sure.  I could not wait to investigate.

A quick fumble through my groaning cupboards produced several examples, each baring varied bucolic landscape scenes.  At first glance, my untrained eye was not able to detect any perceptible difference in decoration. Pattern marks on the undersides of the cups and saucers were lacking, which was of no help to me. Apparently, only the larger, more expensive items were marked at the factory during the company's early days. Having lingered over the individual pieces for a few moments longer, I was finally convinced that there had indeed been more than one method employed in decorating these handsome ceramics. Here is what I found.

A Spode bat printed cup and saucer

Photo: Chronica Domus

...and 

A Spode hand painted cup and saucer

Photo: Chronica Domus

Now, as many of you might have already detected, details excite me. I relish them, in fact. Bearing this in mind, you'll quite understand the level of excitement that Fiona's revelation had sparked within me. I was now looking at my early Spode wares with new found interest and fascination.

The first cup and saucer set appeared more silvery grey in tone and less detailed than the second.  The scenes are more dotty in appearance when viewed from close proximity.  The second cup and saucer set achieves its look through a denser form of decoration.  One can clearly identify it is hand painted when studying the delicate and painstakingly detailed brush strokes that went into painting the foliage of the trees. The color appears to veer towards a charcoal grey when compared to the first cup and saucer.

Consulting my well-thumbed copy of  Mr. Godden's An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain, I discover an illustration straight from Spode's pattern book of the hand painted Pattern 382.

Pattern 382 lifted directly from Spode's factory pattern book appears in Mr. Godden's tome identifying the decoration as having been hand painted

Photo: Chronica Domus

Fiona's email further states that the hand painted pieces were a fore-runner to the bat printed wares, which is how she was able to accurately date my slop bowl to 1803. Hand painting was performed for only about a year before bat printing was introduced.

Pieces of Pattern 382 as shown on Page 300 of Mr. Godden's tome confirming my slop bowl was indeed decorated by hand

Photo: Chronica Domus

On the opposite page, Mr. Godden showcases similar tea wares decorated using bat prints.

Ah, there they are, my bat printed cups and saucers

Photo: Chronica Domus

I cannot thank the knowledgeable Fiona enough for her email and my ensuing enlightenment regarding these attractive ceramics.  They bring me abundant joy with their use. What is the point of owning such pretty little things if they are solely to be admired from afar?  I believe it is always much more pleasurable, and fun, to put these objects to good service. Besides, I cannot express enough how delicious tea tastes while being sipped from thin-walled bone china cups.

Fiona, my untrained eye has forever been honed, and for that I am most eternally grateful to you. Thank you.

Do any of you own a treasure that brought you much joy only to be further enhanced by the discovery of its provenance or manufacture?  Do please tell me about it.