Antique porcelain is replete with superb works of art undertaken, in many cases, by little-known, or even unknown, artists. Those who became famous enough for their pieces to be collectible in their own right are fairly few and far between. That is particularly so in the early days of English porcelain, when retailers would often require that the manufacturers did not even mark their wares, for fear customers would then go direct to the manufacturer, rather than buying from them.
There are, of course, exceptions to the above rule. Whilst First Period Worcester was painted, predominantly, in-house, by painters whose names are either unknown, or whose works can be attributed only conjecturally, other manufacturers gave their artists considerable artistic freedom. in the UK, the factory who can, I think, with little fear of contradiction, be said most obviously to exemplify the above, was the Derby factory, under the ownership of William Duesbury (1725-86). Duesbury (himself, a known London enameller) positively encouraged the top painters of the day to work for his business, and the effects were remarkable. Luminaries such as Edward Withers, William Billingsley, Fidelle Duvivier and Zachariah Boreman were all employed by Duesbury.
After Duesbury's death in 1786, his son, William Duesbury II, took over the business. Duesbury II surrounded himself with many of the finest artists of the day, but unfortunately suffered failing health and died in 1796. Although the factory was then controlled by personages not quite so determined to support the artistic endeavours of the firm, it nevertheless continued to employ many artists of huge talent.
Perhaps the most famous of all of those painters was William "Quaker" Pegg. Pegg was a superbly talented flower artist. Opinions are divided on whether Pegg or William Billingsley should hold the title of being the greatest flower artist ever to work at the Derby manufactory, but whichever side you take, Pegg's work was both original and spectacular.
Born in 1775 in the Potteries, Pegg began working at the Derby Nottingham Road works in 1796. He entered into an agreement with William Duesbury II to work for a period of five years. Pegg was, however, a deeply religious man, who joined the Society of Friends in 1800. His religious inclinations led him to the abandonment of his painting career in 1801. Tragically, (for posterity, at any rate) at the same time, and by his own account, he burned most of his drawings.
In 1813 he decided to return to the Derby works, agreeing to work for Robert Bloor, who had taken over the business by that point in time. Pegg remained at Derby until 1820.
In the course of his painting career, he produced many works of a spectacular nature. It is very hard to think of any artists before or, it could be said, since, who produced such original work and with such style. John Twitchett describes some of Pegg's sketches as displaying "a wild, erotic abandon, as if he were releasing his pent-up emotions". It is hard to argue with that description.
It is the aim of this business to acquire as many pieces as we can by the great Derby artists. At this moment, we have a substantial collection of pieces by both William Billingsley and Quaker Pegg. We hope you enjoy looking at them – and would be even happier should you decide you wished to purchase some!