Victorian Pottery

Victorian Pottery Style

It is often said that Victorian Style reached its peak at the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851 which was held at Crystal Palace.

The industrial revolution had enabled the mass production of items and pottery could be made in huge quantities and at a price that could be afforded by a much wider range of people than ever before.

Historical revivals, flowers, contemporary famous people, animals and scenic views were found over plates, vases, jugs, teapots, cups & saucers and even foot baths The big staffordhsire factories such as Wedgwood, Minton and Copeland were always seeking out new designs to tempt their customers with. It seemed to be that the more decoration the better,

Victorian Gothic was the 19th Century re-interpretation of medieval Gothic style. This is most often seen today in Victorian church style where the buildings were designed to copy medieval cathedrals and abbeys.

One of the main poponents of this style was the architect & designer Augustus Pugin. Much of Pugins work was intended for churches and public buildings such as the Houses of parliament

As well as designing buildings he also designed the tiles, silver work and pottery to complete the interiors. More detail will be ofund in future under the Victorian Gothic tiles section.

Victorian Gothic ceramics were manufactured by several of the great potteies including Minton. Slip cast stoneware jugs of circa 1840s / 1850s were frequently made in the style.

The Victorian Aesthetic movement was driven by the works of the leading designers of the time, Christopher Dresser and Owen Jones. Both used designs from nature and were influences by Oriental & Asian styling.

There was a general belief that the ornamention should not take over the function of the object nor reduce its fitness for use. The design tended to be of high quality.

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