Royal Doulton Gilded Creamware Dining Set - 90 Pieces

A gilded creamware partial dining set by Royal Doulton,…
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A gilded creamware partial dining set by Royal Doulton, comprising approximately 90 pieces, the dinner plates 27 cm diameter

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  • Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

    For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

    Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
  • Creamware - Creamware, also known as "Queens Ware" is the

    cream-coloured English earthenware developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1760s.

    The invention of creamware was the result of experimentation in order to find a

    British substitute for imported Chinese porcelain, and the cream colour was

    considered a fault at the time. The lightweight fine white earthenware with a

    clean rich yellowish proved ideal for  tableware

    and decorative items during the 18th and 19th centuries and is still produced

    today.



    Creamware is made from a

    mixture of kaolin, feldspar, and ball clay, and is typically glazed before

    firing to give it its glossy finish. It was developed by British potters as a

    cheaper alternative to porcelain.



    At Wedgwood, Royal patronage

    boosted sales. In 1765 Queen Charlotte, the consort of King George III placed

    an order for a 12 place tea set and allowed Wedgwood to use the name

    "Queens Ware" for the line. In 1770 Wedgwood produced a creamware

    dinner service of 952 pieces supplied to Catherine II the Great of Russia.



    Other potteries such as

    Doulton, Neale & Co. and Spode produced smaller quantities of creamware.



    Creamware continued to be

    made throughout the 19th century and later.

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