Battersea enamelware

Battersea enamelware

Painted enamelware made by Stephen Theodore Janssen at York House in London's Battersea district from 1753 to 1756. The ware is composed of soft white enamel over a copper ground. The designs were applied by hand painting or by transfer printing: an impression from an engraved metal plate brushed with enamel colours was made on paper, and the design was then transferred to the object to be decorated. Most of the objects (e.g., snuffboxes, watch cases) were decorated with mottoes, portraits, landscapes, or flowers. The transfer printing technique was first used for large-scale production at Battersea.