STAFFORDSHIRE ANTIQUE PARIAN WARE GRAY HOUND FIGURAL

This Delightful Antique Miniature Parian Ware Gray Hound Dog is of Staffordshire origin and dates approximately 1850-1860.

It has accents of gold gilding to pronounce its charm & warmth. It measures approximately 3 3/4" Height by 1 1/2" Width by 1 3/4” Length (at base).

COMMENT: This adorable little Parian Ware Dog is indeed a little treasure and a great collector piece!

HISTORY OF PARIAN WARE

Originally when Parian Ware was produced, it was considered affordable art for the masses. It was molded porcelain. The earlier ware was considered by many to be “Soft Paste” Porcelain as opposed to the latter being considered “Hard Paste” Porcelain. Which kind of porcelain which it is depended on what kind of ingredients the porcelain contained. It was manufactured mainly in England; however it was also made in Bennington, Vermont. In England, it began production about 1842. 

Research seems to indicate that the Great Exhibition of 1851 gave Thomas Battam credit for inventing Parian, indicating that he succeeded in producing a very perfect imitation of marble, both in surface and in tint. While Battam may have invented it, several English factories claimed credit for its development. But the Staffordshire firm operated by William Taylor Copeland and Thomas Garrett was the first to produce and sell it in 1842, and went on to become one of its major manufacturers.

Several potteries marketed it under different names. The Copeland firm called it "statuary porcelain" because of its resemblance to the fine white marble of neoclassical sculpture. Wedgwood named it "Carrara," after the Italian quarry patronized by Michelangelo. But it was Minton which coined the word "Parian" to suggest Paros, the Greek isle that furnished much of the stone used in the classical period. Thus, it quickly became the medium's generic name.

Ultimately, potteries produced two varieties of Parian ware: Statuary Parian, used in the making of figures and reproductions of sculpture, and Standard Parian, from which they made hollowware. Statuary Parian, incorporating a glassy frit, a semi-fused substance used to add density, was classified as soft porcelain. Standard Parian, with a greater proportion of feldspar in the composition but no frit, was hard porcelain. The presence of iron in the feldspar without iron silicate caused early Parian statuary to appear ivory tinted. Both English and American potters either obtained details of the original formula or worked out their own, resulting in enormous production of Parian wares on both sides of the Atlantic. Plus the invention in 1844 of a patented machine that allowed scaled reproductions of larger bronze or marble originals made replicas of figures and busts by noted sculptors widely available.

Generally, only the major Parian manufacturers marked their pieces and then only their statuary wares. Many non-statuary pieces weren’t marked.

CONDITION: Excellent! The gold gilding has worn off in some sections which is attributed to its age.