Midwinter Potteries is a name that you don't come across much, produced at either the Abion Pottery or Hadderidge Pottery, both of which were based in Burslem.
William Midwinter had a previous background of working for Doulton, also in Burslem and formed his own company in 1910. The company went from strength to strength until the late 1960's when it became financially tough and this company merged with J & G Meakin and then a few years later, the Wedgwood Group became involved - an evolution into the elite English potting world.
About the pottery ... the thing that struck us when we bought this item is the stunning, vibrant colours used - although this dates from the early to mid 1940's the colouring in particular is very reminiscent of the Art Deco period - not so much the design of the piece but the colouring is very bold, very "out there" it screams "hey look at me!"
The colours showing in the photographs are REAL and have not been enhanced!
DLAT Rating: 9/10 (Darling Look At This!)
MIDWINTER - Gravy Boat with matching tray (1) ONLY
Trade name of this product was PORCELON - it is not a misspelling of porcelain!
Fine China Ceramic Porcelain
Design/pattern: unknown
Period early 1940's ~ mid 1940's (based on the backstamp design)
Opaque fine china, meaning that when it is held to the light you CANNOT see the shadow of your hand through the chinaware
Hand painted
Vibrant, bold colouring with a single hanging Orange coloured round fruit on one side. Even inside the gravy boat the glaze/colouring is a lighter green not white.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Gold metallic printed backstamp
Gravy Boat
(Crown Graphics)
(The text below is printed within a circle with PORCELON across the middle)
MIDWINTER
PORCELON
BURSLEM
ENGLAND
Green & Red artists markings just below the backstamp
Gravy Boat Tray
Mid Green printed
B
(The text below is printed within a circle with PORCELON across the middle)
MIDWINTER
PORCELON
BURSLEM
ENGLAND
Green artist mark to the left of the backstamp
B denotes this was a World War II controlled production product. This was a period when ALL industrial efforts were focused on the war effort and the financing of the war. All non-military products needed to be permitted or controlled, this was one such product.
DIMENSIONS:
Gravy Boat: 180mm length x 70mm widest point x 70mm high at the spout
Tray: 157mm length x 97mm wide in the centre
CONDITION:
Very good condition overall
TRAY:
NO cracks
NO fleabites
NO damage to the hand painted decoration
Very light crazing in the centre of the tray (where the heat from the hot gravy inside the boat passed through to the tray)
GRAVY BOAT:
NO cracks
NO fleabites
NO crazing observed (wet or dry)
However three blemishes of note!
a) While 99% of the hand painted decoration is excellent, just where the handle meets the boat it seems a small piece of the green is missing (see the photo) showing the white ceramic underneath. It is NOT a chip and running a finger over it feels very smooth, it is as though it is just a small spot the artist missed.
b) Inside the gravy boat bowl are three small, light brown spots. These usually appear due to the hot gravy and the slow breakdown of the glazing which allows some bacteria to get underneath the glaze, showing up as little brown spots. I have of course cleaned the gravy boat but these marks cannot be removed.
c) Right in the backstamp area is a strange mark, it actually obscures part of the backstamp. It is not a big chip (although it looks like one) and there is no marking at all in the corresponding area inside the gravy boat - the area actually has NO glaze, perhaps the boat was sitting on something while being glazed? That seems to be the only explanation.
In our view, pretty damn good for a couple of pieces which are around 80 years old and have had hot liquids near or inside them!
