Antique Majolica Adams & Bromley Pineapple Basketweave Sardine Fish Box 6"

Description

Antique Majolica Sardine fish box / lidded compote attributed to Adams & Bromley. It features a pineapple and basket weave design with Sardine lid handle and purple lavender interior.

One of the most prolific makers of majolica in Staffordshire was the Adams & Bromley pottery at Victoria Works. First operating under the name of John Adams & Co., the two potteries made majolica from 1860 to 1885. The name though is not well known outside of ceramic circles because of their choice to not mark the majority of their ware. The company’s output, however is familiar to anyone with an interest in Victorian pottery.

Born in 1834, John Adams grew up in the pottery trade. His father worked at Wedgwood where he later also took a position. There he met two of the men who would later join to form Adams & Co.

In 1863 he entered into a partnership with John Bromley and Henry Cartledge, who were these coworkers at Wedgwood and designer Thomas Greenbatch to create Adams & Co. They manufactured a variety of wares at the Victoria Works in Hadley. including majolica. In 1869 the partnership was reorganized after Greenbatch left the firm.

The company enjoyed wide success both with their majolica and their jasperware selling both domestically and abroad. They exhibited in international exhibitions such as those in Paris and London, increasing their reputation for creating quality ware. In 1873 The company changed its name to Adams & Bromley and continued manufacturing large quantities of majolica.

The majolica made by the company is variable in quality. Designs are usually created for table or garden use. The company submitted few designs through the English Registration system. They developed a glaze color palette of yellow, green and brown that was used on most pieces with cobalt, turquoise and lavender used less frequently. Linings of hollowware were usually majolica pink, while bases were mostly sponged brown and/or solid golden ochre. The majority of ware was unmarked.

Adams & Bromley dissolved their partnership in 1885. John Adams then opened a tile manufacturing plant while John Bromley continued operating the pottery and acquired in addition the defunct Victoria Pottery which he operated until 1893. Potter Thomas Heath then purchased the molds of the potteries and continued producing the shapes at the Albion Works in Longton.

Adams & Bromley made a number of well known majolica designs. Some originated with Adams & Co. and were continued through the company's name change. Since the company underwent changes in name and ownership we have no way of knowing which designs originated with Adams & Company, or Adams & Bromley unless they are specifically marked as such. To complicate matters, the molds having been sold to a third party after the close of the pottery, we have no way of knowing which pieces continued manufacture after 1893.

Sardines
Although sardine harvesting has gone on for thousands of years, the history of canned sardines is a relatively recent one. It began in England around 1810 when Englishman Peter Durand developed the first patent for preserving sterilized perishable foods in an enclosed container. In 1822 France, Joseph Collins, aware of the historic preservation of cooked sardines in clay jars in the Breton area of France during the reign of Napoleon, applied methods first developed to preserve sweets, to the fish industry creating the first canned fish. In 1853 the Chancerelle Cannery in Brittany became the first company to take advantage of the plentiful sardine stocks in the offshore waters to create the canned sardine market. Soon their success caught on ‘spawning’ small canneries around fishing ports throughout Europe and the United States.

These canned fish became popular with the military–particularly in America during the Civil War–where there was a need to feed nutritious food to traveling troops. In time, sardine’s popularity caught on everywhere resulting in a market that ultimately created millions of cans of sardines every year.

As sardines became the latest food novelty among the middle class, all manner of companies produced specialty products to serve them. No well equipped dining service was complete without special forks with which to serve sardines or special containers in which to highlight the delicacy.

Of course potteries picked up on the popularity of canned sardines and created their own decorative containers to sell to the upscale dining hostess. By the early 1870s sardine boxes became one of the most popular specialty items made by the Staffordshire potteries.

The variety of sardine boxes made by majolica manufacturers created a serving container for every taste. George Jones was a leading innovator in the process.

The sardine industry went into decline in Great Britain after the 1880s while the French sardine industry waxed and waned with fish supplies. Sardines though, remained popular worldwide until after WW2. The craze began to diminish by the 1950s. Because of their high Vitamin D content as well as their supply of “good” cholesterol they are still canned and enjoyed today though the market is no longer packed like sardines with devotees.

Condition

Good Overall - wear commensurate with age, crazing, no underplate.

Dimensions

6.25" x 5.25" x 3.5" (Width x Depth x Height)