An Antique English Black Basalt Rum Kettle, impressed Turner, with Bacchanalian Boys at Play applied relief decoration. The base is engine turned. The rum kettle of round form with a moulded bail handle and the cover with a recumbent lion finial. c1824-1829.
Dimensions: 8 1/2" H x 8" W
Condition: No restoration
Literature: For a Kettle with an identical Lion finial, see figures 388 and 393 pages 246 and 247, Diana Edwards book, "Black Basalt Wedgwood and Contemporary Manufacturers."
"...The association of rum with a bacchanal is common on Wedgwood kettles..." Source pg. 59 figure 40 Diana Edwards book, "Black Basalt Wedgwood and Contemporary Manufacturers."
Other potters, like Turner, copied this style and used the Bacchanal applied reliefs on their rum kettles, as with the rum kettle pictured above.
"John Turner, Lane End, Longton, 1762-87; William and John Turner, 1787-1803; Turner, Glover and Simpson, 1803-1806...John Turner was a major basalt manufacturer. His stoneware output must have presented a serious threat to all the other manufactures, both from the standpoint of the quality as well as the variety of the offerings...Turner, along with Neal and Wedgwood, was one of the early Staffordshire manufacturers to open up a London warehouse/showroom...Turner prospered and after his death in 1787 his sons, John and William Turner, continued the business...In 1803 the brothers were joined in partnership by John Glover and Charles Simpson. *
**Thanks to a wonderful collector, we have additional information on this kettle.
"It is classified as the 6th and final period of Turner and was most likely made by the son, William Turner when he returned to the original factory, 1824-1829. These are the years when the square/stepped engine turned patterns were used. While these pieces crafted by William's father were impressed somewhere on the middle of the base, William impressed his pieces on the exterior of the footrim or where the leather hard clay was firmer.
There are two sizes of these impressions and both relate to William Turner. The smallest measures 12mm in length in a 6pt font size. Only these smallest impressions seem to be found on the back or sides. Sometimes they are on the bottom of the rim itself. Pieces from the 5th period (1806 [bankruptcy] to 1823) seem to use a larger 7pt font which measures about 15mm long. Please accept that these impression sizes are only indications as to when they were made and not an exact time frame."
Marks on Basalt: Turner; Turner & Co."
* Source: pgs 247 and 248; Diana Edwards book, "Black Basalt Wedgwood and Contemporary Manufacturers."
**A Wonderful Collector...thank you for writing in.
Basalt is a wonderful medium. If you decide this is the kind of pottery you would like to collect or if you find your self enamoured of Wedgwood then, I would highly recommend Diana Edwards book, it is absolutely fabulous. She will walk you through the history of Basalt and all things Wedgwood. You'll truly get an understanding of the history behind the pottery and why this is a collection that just can't be ignored.
