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Description: | This collection includes one of the most comprehensive assemblages of Plymouth porcelain; silver; glass; and furniture. A notable aspect is the Carpenter bequest (1926), a large collection of ceramics.
The ceramics collection contains some rare and important items. Most is of British origin, though there are a substantial number of Chinese ceramics, some Japanese and some continental pieces. It is strongest in 18th century material and especially hard paste porcelain of this date.
The collection also includes many examples of soft paste porcelain manufacturers, important for comparative and contextural purposes with the Plymouth porcelain.
Among the 19th century ceramics are important holdings of works of studio potters, notably Martin Brothers and Bernard Moore. Most numerous among the 20th century ceramics are collections of work by Freda Dorothy Doughty and the Royal Worcester Porcelain Manufacture.
The metalwork collection is mainly composed of silver, though there is some pewter and some Sheffield Plate (the Hurdle bequest). Plymouth silver is the most important aspect. In the 18th century silversmiths were particularly numerous in Plymouth and the collection reflects this volume of production at the expense of 19th century work. There is a sizeable collection of church plate, most on loan to the museum from several Parochial Church Councils, which includes some fine examples of Plymouth silversmith's work.
Two individual pieces are noteworthy, the Eddystone Salt, late 17th century work of Plymouth silversmiths, and the Drake Cup, by a Zurich silversmith, c.1595.
The non-Plymough silver collection is a small mixed collection of 18th and 19th century pieced, principally tableware.
The glass collection ranges in date from 18th to 20th centuries and in type from purely ornamental to functional, originating from elsewhere in Britain and the continent.
There are a few enamel snuff and patch boxes.
Plymouth was the first place to produce a true of hard-paste porcelain, in a factory established in 1768 by a local chemist, William Cookworthy. 18th century porcelains, especially those from Plymouth and elsewhere in Britain, are a strength of the collection. The museum has the largest existing and most representative group of Plymouth porcelain, which is highly significant in terms of ceramic history. | Subjects: | Ceramics Decorative & Applied Arts | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | Address: | Drake Circus
Plymouth,
PL4 8AJ | FAX: | 01752 304 775 | Telephone: | 01752 304 774 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:3013 | Go to resource |
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