Pair of Victorian Aesthetic Movement Platters by J & MP Bell & Co. of Glasgow in ‘Blythswood’ Pattern, 1887

A pair of blue and white Scottish ashets or platters in the ‘Blythswood’ pattern by the Glasgow maker, J & MP Bell & Co. The patent number dates these to 1887. One of the platters has some scratches, but otherwise they are in very good condition with no chips or cracks.

Bell’s was established in late 1840 or 1841, at the corner of Stafford St and Pulteney St, Glasgow, by brothers John and Matthew Perston Bell. The initial partnership traded as J.& M. P. Bell, Earthenware manufacturers. John Murdoch, a manager of the firm, continued trading as J & M P Bell Company Limited from 1881. The firm grew to become the biggest pottery in Scotland. Bell’s was the only Scottish pottery represented at the Great Exhibition in 1851. It did not win any prizes, but the Art Journal was not surprised; the prizes went to Minton and Sèvres, both of whom were on the jury.

The ‘Blythswood’ pattern is a good example of the Aesthetic Movement that flourished in Britain in the 1870s and 1880s. Inspired by William Morris, it aimed to escape the ugliness and materialism of the Industrial Age, by focusing instead on producing art that was beautiful, in other words, ‘art for art‘s sake‘. It is typified by artists such as James Whistler and Albert Moore and in design by Christopher Dresser. The Blythswood name may have come from the Bell’s early address at 9 Blythswood Hill West, which later became St. Vincent Street.