Fern Stand, shape no. 3525

During the second half of the nineteenth century, majolica was commonly used for the display of houseplants, like those that might have been housed in this fern stand. Majolica vessels such as flowerpots, vases, and fern stands were designed to frame their contents in pleasing ways, and their decoration, like that of majolica garden seats and pedestals or stands, frequently incorporates natural motifs.

George Jones (1823–1893) served a seven-year apprenticeship at Minton & Co. beginning in 1837 and subsequently worked as a traveling salesman for Josiah Wedgwood & Co. and other firms before founding his own highly successful business as a ceramics wholesaler in the early 1850s. The significant capital Jones built up during this time enabled him to embark on pottery manufacture in 1862. His eponymous firm in Stoke-upon-Trent, the center of the British ceramics industry, began producing majolica in about 1865–66, and the ware soon became its most important product line. Although the identity of the company’s principal designer is unknown, it is likely that George Jones himself or his son Frank Ralph Jones (1846–1911) played a significant role in the development of the pottery’s strong aesthetic identity, which was dominated by naturalistic relief-modeled animals and plants. The manufacturer enjoyed a strong export business, including to the important American and Australian markets, and promoted its wares through displays at international exhibitions in the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s. This stand is documented in an album of materials now held within the Wedgwood Archive as shape number 3525. Any record of the manufacturer’s name for this form has not survived.

“Fern fever” gripped the public during the second half of the nineteenth century, when fern collecting and cultivation became popular hobbies transcending both gender and class. Majolica manufacturers responded to the craze with wares featuring lushly molded fern frond decoration and vessels specifically designed to contain and display the plants within the home or conservatory, like this model.

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Strawser Auction Group, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, "Fine Majolica For The Connoisseur," 31 October 2015, lot 24; purchased by Deborah and Philip English, Baltimore, 2015; given to the Walters Art Museum, 2024.