CHINA WARE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 65, 8 June 1927, Page 12

CHINA WARE

CARE IN SELECTION. A FEW POINTS TO HEED. There is a certain sentiment and re* finement about lovely china that we are all responsive to. This responsiveness is a heritage from our grandmothers, for they felt just as we do, that their best china was something to he cared for and handed down from generation to generation. When to-day’s housewife Sets out to buy china, there are two requirements that need to he kept in mind if her choice is to be lastingly satisfactory. She should buy a make and pattern in “open stock,” which can be replaced as pieces are broken. She will want to choose a pattern that will not grow tiresome to her and that will not go out of fashion. It is well to keep the general colour scheme of the diningroom in mind, too, in choosing the china. The colour of the rugs and the curtains, the brick in the lircplace, if there happens to be a lircplace in the dining-room, the colours of separate china that is already on the home shelves which will he used with the new china, and the flowers which will probably he used through the year should he kept in mind in making the choice. All characteristic patterns need not he crossed from the list on the score that they will soon go out of style, for there are plenty of patterns that have been used over a long enough period of years to prove that they are not fads. Some of these patterns have been used constantly, but others have been a recurrence. Cream porcelain with fluted borders, either plain or with colourful decorations, has been a standard for some time, and there is nothing lovelier or more easy to combine with various schemes of dining-room decoration. The Indian Tree and the Willow pattern, gold and white china, and several patterns in blue and white, and brown and white are examples of what is meant by old patterns. Several makers have chosen these old designs, developing them on various grades of china. This fact needs to be understood and kept in mind when buying, as it often leads to confusion. Another point that is confusing to many is the difference between earthenware and porcelain. Such things as mixing bowls, flower pots and much of the decorative china and inexpensive tableware are earthenware, which, when broken, shows darker inside than china. The easiest and most general test for china is transparency; china is translucent, while earthenware is not. Earthenware is made from ordinary clay, and china from the fine clay containing flint and feldspar. The product made from fine clay will stand a much greater degree of heat than the other. It is the firing that whitens and vitrifies the clay, and the difference in the degree of heat means a difference in the quality produced. Of the better known styles of china ware, one of the most popular is Royal Doulton, an English manufacture noted for its beautiful enamel effects. Another, not quite so well known, is Haviland china, which is exquisite in design and rich in colouring. Many may not know that the Wedgwood patterns come in open stock. This makes it convenient to replace broken pieces and also permits one starting a set for a relative or friend, making each birthday or Christmas an occasion for adding a number of pieces. The Crown Derby ware, a rich and beautiful china, shows a pattern done in cobalt blue, red and gold- This is particularly a product of this factory, although it has been copied extensively in Japanese and German wares. Peasant potterv is quaint and interesting, but as a tableware needs to be handled judiciously, and not combined with a more formal ware.. The clay in these dishes is softer and it is easily chipped, and for that reason is impracticable for general usage. About £400,000 is being spent upon the erection of the mammoth store of David Jones, Ltd., at the corner of Elizabeth, Market and Castlereagh Streets, Sydney.