Irish Belleek Porcelain
The story of Belleek porcelain began in 1857 when Mr. John Caldwell Bloomfield of County Firmanagh noted that the whitewash used on his tenants’ houses was exceptionally brilliant. This led to the discovery of a limepit on his Castle Caldwell estate (the source of the whitewash) and the ultimate discovery that the whole estate rested upon a felspathic clay stratum. Some say that due to the severe deterioration of the estate, Bloomfield vowed he would start a pottery to provide employment and upgrade conditions. It was a natural choice; all major ingredients to make pottery were present on the estate: feldspar, kaolin, flint, clay, shale, peat, power and trainable labor.
It is unclear through history exactly just who developed the factory and produced the so-called “parian ware” first, but Messrs. McBirney & Armstrong of the town of Belleek first made it popular in 1863 and so named the wares.
Belleek wares are distinctive because of the applied luster glaze which gives it a soft-tone pearly luster. The ware is made with the plaster casting process; after the clay has been ground and refined down to the consistency of cream, it is poured into a mold and allowed to dry. After removing the mold, the appliques of flowers, etc are applied by hand. Then the pieces are fired and the glazes applied. The painting of the decorations is next done and once again the piece is fired. The luster takes a fourth firing at very low heat to produce the pale finished tones.
Since the factory was established so near the sea, the early pieces naturally reflect the designs of marine plants, sea shells, corals, mermaids, and sea-dogs.
The Irish Belleek mark has changed throughout the years. The earliest mark is a round tower with an Irish harp to the left and and Irish Wolf Hound to the right. Beneath is a ribbon with the name Belleek and some shamrock ornamentation. On modern wares a circular Celtic symbol has been added. The basket pieces have a narrow flat ribbon with the name impressed and stuck on the bottom.
The first mark was black and dates from 1863 to 1890. The second mark, black, dates from 1891 to 1926 and includes the words “Co. Fermanagh, Ireland”. The third mark, black, dates from 1926 to 1946 and has the words “Deanta in Eirinn”. The fourth mark, same as the third mark, but green, dates from 1946 to 1955. The fifth mark, green, dates from 1955 to 1965 and has an R in a circle added in the upper right. The sixth mark, green, dates after 1965 and the words “Co. Fermahagh” have been omitted. The seventh mark, gold, was used from 1980 to 1993 and omits the words “Deanta in Eirinn”. The eigth mark, introduced in 1993, is similar to the second mark but is printed in blue.
In addition to these standard marks, a number of unusual marks were used: black and brown together during the second period, red during the third period, orange and black during the second period, brown (an extremely old mark), and pink, which was a fluke and therefore extremely rare. One note about Belleek baskets: three strand is older than four strand.
There are two ways to refer to the mark periods: the old way, 1st 2nd, 3rd black; 1st, 2nd, 3rd green; 1st gold. 1st blue. Or the new way, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th period, the 8th period being blue. Each mark now runs about twenty years.
The word “Belleek” is now used only on the pieces made in Ireland.