English and European Fine Porcelain

The Porcelain, Makers and Decorators

The very finest porcelain makers and decorators of the 18th and 19th centuries catered only for a very small minority: the wealthy and royalty of western Europe. These rich families wanted only the very best, which led to many of them owning their own factories. Louis XV owned Sevres in the 18th century, and for a short period banned the use of gilding by competitors throughout France, except of course to enhance his own Sevres porcelain. The life blood for all these porcelain makers were the artists and the quality of decoration, with the very best being drawn to this smooth surface, as minute detail and clarity were far easier to achieve. Few painted on any other surface. Whole generations of families followed one another, with the very best, all over Europe, setting up their own decorating studios. In one of the finest examples of man's dedication to find perfection, William Billingsley, regardless of his prowess as the floral decorator of his era, found his major interest in life was experimenting to achieve the very finest porcelain body on which to demonstrate his exceptional talent. These photos feature many of the very finest artistic decorators over the last three centuries – there are over fifty references to be found in the Index to Artists and Gilders.

The Website

The photos on these pages are the record of a collection. The emphasis is on the artist and, where possible, the passing on of information. The last thought in most manufacturers' minds was to identify their production by marking, or signing their pieces, and speculation abounds as to who made what, and when. The need to identify the manufacturer, designer, artist, and date, has prompted more books devoted to the probable attribution of china over the last three centuries than any other, but despite this, there are still many unanswered questions. The work and perseverance of Geoffrey Godden has answered many questions but, to illustrate the problem, he, with his co-author, Terence Locket, produced at great length a book on the history of Davenport China, a company that existed for nearly the whole of the 19th century, and yet they could only identify one artist by name. This, a little more than a century later, shows that these manufacturers had no idea they were creators, whose creations would later be treasured.

These photos have been taken over a very long period by Jeremy Jordan, a long time family friend of exceptional talent, who is recognised for his work in journalism to the display of high fashion and now porcelain.