Sunderland lustreware is a type of

lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (respectively the spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a Metal, metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic Oxide, oxides in an Cer ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

made, mostly in the early 19th century, in several potteries around

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. According to Michael Gibson there were 16 potteries in Sunderland of which 7 are known to have produced lustrewares (alongside conventional wares of various types) in the nineteenth century. Many are not marked, and are hard or impossible to distinguish from similar wares made in

Staffordshire pottery 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 ce ...

, as well as

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

, so to some extent Sunderland has become a term for the style, rather than a specific indication of origin. Chimneypiece consisting of three pieces MET DP-1239-053

Chimneypiece consisting of three pieces MET DP-1239-053

Lustreware was not made in England before the start of the 19th century, and was initially developed in Staffordshire, where

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

developed a pink or gold lustre finish about 1805, which they sold as "Moonlight". The Sunderland factories mostly made fairly cheap and popular pieces, many of them plaques, especially rectangular ones with "picture frame" edges, and an image of inscription in the central panel; these are usually in the characteristic pink colour. These might be a

transfer-printed Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece. Fleming, John & Hugh Hon ...

image of a ship, celebrity, or building, or a painted personal inscription (known as presentation pieces). Many used the "splash lustre" effect, achieved by dropping drops of oil onto the lustred piece before firing. This pottery is now very collectible. It is normally found in a pink form, but orange and other colours are also found. Typical pieces are plaques with moral or religious images and texts, and jugs featuring a design incorporating the bridge over the River Wear, or various heraldic - especially Masonic - devices. The

Wearmouth Bridge Wearmouth Bridge is a through arch bridge across the River Wear in Sunderland. It is the final bridge over the river before its mouth with the North Sea. Original bridge The original Wearmouth Bridge was designed by Thomas Paine and opened in ...

re-opened after a major reconstruction in 1859. Most of the pieces available today were produced in Anthony Scott's Pottery in Southwick, Dawson's Pottery in Low Ford (now South Hylton), or at Dixon, Austin & Co. A comprehensive collection is on display in the

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a municipal museum in Sunderland, England. It contains the only known British example of a gliding reptile, the oldest known vertebrate capable of gliding flight. The exhibit was discovered in Eppleton qua ...

Gallery

File:Peace and Plenty MET DP-1239-032 (cropped).jpg, Transfer-printed ship, with inscription ""May Peace & Plenty / On our Nation Smile / and trade with Commerce / Bless the British Isle" File:Commemorative plates Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (8096458129) (cropped).jpg, Plaque with the

. File:Commemorative plates Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (8096466406).jpg, Splash plaque with

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a young ...

MP, leading Radical File:Commemorative plates Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (8096459897).jpg, Splash plaque with a railway File:Commemorative plates Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (8096459813).jpg, Memorial plaque, presumably 1839 Image:Sunderland Lustreware Plaque.jpg, Sunderland lustreware plaque Image:Sunderland Lustreware Jug.jpg, Sunderland lustreware jug for the "Mariner's Arms" pub.

Notes

References

*Godden, Geoffrey, ''English China'', 1985, Barrie & Jenkins,

External links

{{commons category, Sunderland pottery
Sunderland Lustreware and Sunderland Pottery
English pottery City of Sunderland