Lost Trades Nᵒ.16: Japanned Boxes and a Bilston Japanner's Design Book

Fig. 1.

Pages of a Bilston japanners design book from about 1761, held at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, USA. It is thought to be from a Bilston maker as another book bought with it, from a later date, has 'Bilston' written on it. This pattern book is probably from the 1760s, though, as some of the designs (figs. 11-14) have designs celebrating the coronation of George III, which was on 22 September 1761. This is an excellent survival, as japanned boxes are liable to damage as the varnish and paint gets chipped away, so provides insight into what boxes might have looked like at this time, and many similar examples were made in Birmingham.

Lost Trades Nᵒ.6: An Overview of British Japanning

A japanned tea caddy, probably made by Henry Clay
in Birmingham, c. 1770s. Private collection.

Japanning was the method of lacquering and painting furniture, tin wares and, later, papier mâché, which achieved a highly glossy finish. The process originated in East Asia and pieces began to be brought into Europe from the late 1500s. Due to popular demand, though, and a limit to how much japan-ware could be produced for the European market, it began to be imitated. The most difficult part to imitate was the lacquer. East Asian wares used sap of the toxicodendron vernicifluum tree, native to that area, so those imitating in Europe needed to innovate in producing varnishes. British japanning is thought to have begun in the late 1600s in Pontypool in Wales and then taken up in the English Midland towns of Bilston, Birmingham and Wolverhampton, which dominated the trade for the latter part of the century, as well as being produced elsewhere such as London. There was also an interest in making japanned articles at home.

Although this site is about Birmingham, this post covers the development of japanning in both Wales and the West Midlands, as well as japanning at home.

Enamelled Edibles (c. 1760s)

 

Selection of enamel boxes, probably Birmingham, Bilston or Wednesbury, c. 1760-85.
Sold at Sotheby's in a lot of 15 for £15,000.

Find out more about eighteenth-century enamelling here.

Eighteenth-century enamellers produced an array of novel containers for eager consumers, including edibles such as apples, pears, lemons, gherkins, eggs and nutmegs. Many of the larger boxes were bonbonnières for holding sweets, often used to enhance the breath, the smaller boxes might hold perfume or, especially those shaped like nutmegs, be nutmeg graters. Nutmeg was a common addition to drinks over the century, thought to aid digestion and also sweeten the breath. Nutmeg graters would include a space to carry a whole nutmeg and a small metal rasp inside, so that nutmeg could be grated into drinks at will such as cider and punch (a treatise on 'cyder-making' from 1753 is here).* 

Enamel Boxes: Le Panier Misterieux Enamel Box (c. 1750s or 1760s)

Lid of box depicting Le Panier Misterieux.
Wolverhampton Museum.
EM48

Object Focus: Box transfer-printed in red, probably made in Birmingham or Bilston between about 1753 and 1765.

Balloon Mania and Enamel Ballooning Souvenirs (1780s & 1790s)

 

Ballooning enamel patch box, c. 1790.
Private Collection

Early balloon flight from the perspective of design and celebratory crafts.

Balloon flight was a novelty in the 1780s and demonstrations attracted large crowds well into the 1800s. The first manned flight without ropes tying the balloon to the ground was on 21 November 1783 in the gardens of the Château de la Muette on the outskirts of Paris.* This was a Montgolfier balloon designed by brothers Jacques-Étienne and Joseph-Michel, who were paper makers from a lineage of paper makers and this trade served them in developing their balloon. Paper lanterns, small hot air balloons, have been made in China for over a thousand years, paper used as a lightweight material so that there was enough lift. The brothers developed a lightweight and non-flammable balloon capable of carrying people by experimenting with different combinations of paper, linen, taffeta and other silks, and varnish.**

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.9: Squirrel Boxes

Enamel squirrel bonbonnière, c. 1765-70.
Sold at Bonham's in 2011 for £2,250. Originally from
the Mort & Moira Lesser collection. (6 cm high)

An enamelled red squirrel sitting upright and nibbling at a nut, with additional nuts depicted in the grass (see below). It was probably made in Birmingham, Bilston or Wednesbury and was part of range of creatures produced between in about the 1760s and 1770s, see the rest of the enamel menagerie.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.8: Swan Boxes

 

Enamel swan bonbonnière, c. 1760-1770.
Privately sold (English Enamel Company).

This swan bonbonnière (sweet box) adds another form to the range of animals produced in enamelled copper boxes in the later eighteenth century, made in the Birmingham, Bilston or Wednesbury areas. The swan is simply painted with festoons of grey dots forming the plumage on the body and more intricately painted wing feathers in three kinds. Other animals were made sitting on grassy mounds, such as frogs and tigers. The base of this swan box is below.

Base of swan bonbonnière, above.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.7: Lions Boxes

Enamel lion bonbonnière, c. 1760-70.
Sold at Bonham's in 2011 for £2,750. Originally from
the Mort & Moira Lesser collection, and before that,
the Ionides Collection.

This beautifully painted lion's head was used as a bonbonnière (sweet box) in the late 1700s. It was made in Birmingham or Bilston, or possibly Wednesbury, and is a particularly fine example. Similar boxes for other big cats, such as tigers and leopards, were made but the copper base of the box is raised around the mane, suggesting that this box was designed from start to finish as a lion. The mane and fur are painted in delicate lines in multiple shades of yellow and brown and his whiskers and teeth are particularly endearing. 

