I recently had a customer tell me how much she liked the Aesthetic Movement Transferware but that she didn’t understand what the term “Aesthetic Movement” implied nor how it differed from other transferware.

Hmm. I thought.  This is a great question.  Then I thought, if she had this question, likely there were others who wondered the same.

In today’s. blog post, I hope to shed some light on the topic – briefly and concisely.

First off, the Aesthetic Movement was a backlash to the very formal Victorian era and it encompassed the late 19th century from 1870 to 1900. The Aesthetic Movement design applied to furniture, art, pottery and more.

Usually you can identify Aesthetic Movement Transferware because it has a design that is looser and look almost free style.  It looks as if someone took a paint brush and started painting a naturalistic design on pottery. It doesn’t have an obvious repeating pattern.

As a point of contrast, here is photo of Transferware that is not in the Aesthetic Movement style. Can you see the more uniform application of the Transferware pattern?

 

 

Aesthetic Movement Transferware also relies heavily on the incorporation of nature into its designs.  Plants and birds are prominent features.

 

 

Because Aesthetic Movement Transferware was also influenced by Japanese design, some pieces will incorporate elements such as bamboo or fans. Also, interestingly, most Aesthetic Movement Transferware was made in brown and white.  Although there are other colors used, these pieces are more difficult to find and tend to be more expensive.

Here are some photos of the a tureen I recently found that is in the Aesthetic Movement style.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!  I always appreciate when you take the time to see what’s going on in this corner of the internet.