A pearlware Bowl, probably Staffordshire, circa 1800
Probably intended for use as a slop bowl at the tea table, this attractive fluted pearlware bowl is painted with a border design deriving from popular Chinese export patterns of the period. Similar brightly-coloured, simple patterns occur on New Hall and other early Staffordshire porcelain wares, in fact it is a version of the Keeling pattern 132, so it is interesting to see the fashion appearing on a contemporary item of pottery. The exterior is painted with a tulip, rose and two floral sprigs.
Slop bowls formed part of a traditional tea equipage and were used to empty the cold dregs before fresh leaves and hot water was added to the teapot.
Condition: There are original glazed manufacturing flaws to the inside and outer edge of the bowl, as well as a tiny patch of staining to the rim. No other issues and no restoration.
Dimensions: Diameter 13.3 cm; Height 7 cm
A Collector’s History of English Pottery, Griselda Lewis (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1987).
Early Staffordshire Pottery, Bernard Rackham (Faber and Faber, 1951).
A. & E. Keeling: Shapes and Patterns on Porcelain, Jean Barratt (2009).