Tell me, have you ever heard of
Texian Campaigne Transferware?
I had not until I visited the
Texas Governor's Mansion this past spring.
The Texas Governor's Mansion,
designed by the prominent Abner Cook in Greek Revival style,
was built in 1854, and has been home
to every Texas governor.
Situated in downtown Austin,
across the street from the Texas Capitol, the Mansion
was badly damaged by an arson fire on June 8, 2008.
Fortunately all the contents were safely
in off site storage because the Mansion was undergoing
a major renovation at the time of the fire.
Among the historic treasures and period antiques
within the Texas Governor's Mansion,
is a collection of Texian Campaigne China.
It is believed that James Beech in Staffordshire, England,
first produced this china in the 1830s or early 1840s
in commemoration of the Texas Revolution
and Texas' independence from Mexico.
With the designs unchanged, the china continued
to be produced from 1844 - 1852 by Thomas Walker,
and by Anthony Shaw after 1852.
The transferware patterns of this china depict
various military scenes with borders that alternate
images of the Greek Goddess Ceres
and a vignette of draped flags over a drum.
Produced in six different colors,
blue appears to be the most common.
Pieces can also be found
in purple, green, black, brown, and red.
The red is rare and more expensive.
The back side is marked "Texian Campaigne"
within a fan shaped cartouche.
The initials or first name initial with last name
of the potter are below and help in dating a piece.
Within the past couple of decades,
Texian Campaigne was produced by Mottahedeh
as a reproduction for the Dallas County Heritage Society
and later for The Friends of the Governors Mansion.
These pieces are clearly marked as such.
Relatively rare and highly collectable,
Texian Campaigne, made as dinner services
and tea sets, can demand high prices.
In addition to the Texas Governor's Mansion,
Collections of Texian Campaigne are in the following museums:
The Bayou Bend Collection, MFA, Houston
The Witte Museum, San Antonio
Texas A&M University, College Station
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas
Star of the Republic Museum, Washington-On-The-Brazos
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| Source: http://governor.state.tx.us/mansion |
If you are ever in Austin, TX,
I highly recommend a tour of this historic home.
Tours are available most Tuesdays - Thursdays
from 10 - Noon with reservations.
Mansion.Tours@tspb.state.tx.us.
More detailed information and additional photos
on Texian Campaigne can be found on the following links used as reference:
http://fortbendlifestylesandhomes.com/photographs-through-time/
http://antiquescouncil.com/antiques/index.php?page=out&id=260
http://www.internetantiquegazette.com/pottery
_porcelain/2539_texian_campaigne_pattern_transferware/
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