But as a rule it is held that Bristol delft is bluish in tint, and has a more brilliant and even surface. The ware is decorated with Oriental landscapes, and a considerable number of tiles were made and painted for use as pictures in the fireside in old Bristol houses a century and a half ago. Bowen, John Hope, Michael Edkins, and Thomas Patience are some of the painters who worked at the Frank pottery. There is one subject picture representing Hogarth's _March to Finchley_, and it was certainly executed more than once as there is one set consisting of forty-two tiles and another of seventy-two tiles of the same subject.
A peculiarity of some of the Bristol delft is the ground of powdered purple or brown with white panels, having a decoration in blue. We illustrate a bowl of this type of ware, which, although not having the white panel, is representative of this class as the fish is on a white ground with outline decorations in blue (see p. 115).
Another fine style of decoration is that known as _bianco sopra bianco_, that is, a pattern of foliage or sprays of flowers enamelled in white upon a dull, greenish-white ground (see illustration, p. 115).
BRISTOL DELFT PLATE. Decorated in blue in middle and _bianco sopra bianco_ around border.
BRISTOL DELFT BOWL. Ground of powdered purple. Decorated with fishes in white and blue.
(_In the possession of Mr. S. G. Fenton._)]
There are many dated pieces of Bristol delft with initials, bowls, marriage and election plates, and sometimes tile pictures. At the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a fine plate with the initials E.M.B., and dated 1760, the initials being those of the painter, Michael Edkins, and his wife Betty. This was made at the factory of Richard Frank, and was presented to the National collection by the grandson of the painter.
In the collection of pottery at the Bristol Museum there is an example attributed to Brislington which in colouring is slightly duller than the Bristol examples. Connoisseurs of Bristol delft divide the ware into the earlier period prior to 1735, when the decoration followed Dutch prototypes, and they attribute much of the thinner or finer potted examples to Joseph Flower, but after that the Bristol potters struck out for themselves, and imparted more originality in their ware. Landscapes appeared on the ware, but not seen through Dutch eyes, and a slight variation was given to the form of the bases of the bowls and plates, falling into line with typical shapes employed by other English potters.