Pottery at Stoke-On-Trent
Majolica - Manufacture
By 1850, Leon Arnoux, a Frenchman working for English ceramics magnate Herbert Minton had succeeded in developing revolutionary new lead glazes in various colors.
Brown, puce, ochre, pale blue, turquoise, cobalt blue, white, gray and pink. (Green was already available.)
These glazes were not only bright and colorful, but when fired they fused into tough hard-wearing glass. Additionally, because many colors could be applied simultaneously to the biscuit then fired just one more time, the ware was inexpensive to manufacture.
Furthermore, the Arnoux down draught oven, with its more precise temperature control, meant there was less colour run. Later kiln developments improved combustion efficiency, greatly reducing fuel costs. .
HHowever, despite advances in kiln design, output varied in quality, even from top makers. Compare poor quality Minton to good quality Minton below. The frequently running glazes of 'lesser' or 'unmarked' manufacturers indicate these makers did not use or could not afford the new kiln technology.
