Thomas Hughes revisited

摘要

For many characters in 18th century English ceramic history, we have very limited evidence constituted by a few references. The study of Thomas Hughes presents a slightly different problem. The name was very common in 18th century London and Major Tapp succeeded in locating numerous references. The question is whether these many references had anything to do with the china painter Thomas Hughes. Regrettably, it seems not. The only piece which can be attributed to Hughes the china painter suggests that he may well have been a talented artist. However, as we now know, he was far from the first London china painter and his role in English ceramic history was not as important as Major Tapp suggested.