How were polychrome earthenware chargers used?

These large vessels served primarily as decorative wall plaques or centrepieces on sideboards rather than functional tableware. Wealthy households displayed them to demonstrate taste and access to imported or refined domestic crafts. Over time, collectors shifted these pieces entirely to wall hanging, utilising pierced foot rings or custom wire hangers designed to support their substantial weight safely.

What is the difference between Delft and faience?

Delft specifically describes tin-glazed earthenware produced in England and the Netherlands, famous for its blue and polychrome palette inspired by imported Chinese porcelain. Faience is the broader continental term covering similar tin-glazed ceramics made in France, Spain, and Italy. While the underlying chemical recipe of clay and tin glaze remains closely related, the regional painting styles, colour choices, and clay bodies distinguish English and Dutch Delft from southern European faience.

How do I hang a heavy antique charger?

Displaying a large earthenware charger requires a specialised, rubber-coated spring wire hanger that distributes the weight evenly across the rim without pinching or stressing the ceramic body. Ensure the wall fixing is secured directly into a stud or uses an appropriate heavy-duty wall anchor. Avoid using adhesive disk hangers attached to the base, as the historical glaze and porous earthenware body can fail under sustained tension over time.

How do I distinguish eighteenth-century pieces from nineteenth-century revivals?

Eighteenth-century chargers typically exhibit softer tin glazes, subtle variations in hand-mixed mineral pigments, and natural manufacturing imperfections such as kiln stilt marks on the reverse. The brushwork tends to show spontaneous fluidity characteristic of working ceramic painters. Nineteenth-century revival pieces often display harder, more uniform modern glazes, brighter synthetic enamel tones, and occasionally stamped factory marks that reflect industrial standardisation.

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Polychrome Earthenware Charger

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These polychrome earthenware chargers are large, painted display vessels spanning centuries of European and Japanese ceramic traditions, prized for rich colour and wall-hanging presence.