Tortoiseshell Wares Thomas Whieldon

thomas whieldon: tortoiseshell-ware plate, possibly thomas whieldon factory, c. 1760. similar pattern known used william greatbatch production of transfer-printed creamware in 1770s (see below). private collection.

a tortoiseshell ware creamware decorated under glaze painting or sponging metallic oxides. during glost firing, colours flow produce tortoiseshell effect.

tortoiseshell wares first mentioned thomas whieldon in account , memorandum book of 1749. in experiment book, josiah wedgwood states in 1759 tortoiseshell ware second important ware @ whieldon factory, market declining:

“[…] no improvement had been made in branch several years, country grown weary of it; , though price had been lowered time time, in order increase sale, expedient did not answer, , new wanted, give little spirit business.

historically, tortoiseshell wares have come associated exclusively thomas whieldon, however, ceramics expert pat halfpenny warns that:

“the ‘whieldon’ label has inhibited scholarly research , limited our understanding of pottery production dates in north staffordshire.”

in 1991 study of william greatbatch, david barker concluded:

a transfer-printed plate of c. 1755–60. maker unknown. printed in liverpool. on display @ victoria & albert museum, cat. 2246-1901. london.

many of wares manufactured whieldon of types known have been made greatbatch , have been found on greatbatch site. whieldon ware, or whieldon-type ware terms accepted in describing variety of ceramics, particularly tortoiseshell wares, lead problems in objective research pottery of period.

in absence of supporting information, caution therefore needed in ascribing particular tortoiseshell wares thomas whieldon.