'The Diary' plaque
Factory:
Minton
Decorator:
Solon, Louis-Marc-Emmanuel
Minton & Co.
Porcelain with pâte-sur-pâte decoration on a dark bluish-green ground.
Square tinted porcelain plaque, decorated with a white pâte-sur-pâte image of a girl seated on a stool tearing leaves from a book; Cupid stands in front of her offering her his pen; the pages float away behind her, as if on the wind. The face and sides are clear glazed. The underside is flat, unglazed and unmarked.
History note: Louis-Marc-Emmanuel Solon, Stoke-on-Trent; sold Hanley, Charles Butters & Sons, 26-28 November 1912, Catalogue of the Pottery & porcelain in the Collection of L.M. Solon, second day, lot 368; purchased by Mr Stoner for £17.17 on behalf of Dr Glaisher
Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest
Height: 0.5 cm
Width: 16 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
20th Century, Early
Edward VII
Production date:
AD 1909
: dated
Dr Glaisher bought this plaque from the artist, who told him that ‘the torn out pages blown behind her by the wind represent superseded lovers and Cupid hands her the pen with which to start a new page’. The plaque was in a gilt slip and black frame at this point.
Louis-Marc-Emmanuel Solon (1835-1913), born at Montauban in France, was originally employed at Sèvres as a figure modeller and there became a leading exponent of pâte-sur-pâte decoration. Some of his early work is signed ‘MILES’. In 1870 he joined Mintons where, until he retired in 1904, he established the company as the premier producer of pâte-sur-pâte wares, winning accolades at many of the international exhibitions. An inventive designer, he rarely copied directly from sources and introduced a range of new tinted grounds. Many of his apprentices, such as Frederick Rhead and Albion Birks, achieved their own renown as pâte-sur-pâte practitioners. This plaque was produced after Solon’s retirement, when he continued to decorate slab decoration on slabs supplied by Mintons while writing and collecting a library of over 4,000 books on pottery .
Minton, founded in 1793, originally produced blue printed earthenware and, later, creamware, bone china and other products, particularly tableware. From the mid 1830s, new lines in encaustic and printed tiles, figures and ornamental wares were introduced. The early business traded under various names, from 1845 it was known as Minton & Co. and from 1873 as Mintons Ltd.
Pâte-sur-pâte decoration is created by applying layers of white slip (liquid clay) with a brush. By using this method, the decorator is able to achieve a semi-translucent image, which would not be possible with moulded reliefs.
Decoration
tinted Porcelain
Accession number: C.3104-1928
Primary reference Number: 137206
Old object number: 3605
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "'The Diary' plaque" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/137206 Accessed: 2024-04-20 04:30:01
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/137206
|title='The Diary' plaque
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-20 04:30:01|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-137206
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