A Colorful Legacy: Multi-technical Studies of Eighteenth-century Overglaze Enamels of the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory

Established in 1744–1745, the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory was one of the first commercially successful producers of English soft-paste porcelain. Compared to contemporaneous French and German manufactories, relatively little scientific analysis has been undertaken of the decorative painting technique of this important English center of innovation. Using a combinatorial approach integrating the insights from non-invasive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Raman spectroscopies and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), it is possible to establish an understanding of the colorants used by the Chelsea factory. XRF and SEM-EDX studies of colorants reveal a color palette consistent with contemporary manufactories including copper-based green, cobalt-based blue, tin and/or antimony-based yellows, iron-based reds and oranges, and gold-containing pink and purple overglaze enamels. These results add an integral data point in the understanding of eighteenth-century English porcelain manufacturing and the overglaze enamels used at the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory.