Skip to main content

Minton Urns

English

Pottery is one of the oldest decorative art forms, and Minton is one of its historical masters. For more than 250 years, the English company was a premier producer of porcelain and ceramic wares. Its factory was known for detailed and brightly colored Victorian tableware, including dinner plates and serving pieces.

Thomas Minton founded the Minton factory in 1793 in Stoke-upon-Trent, England. It initially made earthenware but introduced bone china in 1798. When Minton died in 1836, the company passed to his son, Herbert Minton. The younger Minton was a savvy businessman with an eye for design. He introduced glossy majolica earthenware to the factory’s repertoire and hired skilled artists and designers like Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, boosting the company’s reputation.

In 1851, Minton debuted its majolica at the Great Exhibition in London. It became a royal family favorite and was even used to tile the Royal Dairy at Windsor Home Park. Minton majolica was also displayed on the monumental Saint George and the dragon fountain at the 1862 London International Exhibition

Colin Minton Campbell, a nephew of Herbert Minton, took over the family business in 1858. He led the company to the head of the 1870s English art pottery movement. In the 1890s, French porcelain artist Marc-Louis Solon helped modernize Minton with his Art Nouveau designs.

Minton ceased operating as an independent company when it merged with Royal Doulton Tableware Ltd. in 1968. It was the end of an era, but not the end of widespread appreciation for Minton ceramics.

In 1982, the ”English Majolica” exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum featured 75 Minton pieces. When the Metropolitan Museum of Art reopened its British Galleries in 2020, it included a display of three colorful Minton majolica bird sculptures. Minton pottery was also on display from September 2021 to January 2022, along with other English pottery, at the Bard Graduate Center’s ”Majolica Mania” exhibition.

On 1stDibs, find exquisite Minton serveware, decorative objects, wall decorations and more.

4
to
1
3
1
4
4
4
1
4
Height
to
Width
to
4
4
1
1
1
3
3
3
104
51
36
16
15
Creator: Minton
Pair of Minton Blue Gilt Ground Porcelain Urns
By Minton
Located in New York, NY
Pair of bleu celeste ground porcelain vases with fluted necks and four painted scenes of what appears to be two young members of the high court on the front and back of each vase. Th...
Category

Late 19th Century English Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Bronze, Gold Leaf

Minton Pate-sur-pate Decorated Porcelain Lidded Urn by L Birks, Dated 1892
By Minton
Located in Gardena, CA
Minton pate-sur-pate decorated porcelain lidded urn by L Birks, Dated 1892. A Minton Pate Sur Pate teal and light grey porcelain vase and cover on an iv...
Category

19th Century Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Minton Porcelain Centre Piece, Mazarine Blue with Gilt, Sèvres Style, 1862-1870
By Minton
Located in London, GB
On offer is a sublime and very rare centre piece made by Minton between 1862 and 1870, which was the Victorian era. The centre piece is made in the Sèvres style and decorated in a mazarine or cobalt blue ground with rich and very fine gilding. The piece is probably made as a potpourri. This piece would make a fabulous display on your Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas table! Minton was one of the pioneers of English china production alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport, Ridgway, Coalport and others. They were located in Staffordshire and were known specifically for their wonderfully fine white bone china and bright colours; there is a colour called "Minton Blue" which is a fresh azure blue that was very fashionable during the Victorian era. Throughout the different phases of its existence, the factory made top quality creamware, porcelain, majolica and ultimately the finest parian porcelain. Minton excelled in their decorations and gilt work; these were often executed by artists who came from the Sèvres factory in France and brought their skills with them. This large centre piece consists of three pieces: the base, the actual comport that can hold a liberal amount of food such as a large piece of game, and the cover. That being so, these pieces are more known for their decorative value and make a stunning display at the centre of a table setting. This piece is not documented and no pictures are known of it other than one I have heard about in the grapevine but never seen myself: an image in a collection of images of the designs made by Minton for Thomas Goode, the famous retailer in London. The relationship between Minton and Thomas Goode was a long and fruitful one. Goode, who was a close friend of Herbert Minton, commissioned a series of Victorian ornamental pieces in imitation of the late 18th Century Sèvres pieces that Goode had in his own collection. Minton did not just copy the Sèvres pieces, but created entirely new ones using the old 18th Century designs, hereby moving decidedly away from the English Rococo style, which had become increasingly strange and a little tired over the years. Minton, who had taken on Léon Arnoux, previously a painter at Sèvres, as Art Director. Arnoux was able to revive the design of ornamental wares in English soft paste porcelain...
Category

