A Worcester ivy leaf-shaped Pickle Dish, circa 1755-60
This pickle dish is painted in underglaze blue with the Two Peony Rock Bird pattern. Leafy scrolls and pendants are arranged around the outer edge. The stalk and veins of the ivy leaf are naturalistically moulded on the underside.
Made in a number of sizes, this type of leaf shape originated at Lund’s Bristol, and probably corresponds with the ‘Fig Leaves‘ listed in the 1755-56 London warehouse list for Worcester.
As with shell dishes, this form was intended for the serving of pickles and sweetmeats at the dining tables of the wealthy.
Workman’s mark.
Condition: Excellent – no damage or restoration, just firing and glazing impurities.
Dimensions: Length 10.3 cm
Worcester Blue and White Porcelain 1751-1790, Branyan, French & Sandon (Barrie & Jenkins, 1989).