Matthew Boulton’s repertoire of ornament drew inspiration from a wide variety of sources: pattern books, models borrowed from other makers, plaster casts, antiquities, and the work of architects—most notably Sir William Chambers, who became a major influence after 1770. Determined to rival the French bronziers, renowned for mounting porcelain vases with gilt bronze, Boulton sought instead to use materials closer to home. At times he employed glass bodies from his friend James Keir’s works at Stourbridge, but more often he turned to Derbyshire stone. He became especially celebrated for his use of Blue John, a richly veined fluorspar, though he also incorporated local marbles and, on occasion, gilt copper.
The scope of Boulton’s production was wide, encompassing candle vases, perfume burners, clock cases, watch stands, candlesticks, ewers, girandoles, sconces, furniture and door mounts, tea urns, ice pails, picture frames, and other ornamental pieces. The majority, however, were candle vases and perfume burners, frequently combined. With such designs, Boulton and his partner John Fothergill aimed to attract the patronage of the nobility and gentry. Boulton invested enormous effort in cultivating potential buyers, and his success is attested both by surviving archives and by the many extant ornaments.
Commercially, the venture was less rewarding. As Keir observed, the products were “too expensive for general demand, and therefore not a proper object of wholesale manufacture.” Yet on the credit side, Boulton’s efforts greatly enhanced his reputation as a master of fine metalwork and brought him influential contacts—advantages that proved invaluable when he expanded into steam engines and coinage. The designs and models also fed directly into his silver and silver plate enterprises.
Today, discerning collectors rightly prize Boulton’s ormolu ornaments, which stand among the finest examples of English decorative art in the “antique taste”—the contemporary term for what would later be known as the neo-classical style. They are particularly striking when seen alongside other masterpieces in the same idiom, such as the marquetry roll-top desk and the cabinet with pietra dura panels and English ormolu mounts designed by Robert Adam for George Keate in 1777.
Extract from Sir Nicholas Goodison, The Age of Matthew Boulton (Mallett).