1860s English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Pair of English 19th Century Turquoise Ground Painted Porcelain Vases by Minton
By Edouard Rischgitz, Minton
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine pair of English 19th century turquoise ground and parcel-gilt painted porcelain vases, urns by Minton. The tapered shaped urns raised on a slender stem with turquoise grounds ...
Category

19th Century English Romantic Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Related Items
Minton Mazarine Extensive Pristine Dinner Service Cobalt Blue & Gold 232 Pcs
By Minton
Located in Great Barrington, MA
It's always time to entertain! This is one of the most elegant and versatile patterns imaginable in a Classic and rare Minton cobalt blue pattern wi...
Category

1980s English Neoclassical Vintage Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Huge Minton Majolica Vase
By Minton
Located in Litchfield, CT
Circa 1870, by Minton, England. A gorgeous example of English porcelain, this monumental vase is a Victorian Aesthetic movement tour de force. Majolica by Minton is known for its del...
Category

19th Century English Neoclassical Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Huge Minton Majolica Vase
Huge Minton Majolica Vase
H 20 in W 11 in D 11 in
Late 19th Century Sèvres Style Parcel-Gilt Porcelain Jardinière
By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
Located in New York, NY
A late 19th century Sèvres style parcel-gilt porcelain jardinière Finely painted with numerous colored flowers with green and gold trim, gilt ram heads on either side. In late ...
Category

Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

French Limoges Porcelain Cobalt Blue Pate-Sur-Pate Vase
By Limoges, Marcel Chaufriasse
Located in Vilnius, LT
A cobalt blue background Limoges vase and pate-sur-pate technique with scene of female figures. Signed Marcel Chaufriasse Limoges. Very good vintage condition.
Category

Early 20th Century French Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Massive Sevres Style Porcelain and Gilt Bronze Centrepiece
Located in London, GB
19th century sevres style centrepiece with impressive gilding all around it.  
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

19th Century English Majolica Floral Jardiniere Minton
By Minton
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century Rare English Majolica Floral Jardiniere signed Minton. H / 7.2 inches , Diameter / 10.5 inches.
Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Ceramic

2 Antique 1862 Minton International Exhibition Jeweled Turquoise Plates
By Minton
Located in Dayton, OH
Pair of two Minton plates, circa 1862. Provenance : Jerome Schottenstein Estate, Columbus Ohio. Jerome was was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, co-founder of Schottenstein Stores Corp. The Schottenstein family were Lithuanian immigrants who began an extensive business empire in the late 19th Century. Schottenstein Stores owns stakes in DSW and American Signature Furniture; American Eagle Outfitters, retail liquidator SB360 Capital Partners, over 50 shopping centers, and 5 factories producing its shoes and furniture. It also holds an ownership interest in American Eagle Outfitters, Wehmeyer in Germany, Cold Stone Creamery and The Mazel Company. These superb quality Minton plates are from a dessert service shown at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London. The plates testify to the enduring influence of 18th Century Sèvres on the tastes of Victorian high society. The designs are far from being mere copies, however; while there are recognisable Sèvres elements, they are arranged in entirely new and delightful ways. On the rim are four imitation cameo heads of classical deities en grisaille on a red-brown ground, within oval reserves wreathed in laurel. The profiles are individually painted; compare, for instance, the winged helmeted heads of Hermes/Mercury and you will spot subtle differences. The cameo devices, used here for the first time by Minton, derive from the celebrated Sèvres dinner...
Category

1860s Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Minton Majolica Small Jardinière Flower Trough Singed, Dated 1871
By Minton
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Minton Majolica Small Jardiniere, realistically molded as a simulated water trough formed by faux wooden staves and pegs, overlain with budding Hawthrone branches, the corners formed as mossy posts, banded near the base with pegged logs, the interior glazed in Minton Blue (turquoise); impressed marks to reverse: 'MINTON,' with British Registry Number for 16 April 1870 (when the design was registered), Minton date cipher for 1871, and the Design Number, '1563,' which corresponds to the entry, 'FLOWER TROUGH...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Majolica

Minton for Tiffany & Co. Porcelain Dessert Plates with Gold Gilt Rims, Twelve
By Minton, Tiffany & Co.
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous set of twelve Art Deco dessert plates with gold gilt border By Minton for Tiffany & Co. England, Circa 1930s Measures: 9"W x 9"D...
Category

