The term serves to cover those opaque
earthenwares which are fired until vitrification or an external
glassing results. At first all styles of gres were called Gres de
Flandres, but later the single term gres was given them. You will
hardly be surprised when I tell you that those past masters in the art
of every kind of pottery-making, the Chinese and Japanese, have given
us our finest specimens of gres, some of them having designs of
imitation jewels upon them; and others decorations of beautifully
colored enamels. Next to these Oriental varieties Germany has always
excelled in the making of gres. There is a great scope for artistic
expression in this ware, a far broader range for merit than in many
others."
"So it was this salt glaze that England took up, was it?" ruminated
Theo.
"Yes. You see, up to this time very little glazed ware had been made
in England, for until the Dutch traders came with their Chinese and
Delft wares the English had been cheerfully using, as I told you,
unglazed clay, wood, pewter, and on rare occasions silver dishes. Even
the ladies of Queen Elizabeth's household felt no shame to eat from
wooden dishes. As for knives and forks--nobody used those! Every one
ate with his fingers.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87