Meissen eagle teapot in Bottger porcelain decorated in the workshop of Bartholomeus and Abraham Seuter, c.1720. It features in the E&H Manners catalogue.
E&H Manners’ current catalogue concerns the independent European artists who used the white surfaces of porcelain and tin-glazed earthenware as a surface to apply enamelling.
The hausmaler would buy porcelain as blanks and, thanks to the small size of muffle kilns, used to vitrify enamels, these independent craftsment could carry out their work either at home or away from the large factories that produced the objects.
The process, known in England as ‘outside decoration’, had major moments in the history of European porcelain production between the 17th and 19th century.
Featured in the catalogue is a variety of these small-scale independent artists represented through early decorations on Meissen, French gold decoration of the 18th century and the Metzsch workshop of Bayreuth.
These independent decorators are difficult to study as a group and they were so disparate, and had so many different concerns, styles and settings to work in. The last major overview on the subject was published in 1925 with further subsequent studies focusing on specific regions and workshops.
Reverse-glass painting, c.1700-10, of an Amazon on Horseback, by Bohemian artist Daniel Preissler (1636-1733), who, along with his son Ignaz, produced some of the most esteemed examples of glass outside decoration on glass and porcelain. It features in the E&H Manners catalogue.
The dealership starts with an apology: “No commercial venture such as this could hope to represent this vast subject, but we hope we have been able to give a flavour of the fascinating range and curious byways one stumbles across in its pursuit.”
Even so, it has managed to put together 65 works meticulously catalogued in 235 pages, likely making it a major moment for both collectors and porcelain enthusiasts.
Decorators of Ceramics and Glass: Independent, Itinerant and the Hausmaler is accompanied by an exhibition running until June 7 at the Kensington Church Street, London, gallery, where the offerings are priced from £220-145,000.
