A Worcester Bowl, circa 1772-75
The exterior of this Worcester bowl is neatly painted with a continuous Chinese landscape in shades of pinkish puce, the details picked out with gilding. The rim is enamelled with an ochre line in imitation of some Chinese export wares, and an elaborate puce and gilt border completes the decoration.
Moving from left to right, the first vignette depicts a fisherman with his rod on an island before a group of buildings with gilt roofs. A tree in blossom can be seen in the garden. A figure in a sampan drifts between this island and a smaller isle on which stands a palm tree and a tower. A sailboat is to the right of this island.
The unfamiliar painting style and palette, combined with the fact that no other example of this pattern is recorded, may suggest that this is the work of an independent decorator.
Unmarked.
Provenance: The Zorensky Collection; an English Private Collection.
Condition: Good – no chips, cracks or restoration. There are one or two tiny potting and firing anomalies from production, such as clay tears. There is surface wear consistent with use, mainly to the interior base and ochre enamel line rim.
Dimensions: Diameter 15.6 cm
Worcester Porcelain 1751-1790: The Zorensky Collection, Simon Spero & John Sandon (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1996).