PORCELAIN  AND  FAIENCE.

31

signs  to  a  glazed  surface  to  the  decoration  of  bis  porcelain.
The  earliest  known  dato  of  this  printed  wäre  is  1757,  upon  a
jug  now  in  the  Collection  of  the  Museum  of  Practica!  Geology,
  London.  The  design  is  in  black,  over  the  glaze;  and
the  pieces  so  decorated  were  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  enamel
  kiln  only.  The  invention  of  ifnder-glaze  printing  soon
followed,  the  designs  being  transferred  to  the  unglazed  biscuit.
  Robert  Hancock,  ’who  had  studied  under  Ravenet  at
the  enamel  works  at  Battersea  in  1750,  was  the  engraver  of
the  early  designs  for  transfer.
The  earliest  Worcester  porcelain,  according  to  Mr.
Binns,  *  was  made  of  a  frit  body,  and  he  thinks  that  the
following  formula  is  similar  to  that  used  by  Dr.  Wall:  sand,
120  parts;  gypsutn,  7;  soda,  7;  alum,  7;  salt,  14;  and
nitro,  40.  After  fritting,  it  was  crushed,  and  75  parts  were
mixed  with  15  of  whiting  and  10  of  pipe-clay.  The  glaze
used  contained  38  per  ccnt.  of  red-lead,  27  of  sand,  11  of
ground  flints,  15  of  potash,  and  9  of  carbonate  of  soda.  For
common  wäre  an  inferior  pasto  was  made,  containing  steatite.
This  gave  a  body  less  dense  than  the  other,  and  of  a  yello-wish
eolor.
Attention  was  early  given  to  the  Imitation  of  Chinese  and
Japanese  wares,  induced  by  the  high  estimation  in  which
oriental  porcelain,  or  china,  was  then  hold.  And  with  that
depraved  pandering  to  public  prejudice,-which  seems  to  be
one  of  the  great  vices  of  the  eeramic  art,  false  marks  were
sametimes  affixed,  especially  to  these  early  imitations.
A  crescent  is  one  of  the  earliest  ordinary  marks,  as,  also,
a  script  W,  and  afterwards  the  name  or  initials  of  the  firm,
either  stamped  in  or  printed.  A  Chinese  fretted  square,
marked  in  blue,  was  frequently  employed.  Oriental  characters
  were  also  marked  in  blue  on  some  of  the  pieees,  and  a
specimen  in  the  Geological  Museum  has  the  Dresden  marlt  of
two  crossed  swords  in  blue  under  the  glaze.
Specimens  were  shown  of  the  beautiful  tea-set  presented
to  Lord  Dudley  on  his  marriage.  The  decqratiou  consists  of
turquoise  blue  enamel,  put  on  in  drops  near  together,  so  that
*  “  A  Century  of  Potting  in  the  City  of  Worcester,  being  the  History  of  the  Royal
Porcelain  Works  from  1751  to  1851,”  by  R.  W.  Binns,  F.  S.  A.,  1865,  p.  40.  Also,  in
De  La  Beclie,  “  British  Pottery  and  Porcelain.”