[51] Vol. I., p. 350.
[52] “The Wedgwoods; being a Life of Josiah Wedgwood, with Notices of his Works and their Productions,” &c. By Llewellynn Jewitt, F.S.A. London: Virtue & Co., 1865. 1 vol. 8vo, illustrated.
[53] For memoir of Bentley and others see my Life of Wedgwood.
[54] While speaking of the Portland Vase I desire to take the opportunity of putting on record the fact that in 1877 Mr. John Northwood and Mr. Philip Pargeter completed a unique and matchless work of art—a literal copy of the Portland Vase in its own material, glass, and cut by exactly the same process as must have been employed by the artist of the original one thousands of years back. Of this marvellous work I gave a careful account in the “Reliquary,” from which I make the following extract:—“The material is, of course, glass, and, thanks to the skill and perseverance of Mr. Pargeter, this has been produced of as nearly as possible the same rich full deep tone of blue colour, closely approaching to black when seen with the light upon it, but of vast richness in dark blue when the light passes through it. Upon this blue body Mr. Pargeter succeeded in laying a layer of fine white soft opal glass, specially made for the purpose, to a considerable thickness; and the welding of these two together was a process of exceeding difficulty. The two kinds of glass, the one being opaque and the other transparent, are usually of very different degrees of specific gravity (the usual opal being of much lighter material than ordinary glass), but for this special purpose they had to be made of the same degrees of specific gravity and of expansion and contraction. This difficult task was, through the skill and constant trials of Mr. Pargeter, brought to a successful result, and the welding accomplished with the utmost thoroughness and delicacy; not a flaw, or air-bubble, or even partially-united spot being visible in the whole of the work. The body of the vase being entirely coated, even to half-way up the neck, with the opal, it was ready for Mr. Northwood to operate upon, and he set about his herculean task—one he had desired all his life to accomplish—with that spirit of determination that ensured success. For three years he has unceasingly devoted himself to his task, never working less than six hours a day, and oftener more, at his gem-like material, and patiently cutting away, by hand, and by hand only, the opal coating, so as to leave the blue surface clear as a groundwork, and the figures and other parts of the design in relief. The whole of the grouping, the figures, the trees, and indeed every minute portion of the decoration is delicately carved in the opal, and entirely carved and cut by hand as in the original. By the entire cutting away of the opal the amethystine glass of the vase itself is cleared and polished, while by the gradations of thickness in the carving all the most delicate shades of colour, from the finest white to the sweetest of all half-tones—produced by leaving simply a thin and fairylike film of the coating on the body—in blue, are produced. The effect, as may be imagined, is rich and gorgeous in the extreme; but its general effect is the least part of its merit; this lies in the nature of the work itself, in the extreme delicacy and beauty of manipulation, and in the almost microscopic nicety of its finish. It is literally cameo engraving in its highest, most difficult, and most beautiful phase; and the vase, now completed, is indeed, in Art, a ‘gem of the first water,’ and one that can never, in point of execution and in artistic skill, be surpassed.”
I may also add, while speaking of the Portland Vase, that in 1877 one of the first fifty was brought to the hammer and realised £273.
[55] Veining, same as in the combed and tortoiseshell wares.
[56] Tortoiseshell ware.
[57] George Walker and his father-in-law, William Billingsley, who had assumed the name of Beeley or Bealey.—(See “Derby” and “Nantgarw.”)
[58] Of this clever painter Mr. Binns says:—“Baxter was certainly the most accomplished artist who painted Worcester porcelain in the first half of the present century, and his productions are the most covetable works of the time. We have been favoured by his son, Mr. Thomas Baxter, F.G.S., with a few notes respecting him. It was Mr. Baxter’s early training, aided by a naturally artistic mind, which enabled him to take the high position which we have assigned to him. Mr. Baxter’s grandfather had workshops in London for painting and gilding china; they were situated at No. 1, Goldsmith Street, Gough Square, Fleet Street, a locality connected with Worcester from an early date. It was usual for Mr. Baxter, sen., to obtain white porcelain from France, Staffordshire, and elsewhere, and decorate for the London dealers. It appears that Mr. Baxter, jun., was patronised by Lord Nelson, and frequently employed by him in making sketches at Merton; he also painted a rich dessert service for his lordship. Many of the celebrated subjects of the time painted by Sir J. Reynolds, West, and others, were introduced by him on plaques of porcelain; some of them are now in his son’s possession, viz., ‘Thetis and Achilles,’ after West; ‘Puck,’ after Sir J. Reynolds; and ‘Boy with Cabbage Nets,’ after the same artist. Mr. Baxter was also engaged by a celebrated connoisseur, in London, to copy some of the more remarkable works in his collection. This gentleman, in his conversation on Art matters, frequently stated that, in his opinion, there was no decorative Art in England. After his return from Paris, on one occasion, he showed Mr. Baxter a fine piece of porcelain which he had purchased in that city, and asked him whether such a work could be produced in England. To his great surprise, Mr. Baxter replied that he had painted that very piece himself, in Goldsmith Street. This little occurrence will give us some idea of the superior character of our artist’s work, and the effect of his teaching is evident in Messrs. Flight & Barr’s ornamental productions. Mr. Baxter established a School of Art during his visit to the city, from 1814 to 1816; and some of those who afterwards distinguished themselves in connection with the Arts and Art-manufactures of the city formed part of his class. Amongst these, we may name Doe, Astles, Webster, Pitman, Lowe, and S. Cole. When Mr. Baxter left Worcester, in 1816, he went to Mr. Dillwyn, at Swansea, and continued there for three years. Amongst the special works painted at that establishment, may be named the ‘Shakespeare Cup,’ now in the possession of his son, and a dessert service of garden scenery (a style peculiar to himself), which, we believe, is in the possession of Mr. Dillwyn. Mr. Baxter returned to Worcester in 1819, and joined Messrs. Flight & Barr’s establishment again, but subsequently removed to Messrs. Chamberlain’s. The handle of a well-known vase, formed by horses’ heads, was modelled by Mr. Baxter from the head of a favourite mare of Messrs. Barr. During Mr. Baxter’s residence with Messrs. Chamberlain, we believe his principal works were services; and the last of which he was engaged was a service of fruit, of which a specimen is in our cabinet. He died in April, 1821.” The ‘Shakespeare Cup’ or goblet, here alluded to, was “turned by Baxter himself, the form of the leg having the outline of the dramatist’s face in profile; the cup is adorned, both on its inner and outer side, with subjects from the plays.”
[59] A notice of Billingsley, his family, and the various works he founded, will be found on pp. 101 to 105 ante.