This is a stunning fish tureen with cover made by George Jones in about 1875. The piece is made of majolica in the shape of a basket with a mackerel on the cover.
This tureen would make a wonderful centre piece to a Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter dinner! (however, due to the high lead level in the glaze it is not recommended for food use).
George Jones started production of earthenware and majolica in 1861 and of porcelain in 1872. The company became famous for its interesting designs in the 19th Century Aesthetic Movement and 20th Century Art Deco.
Majolica was first produced by Minton in about 1850 under the guidance of their French Art Director Léon Arnoux, who brought in-depth knowledge about glazed earthenwares from his native France. His experiments were first exhibited at the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace in 1851 and immediately became a huge hit; Minton went on to develop a broad line of colourful majolica wares and other potteries followed suit. George Jones in particular excelled at beautiful and very imaginative majolica. Due to the fact that majolica contains a high amount of lead, it is not recommended to eat off it and production was banned in 1921, but the items are wonderful for display today.
This tureen is from the Aesthetic Movement period, when decorations became more functional in the sense that decoration was expected to have meaning in relationship to the use of an item. This fish tureen is a great example; a life-like mackerel lies on green foliage in a wicker basket. The inside of the tureen and cover are bright pink. All colours are brilliant and warm.
Majolica was made with lead glaze so this item is not recommended for hot food use, however it is fantastic on display.
The item is not marked but this is a known shape made by George Jones, and the pattern number 3264 points to a date of around 1875.
CONDITION REPORT The tureen is in perfect antique condition without any damage or repairs. There is a small amount of crazing, which is normal for majolica.
Antique British china is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS 40cm X 16cm (15.75" X 6.25"); 10cm (4") high
George Jones majolica fish tureen and cover, mackerel, ca 1875
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