The History of Chinese ceramics shows a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and this pottery is one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. There are two primary categories of Chinese ceramics, low-temperature-fired pottery or táo (陶, about 950–1200 ℃) and high-temperature-fired porcelain or cí (瓷, about 1250–1400 ℃). Chinese ceramics…
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It was during Henry VII’s reign that the very first gold Sovereign was created on 28th October 1489. Though this wasn’t the first gold coin to be minted in Britain, as they had been in circulation for hundreds of years, it was the most valuable and largest of its time. Sold for £320 at Anthemion…
Established in 1965, the ceramic Groggs began with the potter John Hughes in his humble garden shed. From this makeshift studio came an army of weird and wonderful ceramic creations – mythical creatures from Welsh legend, small animal caricatures and ashtrays, along with the now unmistakable popular clay rugby figures which would become the template…
In 1656 Christian Huygens from Holland was the first person to use a pendulum, as a driving device, in clocks. This was the birth of the Grandfather clock, or to use the correct terminology, Long Case clock. A longcase clock, also tall-case clock, floor clock, is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum…
Chess, the quintessential game, has been around for thousands of years replicating a battleground in the ultimate test of strategy, logic and cunning. A chess board of 64 squares separates 2 players, each having an army of 16 chess pieces to face the opponent. Each side begins the match with a king, a queen, 2…
The treasures that are Nantgarw and Swansea porcelain are renowned throughout the world of ceramic collectors for its’ beauty and its’ rarity. Founded in Swansea in 1764, the Cambrian Pottery found success by imitating the high-quality pottery made fashionable by Josiah Wedgwood in Staffordshire. This Welsh Nantgarw porcelain production started in the 19th Century in…
The United Kingdom and Ireland have one of the most highly structured hallmarking systems in the world, and represents Britain's oldest form of consumer protection. King Edward I (1272 to 1307) passed a statute requiring all silver to be of sterling standard, equaling a minimum of 925 parts per thousand. The statue made it the…
