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Lot Essay
David and John Philip Elers, Dutch born brothers, were well-connected silversmiths, who arrived in London from Holland sometime during the 1680s and subsequently established a pottery in Vauxhall, producing salt-glazed stoneware. In about 1691 they moved to Staffordshire and it was here that they started a new pottery works at Bradwell Wood (near Burslem), making use of the local red clay to produce finely slip-cast red stonewares, often applied with sprigged decoration, and inspired in part by Chinese Yixing wares imported by the Dutch East India Company and widely imitated by Dutch and English potters. The Elers brothers are credited with introducing the revolutionary technique of slip-casting, a method that had long been used for the production of silver and other metal wares, but not for ceramics, and which they guarded with the upmost secrecy.
The brothers continued production of redwares until about 1698 when, on the verge of bankruptcy, they returned to London. A number of contemporary and later accounts describe the fine red stonewares produced by the Elers during their short tenure at Bradwell Wood. For a full discussion of the life and work of the Elers brothers see Gordon Elliott, John and David Elers and their Contemporaries, London, 1998. Elliott discusses the distinctive group of slip-cast and lathe-turned wares, which are, despite the absence of any firm documentary or archaeological evidence, attributed to the brothers. This group was first identifed by W.B. Honey, 'Elers Ware', English Ceramic Circle Transactions, No. 2, 1934, pp. 7-16, on stylistic grounds, and the pieces attributed by him for the most part remain unchallenged. A beaker and a cylindrical mug applied with flowering branches identical to the present example are illustrated ibid., pl. Ib and c. A teapot with identical decoration is illustrated by Gordon Elliot, op. cit., pl. 2A, as well a mug of the same form but differing decoration, pl 6A. A related mug is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acession no. C319-1951.
The brothers continued production of redwares until about 1698 when, on the verge of bankruptcy, they returned to London. A number of contemporary and later accounts describe the fine red stonewares produced by the Elers during their short tenure at Bradwell Wood. For a full discussion of the life and work of the Elers brothers see Gordon Elliott, John and David Elers and their Contemporaries, London, 1998. Elliott discusses the distinctive group of slip-cast and lathe-turned wares, which are, despite the absence of any firm documentary or archaeological evidence, attributed to the brothers. This group was first identifed by W.B. Honey, 'Elers Ware', English Ceramic Circle Transactions, No. 2, 1934, pp. 7-16, on stylistic grounds, and the pieces attributed by him for the most part remain unchallenged. A beaker and a cylindrical mug applied with flowering branches identical to the present example are illustrated ibid., pl. Ib and c. A teapot with identical decoration is illustrated by Gordon Elliot, op. cit., pl. 2A, as well a mug of the same form but differing decoration, pl 6A. A related mug is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acession no. C319-1951.