Born 1821 or 1822 - died 1901

Charles Ferdinand Hürten, was a German artist who had been trained at Cologne and later moved to Paris. He was noted for his superb fruit, flower and foliage painting and in about 1858* he was persuaded to come to work at Spode, at that time trading under the name of W.T. Copeland. (*Earliest written record at Spode suggests 1860 - see below).

Hürten may have been the only artist to have his own studio at Spode. He was allowed to paint freely on any type of ware. There are examples in the collection of the Spode Museum Trust of architectural and fireplace slabs; huge exhibition pieces and saggar marl plaques, as well as delicate flowers painted on earthenware and on the finest eggshell china. He was also allowed to sign his work which was in great demand. Hürten was the paid an annual salary whereas often the artists were paid for each piece they painted.

Copies of agreements between Hürten and the Spode company, then owned by the Copeland family, are in the Spode Museum Trust's archive. On 5th June 1860 an agreement was drawn up between:

'.....Mr. William Taylor Copeland Manufacturer of China, Earthenware etc at Stoke upon Trent....represented by his son Mr. Alfred Copeland.....and Mr. Charles Ferdinand Hürten, painter on china, in Paris...........

Article 1. Mr Hürtenengages himself to start within thirty days to Stoke upon Trent to place himself at the order of Mr. Copeland as painter of fruits and flowers, to work in the manufactory of china under the superintendence of Mr. Copeland or his representative during all the days of work and at the hours used at the manufactory.....from 8½ in the morning (8.30am) up to 6 o'clock at night with one hours' liberty during the daytime for the dinner as is the custom of the place....

Art. 3. this engagement is to last for the period of five years...

Copies of this agreement were in English and in French and witnessed by Alfred Copeland and Thomas Battam; also by Victor Taglier for Hürten. A similar agreement was drawn up in 1870 so Hürten obviously felt happy enough to outstay his five years! His salary increased to £350 per annum and the offer of payment of £21 remained if he chose to return to Paris. This time it was witnessed by Edward Capper Copeland and Will Lambert.

Correspondence in the archive, donated by members of the family, reveals a little of Hürten's life. In 1860 Hürten ordered some pottery for his personal use at home and of course it came from Spode! The invoice from W.T. Copeland is dated September 26th 1860 and lists items such as:

• 1 tobacco jar Rockingham Gold lines
• 2 blue glaze matchpots Gilt
• 2 black glaze matchpots Gilt
• 2 Statuary (now known as parian ware) Sleeping Children in Cot

Hürten spent £1.2s.3d (about £1.11p). At the bottom of the invoice is a list of items given as 'a Present from Mr. Copeland'. This included a table service for 8 personsin Honeysuckle brown, Breakfast and Tea ware and toilet ware. At this time Hürten was living in Penkhull Terrace not far from the factory in Stoke. A note shows the bill was paid in October that year.

In 1864 one of the partners in the firm, Alfred Copeland, writes to Hürten from London:

'My Dear Mr. Hürten,

Accept my best and heartiest thanks for your most splendid gift. It is the most beautiful specimen of the kind I think I ever saw and I assure you my wife and I shall greatly treasure it for the kind donor's sake. I never regret the day you and I became acquainted, and I trust you may still remain in Staffordshire with us for many years. I thank you again for the beautiful and delicate Déjeuner set you have given me......'

Writing again a year later in 1865 Alfred Copeland is excited by a vase arriving in London from Stoke:

'......I cannot allow this week to close, without my acknowledging that the large Vase that has recently arrived from Stoke is truly magnificent, and we all, my father, Mr. Battam and myself are delighted with the result of your labours. I consider it the finest of your production and it does you infinite credit. You have grouped your flowers in beautiful variety and kept the colouring perfectly truthful and in good taste. The tone and feeling throughout is retained in every particular. I am pleased to say many good judges are surprised at this work and I am proud of it. I trust you are well and attempting to surpass....what you have already executed....'

Copies of letters from 1868-71 from Hürten to members of his family in Germany are also in the archive originally in German and translated into English. They are mainly about money, family illnesses and criticisms of lack of letters - just like any family! Hürten's daughter Emma married Lucien Besche another important Copeland artist. He painted a plaque of Hürten, dated January 1st 1878, which is in a private collection.

Hürten was not only an accomplished artist but also prolific. The Spode Museum Trust holds many items, as mentioned above, a number of which are on display. Additionally the museum receives enquires about various items painted by Hürten from time to time - all are without exception superbly painted pieces. Very few are recorded in the archive as they were usually specially commissioned, unlikely to be repeated, with no need for them to be entered in the pattern books. Order books and invoice records do not survive. Occasionally oil paintings unconnected with the firm turn up.

Hürten's work, which was signed C.F.Hürten or C.F.H., was exhibited at various International Exhibitions including Paris Exhibition in 1889 when he was in his 70th year. He worked for Spode until 1890s. Family sources though suggest the mid 1880s; but there are sketches in an Original Sketch Book (collection no SMT 2000.287) which are dated 1887. Traditionally he is thought to have stayed at Copelands till c1897 and signs a special commemorative book (collection no Mss 485) for William Fowler Mountford Copeland in 1895 as the first signatory in the Painters & Gilders section and not in the Past Employee section.

One of the finest examples of Hürten's work is a dessert and tea service commissioned by the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his marriage in 1863. The 196 piece service took about three years to complete. Hürten painted the orange blossom, fruit and flowers in the panels on the dessert plates. Examples can be seen in the Spode Museum. Other pieces in the museum are large pressed vases, pierced desert wares, centrepieces, vases and plaques. Hürten must have produced wares for very many wealthy Spode customers including royalty. One such customer was Mr. Macfarlane who had a new magnificent mansion in Glasgow described in The Art Journal of 1875 which records that the frieze of the heating room of the Turkish Baths, which was lined with tiles or plaques, was painted with tropical plants and flowers arranged in a masterly and effective manner....painted in sepia by Hürten...the whole of the plants represented are without exception studies from nature sketched and arranged for the purpose from the plants themselves in the magnificent conservatories of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth....

Recent research in the Spode Museum Trust's archive has shown that not only was Hürten a superb artist and china painter he was also a designer. Evidence of his designs are in a book Prints Borders and Sprays dating from about 1867 (collection no. SMT 2000.143) and some of these went on to be developed into familiar patterns produced by transfer printing and therefore available to less wealthy customers. There are also some of his flower sketches in the archive in Original Sketch Books.

There is no doubt that the Spode company under the Copeland family, by employing Hürten, moved into another dimension with the quality of their wares which were already famous, sought after and award winning. Hürten, and the other premier artists, employed by the company all had their own specialism sometimes working together on one piece. Not only were they skilful as painters but their knowledge of ceramic colours, which did not show their true colour until after firing, and their ability to paint in stages, as each different colour was fired at a different temperature, means their abilities are often underestimated.

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Compiled and researched by Pam Woolliscroft, with thanks to Robert Copeland, Bill Coles and Vega Wilkinson