Collecting Chintz China

Chintz, bursting with fresh and colourful flowers in tightly packed designs is highly collectable china and can still be had at a good price. You can display your Chintz china grouped together in a profusion of colour or you can introduce the odd single piece to create that country cottage look.

The fashion for chintz began when exotic, floral fabrics were imported to the UK from India in the 17th century. By the 1820s the major Staffordshire potters started copying the designs onto china, using transfer printing. Initially this was a slow process, but towards the end of the 19th century two leading potters of the day, Leonard and Sidney Grimwade, developed a faster process by fixing a lithographic transfer print onto the china above or below the glaze and this enabled chintz china to be produced on a mass scale.

Chintz china had royal approval as in the early 20th century, Queen Mary took a fancy to it while on a tour and packed some away for her and her husband King George V, to use at home.

The Grimwade brothers were the founders of the celebrated Royal Winton pottery. Their first highly successful modern pattern was Marguerite - a pattern of white daisies, bluebells and yellow flowers - in 1928. Another potter, A.G. Richardson of Crown Ducal, created popular patterns such as Florida, Festival and Blue Chintz in the 1920s, which were rich with exotic plumed birds. The American market was booming during the early 1900s and many of the chintz tea sets, dinner services and 'consoles' (a bowl and candlestick to place in the middle of the dinner table) were exported overseas. The chintz market is very strong in Canada, America and Australia today.

Royal Winton is considered by many to be the finest chintz producer. The pottery went on to release more than 60 chintz patterns over the next 50 years and its strength lies in the fact that they not only produced so many patterns, but also so many different shapes. The early Athena range had a pie crust edge and a triangular piece on the handles. The pie crust edge was later dropped and the triangular shape was turned into three raised dots.

One of the Royal Winton early patterns which has remained highly collectable is Summertime, released in 1936. This is a medley of summer flowers, violets, daisies and roses and has a delicate, subtle style. You would have to pay a least £300 for a teapot.

Other celebrated Royal Winton designs include Sweet Pea, Victorian Rose and Anemone, inspired by the English cottage garden, while others take their name from English villages such as Evesham, Richmond and Beeston. Many of these designs were created after the second world war to cheer up a population that had to make do with plain white china during the war years.

Royal Winton is the most famous manufacturer of chintz china, with Julia, Welbeck and Shelley's Melody being among the most popular patterns. Julia side plates can sell for between £5 and £55 while a Welbeck plate is not to be had under £35 or £40. A Melody vase can cost you up to £150, depending on size and condition.

Royal Winton were clever in their design, colourways were reversed, so that Welbeck, which has a yellow background was replaced with a black background and named 'Hazel', then changed to a white background and named 'Spring'. The released a tartan design to appeal to male collectors. The patterns could be found on a huge display of wares, from sugar bowls and pepper pots to sweet dishes and cups.

In the 1950s and 1960s some patterns changed to reflect the fashion of the period, with larger flowers and richer colours such as dark reds and blues, as in the Morning Glory and Peony designs.

Chintz china does not provoke the frantic buying trends associated with other china collectables and buyers can afford to build up a collection at their leisure, simply buying the pieces they like, rather than for their value. Florence, Welbeck, Julia and Stratford are not as popular as they were, while Evesham and June Roses are now sought after.

There are many other chintzes to look out for, from the great potteries of the time. Shelley is very popular and you may want to look out for Empire - WR Midwinter (the Springtime range), Wade - Lord Nelson (especially the Black Beauty pattern) and James Kent. Some of these are not of such a high quality as Royal Winton, but they are still pretty and cost considerably less.

Tips for the Collector

If you are buying your china from an internet trader make sure that you can return the goods of they are faulty or damaged.

If you are buying a set make sure that all the pieces are there and in the correct pattern.

You can either collect a set of a pattern such as Summertime, or go for a variety of different pattern and shapes, such as collecting cruet set in all the different patterns.

A little crazing doesn't matter, but watch out for hairline cracks - look at the item in the sunlight to check.

Check that the spouts on tea and coffee pots are not chipped.

Be aware that colours, especially blue, can fade.