A Lowestoft Bowl, circa 1780
This bowl is painted in underglaze blue with an oriental garden scene, in which flowers and bamboo can be seen issuing from a rock beside a trellis fence. The reverse is painted with a single stylized flower, as is the base of the interior. The painted inner border is of a continuous three-line trellis above a double line. The pooled glaze is of a greenish blue.
A bowl of this size could have been sold as a sugar basin to go with a tea service, or it could simply have been a bowl of useful size, the exact purpose of which was left entirely to the purchaser, as such articles were often sold according to their size alone.
Unmarked.
Condition: No damage or restoration, just the remains of small stilt or peg marks on the rim, used to support the wares in the kiln during firing, and some kiln dust to the exterior. There are a couple of pieces of grit within the porcelain body and a glazed pinhead-size nick to the inner foot rim. Such blemishes are typically seen on Lowestoft porcelain and occurred during manufacture. Part of the border decoration ran into the glaze whilst it was being fired.
Dimensions: Diameter 10.1 cm; Height 5 cm
The Illustrated Guide to Lowestoft Porcelain, Geoffrey A. Godden (Praeger, 1969).
Lowestoft Porcelain in Norwich Castle Museum, Volume 1, Sheenah Smith (Norfolk Museums Service, 1975).