A gravy boat of…

This post will have two parts the second will look more at the gravy boat than the plants and the first part starts with Paul speaking to the Corinthians about his jealousy. Why was he jealous?

He wants them to know how subtle false apostles are and so he says: ‘ I want you to be patient with me and listen because I am jealous of you with a Godly jealousy because I have promised you to one husband, that I may present you perfect to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by being subtle, so your minds will be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ.’

What is this simplicity? Jesus loves me, died for my sins, and I am saved.

Now for the gravy boat of Barberry, grape hyacinths, lesser celandines and miniature daffodils.

For this post it is the gravy boat that has my attention. It is a charity shop find, for a few pound a long time ago.

Photograph taken at 13:30.

With the handle on the left notice the church in the village scene. The title is ” English Scenery.”

Photograph taken at 8:29. ‘Sunlight is painting.’ Nathaniel Hawthorne.

With the handle on the right there is a closer look at village houses. The pattern on this piece is sharp and this is what I found out.

The mark, ‘ Wood ware, Enoch Woods English Scenery’, on this gravy boat was introduced in 1917 and changed in 1960. The factory was in Bursleen , Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and the manufacturer was Wood and Sons.

At this time they were making large amounts quite quickly but I still found the process had a lot of handling. Here is a summary:

Engraving: A master design was hand-engraved onto a copper plate.

Inking: Ceramic pigment was mixed with oil and spread over the heated copper plate.

The ‘ transfer’: A piece of thin soapy tissue paper was pressed onto the plate to pick up the ink.

Application: while the ink was still wet, the paper was placed onto the pre-fired/ biscuit pottery. A worker would rub the back of the paper with a stiff brush to ensure the ink transferred onto porous clay.

Washing: the pottery was immersed in water to wash away the paper leaving only the inked scene behind.

Glazing: The piece was then dipped in a clear glaze and fired again. This sealed the design under a protective glass like layer, making it permanent.

Because the copper plates wore down the same ‘English Scenery’ might look slightly different.

I was fascinated to spot a line in the pattern where I think the transfer stopped. Can you see it across the white leaves ? I really appreciate it being there. A good find!

For those new to my posts we travel and spend time in our garden. My interest in pottery/glass blends well with my enjoyment of bringing flowers into the home arranging them and more recently looking more closely at them by painting. Religion is not an add on it is part of who I am, so it is always in my posts.

Take care,

Sandy 🙂