Making London Porcelain
Investigating London’s first porcelain makers at Bow and Chelsea Factories
About the Project
With the Ashmolean Museum and Newham Borough of London, the V&A is investigating London’s first porcelain manufacturers in Bow and Chelsea. Our scientific analysis will inform activities with local sixth-form students and provide inspiration for the next generation of makers.
This AHRC-funded project explores how English porcelain was developed in the 18th century Chelsea and Bow factories. Created to replicate the highly coveted Chinese and Japanese export porcelain, these two manufacturers were the first in Britain to produce soft-paste porcelain to compete with European counterparts such as Meissen. The project will make use of the V&A Science Lab to trace London porcelain experimentation and manufacturing, highlighting lesser-known objects from the Ashmolean Museum, Newham Borough of London and the V&A, stimulating new ways of engaging with ceramics collections
By bringing together three porcelain collections, the project aims to demonstrate how science can inform and promote heritage and cultural history research. By showcasing the V&A Science Lab as a national hub for heritage science, the project intends to provide the opportunity to focus on the process of experimenting with, designing and making of much-desired white body porcelain. It aims to explore how the creativity and ingenuity of 18th-century ceramics pioneers may provide inspiration for current and future makers and artists.
The project will shine light on the composition of early English porcelain and will help to clarify the technical experimentation that took place in these early London porcelain factories. Students from Newham and Chelsea will conduct a series of experiments to deepen our understanding on the craft and innovation of soft-paste porcelain manufacture. An exhibition at Stratford Library and workshops for Newham Heritage Month will also explore how heritage science and re-making practices can help us better understand the places we live in today and inspire us to innovate and experiment tomorrow.
Making London Porcelain—A Multidisciplinary Project Connecting Local Communities with the Technological and Innovation Histories of London’s Early Porcelain Manufacturers
Dr Lucia Burgio is Senior Conservation Scientist at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, where she manages the V&A Science Lab, leading the analysis and technical examination of museum objects. She assists the Museum’s curators and conservators in ... Read more
Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth is the Curator of 17th- and 18th-Century Ceramics and Glass in the Department of Decorative Art and Sculpture at the V&A and Tutor in History of Design with the V&A/Royal College of Art. She holds a PhD in Art History fro ... Read more
Dr Georgia Haseldine is V&A East and VARI Public Engagement Fellow. She is leading the V&A’s The Question of Clay research project in collaboration with renowned Chicago-based artist and VARI Emeritus Fellow, Theaster Gates. The Question of Clay explo ... Read more
Dr Kelly Domoney is Conservation Manager (Preventive, Science and Technical) at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Her research and publications centre on the application of non-destructive analytical techniques to the study of archaeological ... Read more
Join Dr Lucia Burgio, Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth, Dr Georgia Haseldine and Dr Kelly Domoney to investigate London’s first porcelain manufacturers, Bow Porcelain Factory and Chelsea Porcelain Factory. For more info and to register click event name.
Join us for an object-handling workshop with local artists as we celebrate the launch of our exhibition Making East London Porcelain.