COVE

I will be looking at porcelain presented at the Great Exhibition. 

Porcelain, also known as china, is a kind of kiln-fired ceramic similar to earthenware and stoneware. Originally developed in China, porcelain first arrived at the British Isles in the 16th century and was considered a rare commodity. By the time Queen Victoria’s reign started in 1837, her predecessors had amassed a collection of porcelain and other East Asian luxuries. During the Great Exhibition of 1851, porcelain was both imported and produced locally by artisans that had finally managed to crack the secrets behind its production. Dishes, vases, and other decorative items were common, but porcelain was also used for more specific purposes, such as piano keys or vessels in scientific experiments. 

"1851 Crystal Palace Transferware Platter", EndsWellAntiques, Etsy, 2025. Porcelain plates that show the Crystal Palace like this one were sold as commemorative items to visitors, and a number of imported porcelain items like vases and dinnerware were popular attractions. The piece shown in the photo is done in pale blue with a grape vine border and is approximately 10" by 8".

“Glass and porcelain vessels for chemical purposes, electro-coppered,” 1851, Edwards. John Baker, Liverpool, producer and manufacturer, The Official Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, Class 10, “Philosophical, Musical, Horological, and Surgical Instruments,” pp. 461. Glass and porcelain vessels covered in copper for the purposes of heat distribution were first introduced in 1844, at the French exposition. The manufacturer, Baker, claims that a “similar apparatus is now made for chemical [purposes] in England.” The illustration shows an array of vessels made of both glass and porcelain, that have been varnished, brushed in bronze-powder and copper, and placed in a decomposition-cell. This process covered the outside with a “bright metallic copper” that preserves the glass and porcelain from fractures, unequal expansion, and external casualties.