Titian's Stonehenge and Lascaux caves decoration

The Stonehenge glaze was used extensively in conjunction with a design Cam Brown adapted from prehistoric art found in the Lascaux Caves in France.

Foreground, B116 (Bowl number 16)

To my knowledge Titian only used ONE cave art stencil, which was derived from the image in the following link: http://i33.tinypic.com/1zf61au.jpg

Un-numbered Titian lamp base

These designs are so redolent of the 1960s and it is such a high quality art glaze that I am certain they will be sought after by collectors of New Zealand pottery and mid-century design for years to come.

The above tennis sets are said to have been experimental and therefore un-numbered, according to the antique dealer in Auckland from whom they were bought years ago.

As with any topic, it you write a blog aiming for comprehensive coverage, occasionally you'll strike something that is a little bit controversial - even with Titian pottery!!! At the risk of getting into trouble with some collectors, I'm sticking my neck out here: The thing that needs to be said is that there are quite a lot of vases with cave art decoration sold as Titian, which are not. Even Gail Henry was caught out when she illustrated a vase as Titian, which I think is likely to have been made in Japan in the 1960s. You can find this mistake on page 11 of the colour photography section of her book (between pages 192 and 193 of the main text of her 1999 work). There are often vases from this foreign manufacturer sold as Titian on Trademe. The confusion is understandable because of the similar themes. However, the foreign vases have shapes that Titian didn't produce, along with different brown tones, and an attempt at producing a Stonehenge glaze that does not measure up to the quality of the effect Titian got. I have yet to see a Titian Lascaux pot with a stencil decoration different from those illustrated above.

Titian's Stonehenge Glaze

Another highly successful innovative glaze achieved at Titian was what they called "Stonehenge". It was reportedly Cameron Brown's personal favourite. It looks like coloured, worked and weathered granite.

On the right, PJ101; center, SV202, left PV110

The vase with ram's head corbel handles is numbered and PV110 (Paramount Vase number 10), and works particularly well with this glaze giving a real prehistoric effect.

The genius of the glaze effect is that it produces the optical illusion that it is a textured rough surface, when in fact, it is completely flat. Look closely at the glaze sample photos below and you will find yourself looking at peaks and troughs with shadows cast.

Brown Stonehenge glaze sample

Blue Stonehenge glaze sample

This is an optical illusion - it is actually completely smooth and flat. I don't know how this effect was produced. No doubt there are experienced potters on the web who could explain the chemistry of how this might have been achieved. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them...
The blue Stonehenge is harder to find than the brown, and seems to have been used on only a very limited range of articles, including B115 (Bowl number 15) below.

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