Wedgwood Argenta Majolica ‘Gipsy’ Strawberry Set

Victorian

Circa 1878–79 | England

A rare and charming nineteenth century antique Wedgwood Argenta majolica (see The Gen) dessert service with a large oval dish, creamer, sugar and 12 individual plates. A whimsically decorated service illustrated in the Josiah Wedgwood & Sons pattern book and called the Gipsy Strawberry Set. It was said to evoke fashionable straw hats with ribbons and flowers and was reminiscent of the hats worn by girls drawn by Kate Greenaway, a popular nineteenth century illustrator; hence it is sometimes referred to as the Kate Greenaway pattern.

DIMENSIONS: Largest oval dish is approximately 33 cm in length and the smaller serving plates are 18 cm.

SIGNATURES, MARKINGS & INSCRIPTIONS: Impressed Wedgwood, registration diamond and a range of impressed letters including SYH, R & M amongst others and painted marks Pattern Number 2821 17. The set is marked with pattern number 2821 and in the Wedgwood Majolica Pattern Book it is called the Gipsy Strawberry Set, Argenta.

CONDITION: The set is in very good condition with wear consistent with antique age and use and some crazing and discoloration throughout. There is no evident restoration.

REFERENCES: For an example of this set and the illustrated entry from Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Pattern book ca. 1879 see Majolica Mania: Transatlantic Pottery in England and the United States, 1850–1915, Susan Webber (ed.), Bard Centre and Yale University Press, 2021, p. 122.

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THE GEN

“Argenta ware, first made in 1878, was the last important majolica Wedgwood designed. In contrast to the vibrant color of earlier Victorian majolica, Argenta patterns were displayed on white or pale backgrounds. The backgrounds of some Argenta patterns were also glazed in rich majolica colors such as turquoise or, rarely, cobalt. Just as Thomas Whieldon and Josiah Wedgwood felt that their market, surfeited with tortoiseshell and agate ware, was ready for the brilliant clarity of the green-glazed earthenware, in 1878 the Wedgwood firm again anticipated new directions. Charles Backhoffner, Wedgwood’s London manager, reported that at the Paris exhibition of 1878 little majolica was displayed in the English and French sections. He advised Wedgwood to change its decorative style in color, shape, and design; to modernize and modify to gain a new market. Perhaps this change was also brought about in part by the recent retirement and death in 1876 of Emile Lessore, a much more classical artist. The result was a new style of decoration — incorporating flowers, animals, birds, and oriental and marine motifs — that was in keeping with the Aesthetic Movement.”

A graceful, whimsical example of Argenta ware is the Kate Greenaway pattern (1881), characterized by backgrounds simulating the plaited straw of the storybook illustrator’s famous hat.” (Majolica: A Complete History and Illustrated Survey, Marilyn G. Karmason with Joan B. Stacke, Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1989, pp 81 and 82)

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