Hello Zada,
A decorating wheel was used for the repeated gold rim designs.
I still use books not online sources, so there will be others who can weigh
in for that aspect of your research...
There is a photo of a decorating wheel in a book (you will appreciate the
origin of), on page 31:
Limoges, Raymonde
1996 American Limoges Identification & Value Guide. Collector Books,
Paducah, Kentucky.
Other books I can recommend for what look like your dishes are:
Jasper, Joanne
1996 Turn of the Century American Dinnerware: 1880s to 1920s. Collector
Books, Paducah, Kentucky.
and (perhaps)
Rosen, Kenna and Bob Rosen
2003 Bluebird China. Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, Pennsylvania.
Good luck,
S. Walter
-----Original Message-----
From: Komara, Zada
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2018 7:00 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 20th-Century Gold Applied Ceramic Decoration Technique?
Hello, all.
I'm an archaeologist in Kentucky researching Appalachian company coal
mining towns. I've analyzed an archaeological collection from a town dump
dating ca. 1911-1930s. The ceramics are mostly plain white granite, but
most of the decorated sherds are decal white granite and whiteware sherds.
Most of the makers' marks are from American potteries, notably East
Liverpool. Many of the decal sherds also display molding, and/or another
form of applied decoration, notably metallic accents.
I'm seeking help identifying a specific metallic gold decoration
technique. Here's
a Dropbox link to three photos of representative sherds
with
very thin, overglaze, bright or matte metallic gold applied decorations.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/acjop1kj6u8y729/AAAfq3c23WCqySfDohS22UtQa?dl=0
I'm trying to determine if the decoration technique is silk screening,
decal, or even another technique
.
All sherds in the photos are white granite, except the the blue-rimmed
sherd and the green-rimmed checkered swag sherd in Photo 1, which are
whiteware.
The most common
patterns
of these gold decorations in my assemblage are 1.) simple bands, 2.)
floral or flag swags, and 3.) floral or fruit clusters/medallions. The
bands are often concentric on plates and saucers, many with a hairline band
plus a wider band, and are present on the shoulders of serving vessels.
They also often occur a centimeter or two below a gilded rim, and are
clearly of a different color and technique of gold than the gilded rim. The
gold swag, cluster, and band designs are very thin and consistent, not like
hand-tracing. They are also very smooth to the naked eye, unlike the
colored silk screened ceramics I have seen.
Does anyone have any insight into the decoration technique of these
metallic designs, and sources about their popularity? Most sources about
20th-century decal wares that I have found discuss gilded rims, but not
these bands or swags. I'm NOT looking for sources about 19th-century
colored decalcomania with hand-traced gold handles and rims, just to be
clear. My sherds overwhelmingly date from the 1910s to early 1930s.
Regina Blaszczyk's book *Imagining Consumers* has been a tremendous help in
interpreting my decal wares, particularly treatment of gilded rims on decal
wares, and she discusses silk screened wares in this book. She and I have
been in email contact, and she mentioned that a few East Liverpool
potteries did develop metallic inks for silk screening ceramics (notably
Homer Laughlin), and said that my sherds do look like the metallic silk
screened patterns on contemporaneous Libbey glassware. She couldn't offer
any additional info, however, and and I'm at a loss about these metallic
designs. Trade journals from the era such as the *Crockery and Glass
Journal* discuss the popularity of simple gold bands in the 1920s and 30s,
and use a variety of terms to discuss gold designs. These industry journals
make a distinction between "coin gold," "iridescent designs," and "acid
gold." However, I have found no description of "acid gold" in terms of
design and manufacturing technique, and am wondering if this is the kind of
gold on my sherds. Sears catalogs from the 1910s to 1930 also hype the
popularity of gold banded dishes, and seem to draw a distinction between
bright gold and rich gold, but offer floral swag and band treatments in
both finishes. So, I'm still puzzled after consulting many catalogs and
trade journals.
Any help would be appreciated! Please contact me off-list at
[log in to unmask]
Best, Zada
Zada Komara
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
University of Kentucky
[log in to unmask]
Twitter: @KYArchaeologist
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