Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/806

 782 POTTEKY AND PORCELAIN clay and filling in the lines with colored clays. This ware is known as Henri Deux ware, or faience d" 1 Oiron, and is very rare. At present FIG. 7. Henri Deux Fayence Vase. (1875) only 53 specimens are known, of which 26 are owned in France, 26 in England, and 1 in Russia. Very beautiful enamelled tiles were made in Rouen, by a potter named Aba- quesne, as early as 1535. About 1555 Bernard Palissy at Saintes, after great labor and perse- verance, discovered the secret of stanniferous enamel. (See PALISSY, BERNARD.) He pro- duced remarkable works in soft pottery enam- elled, the decorations being generally in relief, and especially fine in imitations of shells, fish, lizards, and other objects in nature. He re- moved to Paris, and carried on extensive works there under royal patronage until his death. The art now spread in France. At Nevers a factory was in existence in 1578, which became celebrated. The Rouen factory, which was probably the greatest in France, became equal- ly so. The factories of Moustiers, Strasburg, Marseilles, Niederweiler (Niderviller), and a hundred others in France are enumerated. We have already mentioned early examples of glazed or enamelled pottery in Germany. Veit Hirschvogel of Nuremberg made fine enam- elled pottery before his death in 1525, and Nuremberg thereafter produced work of the best class. The large stoves which are used in Germany were built of tiles, affording op- portunity for superb decoration, which was not lost. Hans Kraut, at Villingen in Swa- bia, was celebrated for his work on stoves, and in 1536 made an enamelled pottery tomb -of great size, with a view of the siege of Rhodes in relief, which was placed in the church of the knights of St. John at Villingen. The art spread through Germany, and potteries were founded in various localities. In Holland pot- tery had been made at Delft as early as 1530, and after the beginning of the 17th century Delft supplied most of northern Europe with household wares. The abundance of clay suit- ed to the purpose made the place famous for potteries, of which 30 were at work in the 17th century. England received its supplies from Delft, and it thus occurred that the English language adopted the word delft for household earthenwares, as it adopted china for porce- lain wares. Jan Steen, Van der Meer, Jan As- selyn, and other eminent Dutch artists decora- ted Delft pottery. The wares were improved from time to time until they rivalled in thin- ness, purity of enamel, and surface appearance FIG. 8. Pilgrim-shaped Gres Bottle. the best Chinese porcelain. Every form of article was produced, even to violins. Whole table services were made, of which the dishes were in the forms of the viands to be served in them. From Delft the art crossed over to England. Various rude forms of pottery had been made in England from remote times. The Romans had made their wares here. Staf- for.dshire, where clay was abundant in go< quality, had been the seat of potteries for mar centuries. In the 17th century large disl were made in Staffordshire, with rude d( rations in color, covered with a thick glf About 1690 two brothers named Elers, comii from the Netherlands, established in Staff 01 shire a pottery, at which they produced a fii red ware resembling Japanese. This was the commencement of artistic work in England,