Springer Swansea and Nantgarw Porcelains: A Scientific Reappraisal

This book describes a holistic study of the porcelain manufactured at Nantgarw and Swansea in the first quarter of the 19th Century, using both scientific analytical data and historical provenancing. This porcelain is acclaimed as some of the finest and most translucent porcelain ever produced. These two porcelain factories are linked through the artistic and creative activities of the enigmatic William Billingsley and had a strictly limited production over only three or four years during the period 1812-1820. The earliest chemical analysis of these porcelains were undertaken almost 100 years ago and are compared with the results of more recent analyses The chemical composition of these porcelains, their artistic decoration and the struggle to maintain quality production is reviewed. Scientific explanations are proposed for the characteristic Swansea duck-egg porcelain translucency and for the Nantgarw iridescence. The book is well illustrated throughout and affords a good basis for the further in-depth study of Swansea and Nantgarw porcelains. From the Back Cover This book describes a holistic study of the porcelain manufactured at Nantgarw and Swansea in the first quarter of the 19th Century, using both scientific analytical data and historical provenancing. This porcelain is acclaimed as some of the finest and most translucent porcelain ever produced. These two porcelain factories are linked through the artistic and creative activities of the enigmatic William Billingsley and had a strictly limited production over only three or four years during the period 1812-1820. The earliest chemical analysis of these porcelains were undertaken almost 100 years ago and are compared with the results of more recent analyses The chemical composition of these porcelains, their artistic decoration and the struggle to maintain quality production is reviewed. Scientific explanations are proposed for the characteristic Swansea duck-egg porcelain translucency and for the Nantgarw iridescence. The book is well illustrated throughout and affords a good basis for the further in-depth study of Swansea and Nantgarw porcelains. About the Author Professor H.G.M. Edwards M.A., B.Sc., D.Phil., C.Chem., F.R.S.C. Emeritus Professor of Molecular Spectroscopy, Director of the Centre for Astrobiology and Extremophiles Research , Faculty of Life Sciences , University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK. Honorary Scientific Adviser to The De Brecy Trust for the scientific evaluation and pigment composition of Renaissance and later period paintings. Howell Edwards studied Chemistry at Jesus College, University of Oxford. Following a Research Fellowship at Jesus College at the University of Cambridge, he took a lectureship in Structural and Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Bradford where he subsequently became Professor of Molecular Spectroscopy and Head of the Chemical and Forensic Sciences Division. In 2003, he received the Sir Harold Thompson Award from Elsevier Science for his international contributions to vibrational spectroscopy. He is the recipient of the Emanuel Boricky Medal for 2008/2009 from Charles University, Prague, for distinguished international contributions to geochemistry and mineralogical analysis. He was awarded the Charles Mann Award from the US Federation of Analytical Chemical Spectroscopic Societies in 2011 for his distinguished international work on the applications of Raman spectroscopy. In his research career he has published over 1250 papers on Raman spectroscopy and its applications and is the co-editor of five books: “A Handbook of Raman Spectroscopy: From the Research Laboratory to the Process Line” (with IR Lewis, Marcel Dekker, New York, 2001), “Raman Spectroscopy in Archaeology and Art History” (with JM Chalmers, RSC Publishing, Cambridge, 2005), “Selected Topics in Raman Spectroscopic Applications: Geology, Biomaterials and Art” (with F Rull Perez, P Vandenabeele and DC Smith, Publidisa