The World's Largest Ceramic Planter wins Gold Medal!

The Minton Jardiniere is the world's largest ceramic planter or flower stand. It was made of majolica in Stoke-upon-Trent in 1854 by Minton & Co. for the 1855 Paris International Exhibition. Designed by Pierre-Emile Jeanneret and painted by Thomas Kirkby, it was first acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum and given to Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in 1934.

Mintons made special pieces for the major exhibitions that were a feature of the period, beginning with the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, where they had considerable success, winning the bronze medal for "beauty and originality of design". They followed this with a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris.

The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Elysées in Paris from May 15 to November 15, 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des Beaux-Arts de Paris 1855.
The exposition was a major event in France, then newly under the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. It followed London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and attempted to surpass that fair's The Crystal Palace with its own Palais de l'Industrie. The industrial and art exhibits shown on this occasion were considered superior to those of all previous exhibitions.
According to its official report, 5,162,330 visitors attended the exposition, the exposition covered 16 hectares (39 acres) with 34 countries participating.

The Illustrated London News, Nov. 10, 1855
"Messrs. Minton and Co. are the most conspicuous contributors of pottery in the Paris Exhibition. No single firm has contributed so many excellent samples of its manufactures. The collection, Englishmen will be happy to observe, includes some beautiful vases, drawn by students of the Schools of Design. Then there is the facsimile of the beautiful toilette service in blue and white parian, presented by Prince Albert to the Queen. The stand for scents is especially pretty in design; the various scents being marked by the groups of flowers from which they are extracted.

The most complete specimen, however, of Messrs. Minton and Co.'s manufactures, is the great dessert service, in the centre of which are the two pretty candelabra, presented by the Emperor of the French to the Queen of England (which we have engraved). The collection of Palissy and Majolica ware, however, is that which appears to have created the greatest sensation among Parisian connoisseurs. The reader will remember that the main difference in these wares is that whereas the Palissy ware is coloured by a transparent glaze, Majolica ware contains the colour (opaque) in the material."

The Vase is on display at the @ThePotteriesMuseumArtGallery in the ceramics section on the first floor. Do visit! It is FREE!

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