A rare Lowestoft Tart or Patty Pan, circa 1765

Painted with a butterfly and floral sprigs, this combination of insect and flower decoration with a Mansfield-type border is rare, seeming only to occur on Lowestoft patty pans of the smallest size.

Marked with a painter’s numeral 3 to the inner foot rim.

According to contemporary records, patty pans appear mostly to have been sold in dozens or sixes, their intended use being as containers for small baked pies of meat or fruit.

Condition: No damage or restoration, just typical Lowestoft potting and firing irregularities. The rim is slightly misshapen and the glaze ran during manufacture, gas bubbles being visible where it has pooled slightly.

Dimensions: Height 3 cm; Diameter 7.8 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).

Take six small tart pans‘, Trevor Darling (ECC Transactions, vol. 19, no. 1, 2005).

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