Tunbridge ware marquetry
Tunbridge Ware is decorative wooden
inlaid marquetry in a variety of natural colours. Patterns range
Early Tunbridge ware consisted of ‘Treen’ and undecorated turnery. However, by
the second half of the 18th century skills had improved and
decorated wares were being marketed. Some imitated the popular oriental lacquer
work by painting on a black background, or on a whitewood background.
By 1800 techniques were improving and print decorated wares had been
introduced, often showing views of Tunbridge Wells and popular attractions that
would be sold as souvenirs. These would have been a sideline for woodworkers
from local communities such as Tonbridge and Speldhurst.
Two noted families were very prominent in the making of quality Tunbridge ware,
the Burrows from Tunbridge Wells operated from around 1740 and the Wises from
around 1746. James Burrows invented Stickware in 1830,these were blocks of varying coloured triangular and diamond shaped
wooden sticks assembled by gluing them into a tight bundle. Another skill was to place a plain dowel type
wood as a core, then when the glue was set, the core was removed, leaving
hollow wares typically salt and pepper pots and pin cushions.
This method would be extended to halfsquare mosaic and was used as veneer to
decorate boxes etc. Whilst stickware remained popular throughout the next century,
it was only the first stage in what was to become true tessellated mosaic.
Today we are more likely to think of tessellated
mosaic when we think of Tunbridge ware. Stunning intricate patterns and detailed pictures could be produced. Preset designs were drafted onto scaled up
graph paper patterns and the minute tesserae would be bundled, as described
earlier. Think of a stick of seaside rock with the letters running through. The
bundle works on the same basis, cut into slices and the veneers would be glued
onto blank surfaces that would become Tunbridge ware
We may be limited to the types of wood available nowadays but the there some
160 varieties from all over the world. No dyes were necessary because of the
vast array of colours and shades, as well as stains from natural activity such
as fungus.
Imagine taking a tour of a Victorian home, just about every room would have
some form of Tunbridge ware. Take a Childs’ room or nursery, chests, toy boxes,
games boards, desks etc. The dining room and kitchen would have tea caddies and
spoons, tables, tea pot stands, bowls, trays; the list is endless.
Earlier I mentioned the Burrows and the Wise families, the earliest recorded ‘pioneers’
of Tundridge ware on a large scale. These were followed by Fenner & Co who
traded from 1790 to 1840 when William Fenner retired.
In the second half of the 19th Century the industry saw more entrants
who were to become famous names.
James Nye and his son Edmund took over the old Fenner premises on Mount Ephraim. In 1836 James and Edmund were joined by a former apprentice of Wise, Thomas Barton he was an excellent designer and creator of tessellated mosaic work. So much so that he soon became the top designer and was made a partner in the firm.
Thomas Barton designed and produced the finest items to be exhibited by Nye’s at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Much of his work can be instantly recognised and attributed to him by the woods he used. coromandel and ebony were his favourite choice of backgrounds and oak that had been stained green by the Chlorosplenium aeruginascens fungus. His work may have the ‘Nye’ label as well as his and name and “Formerly of Nye”.
Shortly before the death of Edmund Nye, Barton took over the Nye workshop but not at market value, in fact as a reflection of the high esteem that he held with Nye, and the importance that Nye’s business fell into the right hands after his death, he sold Barton everything, lock stock and barrel for £400!
In 1864 he was awarded first prize in the First Class for skilled manufacture at the Tunbridge Wells Industrial Exhibition. Thomas Barton died in 1903 and the business died with him
Despite the
fact that the famous names we know today were all independent makers of
Tonbridge ware, they were all connected via apprenticeships in one form or
another. Take Henry Hollamby, a Burrows apprentice, set up his own business in 1842. By about 1880
he was the largest manufacturer in Tunbridge Wells and employed up to forty
people. He was largely involved in providing the wholesale and export markets
and his work was noted for the panoramic views of buildings such as
Herstmonceux Castle and Shakespeare’s Birthplace.
In 1891 tragedy struck when his
premises were destroyed by fire and he sold whatever he could salvage.
Henry Hollamby supplied the firm with design blocks and when Hollamby closed
after the fire at his workshop it was Boyce, Brown & Kemp who bought the
remaining stock. When Thomas Barton died
in 1903 they became the only manufacturers of Tunbridge Ware.
The firm, like most manufacturers struggled during the
First World War and a John Ellis the business but In 1923 Boyce, Brown &
Kemp sold out to David King who renamed it the Tunbridge Wells Manufacturing
Company Limited.
King was ambitious and his dream was to turn the
making of Tunbridge Ware into a massive national industry that would appeal to
the huge export market. Just three years later the firm closed, he didn’t
realise his ambition but ended three hundred years of the art of making
Tunbridge ware.
Tunbridge Ware Buyers Guide
When buying Tunbridge ware there is much to evaluate and the golden rule is ‘look
for tessera marquetry in the best condition.’
- Avoid any pieces that have
suffered significant damage or loss of veneer
- Ensure mosaic is adhered
properly all over, not bubbling or peeling.
- Check that lids and other
connecting fit properly.
- Look pieces with their
original label.