A Worcester Bowl, circa 1770
The bowl is finely decorated in the Japanese idiom with alternate panels of orange and gilt mons diaper-pattern, and flowers and prunus branches in the Kakiemon manner. Three orange mons also appear inside the bowl. The base surround is decorated with trailing flowerheads in reserve.
The Old Scarlet Japan design derives from patterns on Chinese porcelain using Japanese motifs.
Unmarked.
Provenance: An English Private Collection.
Condition: The decoration to the exterior is good. There are one or two firing flaws to the interior, where impurities were fired out of the paste, and the gilt line rim has obvious signs of wear. The glaze to the underside has crawled and pooled during manufacture. There is a tiny pinhead chip to the rim, but no cracks and no restoration. In a lovely connection with the 18th century, the artist left a thumbprint in part of the red line border.
Dimensions: Diameter 14.3 cm
Worcester Porcelain 1751-1790: The Zorensky Collection, Simon Spero & John Sandon (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1996).