This is a stunning pair of ice pails made by Coalport in about 1810. They are decorated with the famous "Church Gresley" pattern on a yellow ground.
Ice pails were popular in the Georgian and Regency era to serve ice cream for dessert. Often each ice pail would have an internal liner that would hold the ice cream, with ice cubes below and above in the top compartment. However, this model of ice pails doesn't have an internal liner, but the ice cubes would fill the entire bottom part and the ice cream or fruits would be placed in the top compartment. The ice cubes would be salted in order to keep them frozen for longer. This construction could keep ice cream frozen for about four hours; in an era without fridges this was of course essential if you wanted impress your guests with wonderful ice cream.
Coalport was one of the leading potters in 19th and 20th Century Staffordshire. They worked alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport and Minton, and came out with many innovative designs. When we say "Coalport" we usually think of the one Coalport factory that became famous, but in its beginning years there were two factories, one run by John Rose and the other by his brother Thomas Rose. Thomas Rose went into partnership with Robert Anstice and Robert Horton and they were located directly opposite John Rose, across the canal. The brothers' factories had much in common with each other and they shared many different shapes and patterns. Ultimately, the John Rose factory proved more profitable and John Rose bought Thomas' factory in 1814, making it the one Coalport factory that became so famous. Many of the Coalport items, of either factory, are now collectors' items.
These ice pails are decorated with the "Church Gresley" pattern, which consists of lozenge shaped panels with flower details on a yellow ground and oval reserves with hand painted flowers.
It is not known why this pattern is called "Church Gresley"; this is the name of a small village in South Derbyshire in England, and it is possible that the pattern was first designed for the local nobles, a family of baronets of originally Norman origin who lived in the area for about 900 years, and owned the village. This is a very famous but rare pattern that was usually done like this one on a yellow ground, and sometimes orange or even black.
The ice pails are unmarked, as was usual in those days.
CONDITION REPORT The ice pails are in excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing. There some wear throughout, as visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain 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 23 X 20cm (9" X 8"), 34cm (13.5") high.
Pair of Coalport ice pails, Church Gresley pattern, ca 1810
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