About Minton

The pottery and porcelain manufacturers Minton & Co. was founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 1793/6 by Thomas Minton (1765-1836), who was succeeded on his death by his son, Herbert Minton (1793-1858). The factory traded under various styles until 1845 when Minton & Co. was adopted. Mintons was Europe’s leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era and a world leader in ceramics design. At Minton numerous different porcelain and ceramic techniques were mastered and designs produced in a plethora of styles ranging from the rococo to the Gothic revival. As well as pottery, Minton made ceramic sculptures, tiles and architectural ceramics which were used at both the Houses of Parliament in London the US States Capitol building. Minton exhibited and was awarded at all of the great exhibitions of the late nineteenth century.

Mintons began producing tableware, often transfer-printed or painted earthenware, including the ever-popular Willow pattern. Together with other great potters of the period, including Wedgwood, William Adams and the owners of New Hall porcelain, Minton had a stake in the Hendra china clay works at St. Dennis in Cornwall. In the early nineteenth century Minton produced relatively restrained Regency designs which parcel gilding and painted scenes which were objects of desire to the burgeoning middle classes. By the middle of the century, Herbert Minton had expanded the business considerably, with new production techniques notably including decorative encaustic tile making, through his association with leading architects and designers including Augustus Pugin. After Herbert Minton’s death in 1858, the tile business was continued by Michael Daintry Hollins and the china business was continued by Colin Minton Campbell, who had become a partner in 1849. Hollins and Campbell carried on in partnership until 1868, thereafter Hollins continued the tile business, and Campbell the china works, trading as Minton’s China Works, until 1918.

It was during the mid-Victorian period that Minton established its pre eminent reputation under the auspices of a young French ceramicist Léon Arnoux (1816-1902) who was employed as art director in 1849 and remained with the Minton Company until 1892. Arnoux reinvigorated the fortunes of the company and formulated the tin-glazes used for Mintons Majolica and Palissy ware, both of which proved hugely commercially successful following their acclaimed display at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Mintons was also awarded a gold medal at the 1855 Paris Exposition universelle. Another mainstay of Mintons success was Parian ware, which was the replication of famous marble sculptures in white biscuit porcelain, albeit reduced in scale. Its popularity was greatly aided by Queen Victoria’s collection of Parian ware statuettes. Under Arnoux’s leadership, Mintons established a lively competition with the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, developing the technical ability to replicate the pink and turquoise glazes made by Sèvres in the 18th century and previously their preserve. By the 1870s and 1880s the consummate design studio and technical workshop brilliance led to the creation of astounding pieces made for the Great Exhibitions which were considered superior to anything produced at Sevres or by any other international competitor, such as Germany’s Meisson.

With the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 many artists and craftsman who had been sponsored by the regime of the now defeated Emperor Napoleon III sough exile in England. At Minton, Arnoux seized the opportunity and recruited the modeller Marc-Louis Solon (1835-1913) who had developed the technique of pâte-sur-pâte at Sèvres and brought it with him to Minton. In this process the design is built up in relief with layers of liquid slip, with each layer being allowed to dry before the next is applied. There was great demand for Solon’s plaques and vases, featuring maidens and cherubs, and Minton assigned him apprentices to help the firm become the unrivalled leader in this field. Others introduced to Minton by Arnoux included the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and the painter Antoine Boullemier. It was the successes achieved at Minton by Arnoux’s appointment of Solon and Carrier-Belleuse which ensures the glorious reputation of Minton to this day. Engagement of the British designer Christopher Dresser also proved a huge artistic and commercial success for Minton. Dresser had travelled to Japan and in the 1870s produced at Minton a number of pieces reflection the fashion for ‘Japonisme’ which in turn informed a new aesthetic in ceramic design. This emphasis on the importance of design, including the establishment of a design school, as well as the perfection of technique, ensured Mintons success in to the early twentieth century which saw continued innovation with Art Nouveau and Secessionist designs.

The fortunes of Minton and other Staffordshire potteries declined sharply in the interwar period and Mintons’ tableware devision was merged with Royal Doulton after World War II and by the 1980s was producing only a handful of different shapes, albeit maintaining an emphasis on the importance of design by employing highly skilled painters. Mintons main factory on London Road, Stoke-on-Trent was demolished in the 1990s, and the other factory, including office accommodation and a Minton Museum, was demolished in 2002 as part of rationalisation within the Royal Doulton group. The Minton archive was acquired by Waterford Wedgwood in 2005 and is now preserved by the City of Stoke-on-Trent.