John Astbury (1688–1743)"Astbury, John" in ''

The New Encyclopædia Britannica ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 649. was an English

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

credited with innovations and improvements in

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

associated with Staffordshire figures. Although an important figure, as with

Thomas Whieldon Thomas Whieldon (September 1719 in Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent – March 1795) was a significant English potter who played a leading role in the development of Staffordshire pottery. The attribution of actual pieces to his factory has long been ...

there is considerable uncertainty over which actual pieces were made in his pottery. This has led to some museums such as the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

now calling all its pieces "Style of John Astbury".

Life and work

Astbury was reputed to have masqueraded as an idiot in order to gain access to the works of the

Elers brothers John Philip Elers (7 September 1664 – 1738) and his brother David Elers were Dutch silversmiths who came to England in the 1680s and turned into potters. The Elers brothers were important innovators in English pottery, bringing redware or ungla ...

, John Philip and David, Dutch emigrants who had settled in Bradwell, Staffordshire, about 1690. He discovered the secrets of their manufacture of red ware pottery, and set up a rival establishment at

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire *Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire *Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfor ...

, also in

The Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ...

. He introduced the use of Bideford pipeclay, and in 1720, happening to notice a

hostler A hostler or ostler is a groom or stableman, who is employed in a stable to take care of horses, usually at an inn. In the twentieth century the word came to be used in railroad industry for a type of train driver. Etymology The word is spelled ...

blowing powder from a red-hot

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

stone pulverised into the eyes of a horse as a remedy, hit upon the application of calcined flint in pottery, which greatly improved his ware. His style of decorating with

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

s is called

sprigging Sprigging is the planting of sprigs, plant sections cut from rhizomes or stolons that includes crowns and roots, at spaced intervals in furrows or holes. Depending on the environment, this may be done by hand or with mechanical row planters. Spr ...

. His experiments in adding materials such as

to potting clay led to changes in color and texture emulated by others. His early work with adding

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

to glaze influenced

creamware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 175 ...

and the later work by

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indust ...

. He died in Shelton 1743, aged 55, and was buried in Stoke churchyard, having made a fortune, and leaving several sons.

Family and influence

One son, Thomas Astbury, had begun business in Lane Delph, Stoke, in 1725, and was the first English manufacturer of what came to be called

. Samuel Astbury, also a potter, a brother of John Astbury, married Elizabeth, the sister of Thomas Wedgwood, father of

, and was in 1744 one of the witnesses to the deed of Josiah's apprenticeship to pottery-making. One of Wedgwood's biographers attributed his success to his adoption of the important inventions described above, with which she credits Samuel Astbury.

Eliza Meteyard Eliza Meteyard (1816–1879) was an English writer. She was known for journalism, essays, novels, and biographies, particularly as an authority on Wedgwood pottery and its creator. She did living writing for periodicals. Life The daughter of Wi ...

. ''The Life of Josiah Wedgwood'' (2 volumes). Possibly Samuel Astbury contributed to John's improvements of his art, but there seems no reason for doubting that it was John and not Samuel who was their discoverer.

References

External links

(thepotteries.org - retrieved 2 Feb 2011)

(thepotteries.org - retrieved 2 Feb 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Astbury, John English potters Staffordshire pottery 1688 births 1743 deaths

Life and work

Family and influence

References

Further reading

External links