The lid (see below) was painted with an image of Sampson grappling with a lion. The lid is hinged and mounted simply. 

Lid of lion bonbonnière (above).
6.2cm diameter.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.6: Tiger Boxes

Enamel tiger bonbonnière, c. 1760 (5.8cm diameter).
Sold at Bonham's in 2011 for £4,500. Originally
from the Mort & Moira Lesser collection.

This cheeky, grinning tiger is beautifully painted with glowing teeth and slicked-back whiskers in vibrant magenta and white. He is one of several creatures included in the menagerie of eighteenth-century enamels made in Birmingham and Bilston in about the 1760s and 1770s. These were bonbonnières (sweet boxes), which were larger containers to the pill and patch boxes produced at a similar time.

The lid (below) is hinged and simply mounted onto the box, and decorated with a hunting scene, with a pyramid or obelisk behind the tiger, all framed in colourful scrolling. Many boxes depicting large cats included hunting scenes on the lid, perhaps influenced by well-known prints produced 150 years previously by Antonio Tempesta, an Italian painter and engraver (see lion boxes).

Lid of the tiger bonbonnière (above).

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.5: Pigeon Boxes

Enamel pigeons, c. 1760-70 (6.3cm high).
Sold at Bonham's in 2011. Originally from
the Mort & Moira Lesser collection.

These amorous pigeons provide another example of the variety of animal bonbonnières (sweet boxes) produced in enamel in eighteenth-century Birmingham and Bilston. The two pigeons have interlocking beaks, one painted purple, and the other brown, and may have been given as a token of love or affection. Doves are more usually the bird of love as doves pulled Venus's chariot so became associated with her, the goddess of love. The difference between pigeons and doves, though, is linguistic and aesthetic rather than scientific, and some doves look similar to certain pigeons.*

Venus, by Carlo Lasinio (after Raphael) c. 1780s.
Wellcome Collection.

The lid of the box (below) shows a bird perched on a bunch of grapes, with pears and other fruit nearby. The lid has a simple mount with a hinge opening.

Lid of the pair of pigeons, above.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.4: Boar Boxes

Enamel wild boar, c. 1760-70.
Sold at Bonham's for £1.375 in 2011. Originally
from the Mort & Moira Lesser collection.

Important note: Some of these boxes include mild eighteenth-century erotica.

The boar head box (above and below) was probably made in Birmingham or Bilston in the 1760s. They were usually bonbonnières, which were boxes for keeping sweets, often used to sweeten the breath in eighteenth-century social encounters. Lots of boar boxes survive suggesting that they were popular, or perhaps they were preferred by later collectors. Many of the boxes include images of boar hunting on the lid and, compared to other animals produced as part of the eighteenth-century enamel menagerie, many contain mild erotica either hidden on a secret inner lid or in plain view. ~

The boar's face (above) is intricately painted with each hair visible, complete with tusks and pink snout. The lid (below) is painted with a boar in a woodland scene.

Lid of the above box, 7.5 cm wide.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.3: Birds of Prey Boxes

Enamel hawk or falcon bonbonnière, c. 1765. 
Sold at Bonham's. Originally from the
Mort & Moira Lesser collection. (6.1cm long)

An either Birmingham or South Staffordshire made bonbonnière (sweet box) in the shape of a bird of prey from about 1760 to 1770, with intricately painted plumage, especially around the beak. The lid (below) is painted with a mother-hen protecting her chicks from a falcon or hawk flying overhead. The mount is of gilt metal.

Lid of above box.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.2: Owl (and Unfortunate Frog) Boxes

Box 1: Snuff-box or bonbonnière, c. 1760. Sold at Bonhams. 
Originally from the Mort & Moira Lesser collection.

Previously I wrote about enamelled frog boxes, but here, I'm afraid, it is bad news for the unfortunate frog. He's owl supper!

Many of these animal-shaped boxes were made between about 1760 and 1780 in Birmingham or South Staffordshire, and depict all kinds of creatures, both exotic and more familiar. They were made using a shaped copper base which was then enamelled and mounted with a decorative rim. The copper shape of this owl must have been particularly difficult to form with his raised wing.

Base of owl bonbonnière, above. Transfer printed and overpainted.

Enamel Menagerie Nᵒ.1: Frog Boxes

Box 1: Enamel bonbonnière (sweet box), c. 1765-80.
Sold at Bonham's for £1,500 in 2011. Originally from the
Mort & Moira Lesser collection.

This little frog bonbonnière (sweet box) was made in the 1760s or 1770s in either Birmingham or the Black Country, as were lots of other 'critters' just like him (see the whole menagerie here). The eighteenth-century was a period when the natural world was being increasingly studied and categorised, with many animals being depicted in new ways, with increasing accuracy. These boxes provided their owners with an amusing novelty - a frog in their pocket.

Enamelled Things: Quadrille Pools (c. 1765)

Enamelled copper quadrille pool, c. 1765.
Carnegie Museum of Art.

These enamel quadrille pools (the bowls above and below) were made from enamelling a base of shaped and cut copper, and then painting the designs with enamel colours. They were very likely made in one of the Black Country enamel-making towns, such as Bilston or Wednesbury, or in Birmingham.