Lotus Ware - Lotus Ware

Lotus Ware

The responsibility for Lotus Ware was mainly shared by two men. An Englishman named Joshua Poole had arrived in East Liverpool after having worked for the Belleek pottery in western Ireland. Isaac Knowles was interested in making beautiful art porcelain. Joshua Poole's training as a ceramic engineer was a considerable aid to Knowles' search for the ideal blend of beauty and strength. Poole was therefore was in charge of formulating the clay bodies.

The other man responsible for Lotus Ware was a German immigrant named Heinrich Schmidt. Schmidt was a decorator, or "fancy worker" in late 19th-century pottery slang. He had previously worked at the famous Meissen factory in Germany. At KT&K he was responsible for preparing the Lotus Ware slip. By not writing down the formulation and only memorising it he kept its formulation secret. It was Schmidt who demanded that KT&K sell no imperfect Lotus Ware.

Lotus Ware was first exhibited at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.