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Page 34
"You were thinking of ancient times when you said the history of
pottery was almost that of the civilized world; weren't you, uncle?"
asked Will.
[Illustration: JEWELED PORCELAIN.]
"Yes," answered his uncle, taking from his cabinet a small jug covered
with rich gilding, and glistening as if set with precious stones.
"Oh, isn't that lovely?" cried Matie.
"Well, yes; some people think that this jeweled porcelain, as it is
called, is among the choicest of Copeland's works."
"Whose, sir?"
"Copeland, of Stoke-upon-Trent, where are some of the largest potteries
in England."
"But don't you like it, uncle?" asked Matie.
"I do admire it very much, Matie; but not so much as some more simple
objects that I have. Here is something that will explain my meaning,"
he added, taking from the cabinet a little vase of grayish-brown with
darker indented lines drawn in the form of small animals, flowers and
foliage.
"Oh, I've seen ever so many pieces like that, and I thought they were
common stone-ware, the same as the kitchen dishes," said Al.
"They are of common clay, it is true, but look at the drawing of the
figures," said his uncle, pointing to the tracery upon the surface of
the vase.
"Why, yes; it almost seems as if that little rabbit would run away, it
is so life-like," said Willie.
"It was not only for its beauty that I valued this vase, but for the
story that it tells," said Uncle Jack. "In the first place it tells
that the simple earth we walk upon can be made by man into works of
enduring beauty."
"Where was that vase made, uncle?" asked Willie.
"At the Doulton Works, Lambeth, England."
"What is the rest of the story about it?" inquired Al.
"For many years, common drain-pipes and building-tiles were the only
things made at the Doulton works; but some of the pottery people went
to an art school, and they thought it would be a good idea to ornament
some of the common things they made with the designs they had learned
to draw at school. So, with a bit of pointed stick, they made some of
their favorite pictures on the soft clay objects; and when these were
fired, the glaze flowed into the lines, making them darker than the
other parts, and thus the drawings showed plainly."
[Illustration: DOULTON WARE.]
"And since they found that out, have they given up making common pipes
and tiles?" asked Willie, with a look of interest.
"They still make quantities of those things at the Doulton works, but
the young men and women who had received drawing lessons and applied
their knowledge so well are the authors, I might almost say, of a new
style of artistic pottery," said Uncle Jack, in reply.
"Why, that was splendid, wasn't it?" cried Matie.
"Indeed it was a triumph not only for them, but for art itself, and it
shows what a good influence art has on even the humblest people," said
Uncle Jack. "Now can you see why I did not value my little vase most
for its beauty?"
"Oh yes, sir! for when you see it, you think of the potters who became
artists," said Will.
"Yes, and I never see any work of art or of patient industry without
trying to understand the meaning its maker meant it to carry, and to
remember the toils that were perhaps endured in its production,"
replied his uncle. Then, turning to Matie, he said: "I brought this
little 'English pug-dog' for you, Matie. He doesn't bite, and you'll
not need to give him any food," and he put upon the table a comical
little porcelain dog with a wry nose.
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