1930s English Art Deco Vintage Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Minton Majolica 'Bacchus' Vase Cobalt Blue-Ground, English, Dated 1856
By Minton
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Minton Majolica 'Bacchus' vase cobalt blue-ground, English, dated 1856, of urn-shaped form, molded and applied with three satyr masks, and festoons of pendant fruit, suspending rope-...
Category

Early 19th Century English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Majolica

Antique Pair Minton Staffordshire Porcelain Vases Centerpieces Cherub Turquoise
By Minton
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stunning example of a pair of English Minton porcelain centerpieces or flower vases, each modelled as a standing cherub one harvesting wheat, both ending with stunning pierced oval c...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Antique French Sevres Porcelain Celest Blue Gilt Trembleuse Chocolate Cup Saucer
By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Stunning French sevres soft paste hand decorated Rich Celeste Blue Porcelain lidded Chocolate Cup of museum quality, complete with its original undertray and dome cover with a leafy ...
Category

19th Century French Late Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Ceramic, Porcelain

Previously Available Items
Antique English Minton Classical Hand Painted & Gilt Porcelain Covered Urn 19thC
By Minton
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique English Minton covered urn offers Classical hand-painted reserves with a woman drawing water and, en verso, a cherub, on swirled pink strip groun...
Category

19th Century English Classical Greek Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain, Paint

Minton Majolica Wine Cooler with Fauns, Oak Garlands on Cobalt, Dated 1865
By Minton
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Minton Majolica wine cooler, the spiral-lobed body glazed in cobalt blue, with applied oak leaf garlands and two fauns forming the handles, the neck banded with naturalistic oak bran...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Majolica

Minton Pair of Porcelain Vases - Urns, Pâte-sur-Pâte by Harry Hollins, 1873-1891
By Minton
Located in London, GB
On offer is a sublime and rare pair of vases or urns with covers, made by Minton between 1873 and 1891, which was the Victorian era. The vases have a tall and slender shape and subli...
Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Celeste Blue Minton Urn Painted with Cherubs and Flowers in the Style of Sèvres
By Minton
Located in Boston, MA
I would like to offer you this absolutely wonderful celeste blue Minton urn. Minton made a number of pieces after Sèvres porcelain pieces, and this urn is a great example. The artwork on this urn is spectacular. It has two paintings of cherubs...
Category

1860s English Romantic Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Minton Porcelain Ewer, Painted with a Child on a Blue and Gilt Ground
By Minton
Located in Montreal, QC
This is surely among Minton's best work this elegant jug is in cobalt blue, sumptuously gilt with trailing leaves, and a mask, jeweled at the neck, and on a square gilt base. The ova...
Category

1890s English Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Porcelain

Minton Majolica Mythological Bacchanal Cup, circa 1859
By Minton
Located in Philadelphia, PA
An antique majolica urn form wine cup, Minton, circa 1859. A rare high relief cup shown in Cobalt blue with a pink interior. Molded around the body in a classic Mythological theme ar...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Classical Greek Antique Minton Urns

Materials

Ceramic

Minton urns for sale on 1stDibs.

Minton urns are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of porcelain and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Minton urns, although white editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original urns by Minton were created in the Victorian style in united kingdom during the 19th century. Prices for Minton urns can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $6,500 and can go as high as $12,250, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $6,675.
Questions About Minton Urns
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Minton Majolica is a type of glazing process for pottery. Created at the Minton factory in London, Majolica is a low-temperature, colored lead glaze used on earthenware pottery. You’ll find a selection of antique Milton Majolica pieces from some of the world’s top dealers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Minton tiles are made with clay. Liquid clay is poured into molded patterns, and because the color is infused into the liquid clay, the tile remains durable and resistant to fading for years to come. You can shop a range of Minton products from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    No, sadly Minton no longer exists. It was acquired by the Wedgwood group, and is now retired. The buildings that produced Minton pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, England were demolished in the 1990s and 2000s. You can shop authentic Minton designs from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    China and porcelain can be used interchangeably, however, china gets its name from the country of origin. Products from the mid 20th century from Mintons are often referred to as ‘Minton china’ or ‘Minton.’ Mintons produces a variety of products including china, stoneware and mosaics. Shop a wide range of Minton’s pottery on 1stDibs from top sellers.

Recently Viewed

View All