1857 Kerr & Binns Worcester Porcelain Handled Plate by Rushton
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A Kerr & Binns Worcester porcelain handled plate, dated 1857, the decoration by Josiah Rushton, circular with a pair of upturned loop handles extending from beneath the raised sides, white ground with gilt borders, the centre plain, the border decorated with scrolling foliage between opposed gilt-framed portraits of Raphael and van Dyck to the front and rear and smaller gilt-framed classical masks to the sides, signed by Rushton with conjoined initials underside within the printed red shield factory mark, 28 cm wide across the handles. Provenance: Charles Wentworth Wass (1822-1905), according to the fragmentary note to him from Richard William Binns pasted to the underside. Other notes: Binns's letter preserved in three fragments to the underside, dated 6 July, 1897 from Diglis house, Worcester, reads 'Dear Mr Wass, the patera you allude to was painted by Josiah Rushton a pupil / of Bott's and a charming figure painter / he left US many years ago to take / up portrait painting in oils., I remain / yours faithfully / Rw Binns', Charles Wass, an engraver and Art dealer, was a keen collector of fine porcelain with particular interest in collecting specimens from important and notable services. As with the present lot, he preserved details of provenance and related information with labels stuck to undersides.. Condition: minor gilding loss in places, very small loss on one portrait reserve and minor scratches
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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.
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