The Making of Gilt & Enamel Equipage (c. 1760s)

Equipage with egg-shaped containers and etui, c. 1760s.
Wolverhampton Museum Collection.

A previous post (here) explored eighteenth-century equipage (also called chatelaines) which were hung from women's dresses at the waist, holding and displaying objects such as watches as well as the etui shown in these examples, etui being containers of useful items such as scissors, needles and bodkins.

Lost Trades Nᵒ.11: John Taylor (c. 1711 to 1775) & Birmingham's First Factory (probably)

John Taylor I, c. 1750. In the possession
of Lloyd's Bank, London.

John Taylor (c. 1711 to 1775)

John Taylor was one of Birmingham’s most dominant manufacturers of small wares, often called 'toys', including japanned goods (decorative lacquer), metal buttons and enamelled boxes. In 1766 Lady Shelburne, who was visiting the Birmingham manufactories with her husband and some friends, called Taylor the 'principal manufacturer' of the town.* Taylor's business had grown from the 1730s, and his manufactory was probably Birmingham's first factory, in the sense we understand it today. He also was a partner in Taylor and Lloyd's bank, which opened in Birmingham in 1765 and is now simply Lloyd's Bank, and he died in 1775 a very wealth man.

Enamel (& Metal) Things: A Pair of Flowery Wall Plaques for the First Day of Spring (c. 1760s)

Private collection.

Object focus: A pair of enamelled wall plaques in gilt metal frames, depicting flowers in urns, transfer printed and over-painted, c. 1760s. Probably made in Birmingham or the Black Country.

Enamelling was conducted in Bilston and Wednesbury as well as Birmingham, so these plaques may have been name in any of these towns. They have been transfer printed, a process new to this period, and over-painted in vibrant enamel colours. Several butterflies flutter around the flowers.

The artisans making these decorative goods often took inspiration, or directly copied, from a range of books designed for engravers, enamellers, japanners, and other craftspeople; for ladies' needlework; as well as the general interest for the public. They were usually published in sets of six, such as the example below:

A Select Collection of the most beautiful Flowers, Drawn after Nature, after Heckel (1795, reprint from c. 1750-1770 prints).
Held at the V&A. One of a set of six.

See more prints, below:

Equipage - Displaying Workmanship & Craftswomanship in the Eighteenth Century

A gilt metal equipage with enamel adornments and watch, made in Birmingham, c. 1770.
Sold at Bonhams in 2011 for £3,250.

These items are generally called chatelaines but the name 'chatelaine' was a Victorian invention; during the eighteenth century these articles were called equipage. Equipage was hung from women's dresses at the waist and were produced to both hold and display useful things that a lady may need to hand, such as watches, seals, thimbles, scissors, needle cases, other sewing tools such as button hooks, note cards, perfume bottles and bonbonnières.

The example, above, was almost certainly made in Birmingham, and possibly in a manufactory like John Taylor's.

Birmingham Button Box: Country Life in Transfer Printed Enamel (c. 1760s)

Object Focus: Four buttons from what would have been a larger set of gentlemen's buttons depicting hunting scenes. Above a gentleman leans on his horse with his hunting dogs around, and below are images of the hunt.  

Birmingham Button Box: Floral Enamel Buttons (c. 1745-c. 1765)

These enamel buttons were almost certainly produced in Birmingham between about 1745 and 1765, and were possibly made in the manufactory of John Talyor. Taylor ran, probably, the largest manufactory in Birmingham at this time, including making enamel toys and gilt buttons. These buttons have a painted enamel centre set in gilt metal. There were other button-makers and enamellers in the town, but the combining of the two makes Taylor's factory a likely candidate for their manufacture. If they were not the product of Taylor's manufactory then they were probably produced through collaboration, with one maker producing the enamel circles and another mounting them in gilt metal.

Metal Things: Gallery of Filigree Counter Boxes

 

Silver filigree counter box with painted enamel insert, c. 1790.
Private collection.

Several silver filigree counter boxes with enamel tops survive in museums and private collections, dating, probably, from the late 1700s. Counters were used in gaming so a decorative box was an eye-catching accessory on the gaming table.

Like much silver filigree of this period, these boxes aren't marked, but the combination of filigree and enamel makes it almost certain that these decorative objects were made in Birmingham and nearby. Birmingham was dominant in the manufacture of filigree (see post here) and, unlike other towns, contained within and nearby a diverse number of other artisans including skilled enamellers. Birmingham's famed Soho manufactory produced many filigree items including items for gaming such as quadrille pools and dice boxes. The 1782 inventory of the contents of the manufactory included 'Small Enamels Richards' and 'Enamels from Wednesbury' so, if they made boxes similar to the one above, they may bought the decorated enamel circles in from local makers in Birmingham (Richards was possibly Theophilus Richards, a local Birmingham filigree and toy maker) and Wednesbury.* There is no reason to believe that these boxes were made in Soho, but it is very likely that the filigree makers ordered in the enamel tops from other local makers.

Top with Knave of Clubs.

Base.

Gallery Below

Lost Trades Nᵒ. 7: An Overview of Eighteenth-Century English Enamels

Equipage, watch and watchcase in gold and enamel, 1777-1778.
Enamel painted figures marked W. Craft (William Hopkins Craft).
British Museum Collection.

Enamelling is an ancient craft practiced in various ways across the the world. Enamel is made by heating and fusing glass powder to a metal base to create a glossy surface. Sometimes this can be done in segments to form patterns, or the enamelled surface can be larger and then painted or, through an innovation of the late 1740s, printed. Over the eighteenth century, these painted and printed enamels gained in popularity, predominantly made in London, Birmingham, the Black Country towns of Bilston and Wednesbury, and some in Liverpool, and these are the focus here. 

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.

Enamel Boxes: Les Fêtes Vénetiennes Bonbonnière (c. 1751)

Bonbonnière with enamel lid and gilt copper basket, c. 1748-1756.
Wolverhampton Museum (EM131).

Object Focus: This enamel bonbonnière (sweet box) is considered to be made in Birmingham in the very early stages of transfer-printing being developed in the town (more on transfer printing here). The transfer-print is in red and it has been over-painted in orange and purple, suggesting the transfer-print was of a poorer quality due to it still being in a period of development.

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.