Hunt Museum

For the Hunt Museum project the piece that interested me the most was a porcelain stag sculpture.

The Hunt Museum's information on the piece ;

"This candelabrum was possibly a response to late Victorian interest in all things Scottish. The rise of the stag as a symbol of Scotland was popularised by Landseer's 'Monarch of the Glen' (1851). Elements of the design, including the amphora lamp and the sea urchin candleholders, are found in other Belleel porcelain pieces. It may have been designed to stand in front of a mirror. This piece, probably unique, belonged to the Condon family of Ballyshannon, County Donegal, who were avid collectors of Belleek porcelain and were often given first choice of new desiigns."

"The mark on the base of the piece is a black second period (1891-1926) transfer-printed mark with the legend: Belleek, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland." 

Belleek Pottery

 Belleek Pottery Ltd is a porcelain company that began trading in 1884 as the Belleek Pottery Works Company Ltd in Belleek, County Fermanagh, in what was to become Northern Ireland. The factory produces porcelain that is characterised by its thinness, slightly iridescent surface and that the body is formulated with a significant proportion of frit

 History

Pottery in the region began around 1849, after John Caldwell Bloomfield inherited his father's estate. Seeking to provide employment for his tenants, who had been affected by the Irish potato famine and, being an amateur mineralogist, he ordered a geological survey of his land. On finding that the area was rich in minerals, Bloomfield went into partnership with London architect Robert Williams Armstrong and Dublin merchant David McBirney. In setting up a pottery business, Bloomfield managed to get a railway line built to Belleek so that coal could be delivered with which to fire kilns. Building started on the pottery in 1858. Initially starting with domestic products, it wasn't until 1863 that small amounts of the Parian porcelain for which Belleek is famous for to this day, was successfully produced. By 1865, the prestige of the company had increased enough that its market included Ireland, England, the United States, Canada and Australia, and clients included the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria and the nobility.

The original owners had all died by 1884, and a local group of investors acquired the concern and named it Belleek Pottery Works Company Ltd. Master craftsmen Frederick Slater moved from England to Belleek in 1893 and by 1920 high quality porcelain was becoming the mainstay of the business. The company struggled throughout the First and Second World Wars, and the company concentrated on producing earthenware during these periods.
After the Second World War, Belleek Pottery stopped production of earthenware entirely. The Pottery began the change from coal fired kilns to electric powered kilns from 1952. In 1983 the Industrial Development Board gave financial assistance to the company and installed Roger Troughton as the Managing Director. The following year Troughton made a successful bid for the sale of the company. In 1988, Dungannon-based Powerscreen International bought the company and opened a Visitor Centre the following year.

Today

 
The company changed ownership again in 1990. Dundalk-born US-based Dr. George G. Moore remains the owner, though the company is run locally by four directors. Since then Belleek Pottery has expanded its size in terms of factory space, acquisitions of other companies, staff and turnover. Subsidiary companies now include Galway Crystal, Aynsley China and Donegal Parian China. It employs more than six hundred people and enjoys an annual turnover of around £30 million.

 I wouldn't have an interest in the pottery itself though it is beautiful but I would be more interested in the animal itself. The history of the deer, what it symbolizes, how it has been treated by people and how it has been affected in the wild by us, how people view them now, how they are coping in today's world. They are Ireland's largest wild animal (red deer) and they have been used over and over again as decorative objects to place in the home or the head of the animal itself mounted on a wall.


 There is another deer piece beside the stag head in the Hunt, there is very little information on this piece though but it fits in with my theme so I will include it.

 Gilt silver statue, German or Austrian, 17th century