An exceptionally rare and important Worcester ‘Wigornia’ Creamboat, circa 1752-53
Crisply moulded and brightly enamelled, the flared hexagonal body of this Worcester ‘Wigornia’ creamboat is moulded on both sides with a different chinoiserie scene. On one side, a standing figure points towards a distant pavilion while an attendant holds an umbrella, the scene flanked by another pavilion with a pagoda roof and a hut on top of towering rocks. The reverse with a trellis fence heightened with painted scrollwork issuing from further towering rocks with a pavilion behind and descending towards a tree. The reliefs are picked out in brilliant enamels, the interior painted with a border of four ribboned Daoist Precious Objects.
Designated ‘moulding H’ in Paul Riley’s important paper to the English Ceramic Circle, vol. 13, part 3, 1989, where a single underglaze blue example was known to exist. The present creamer is only the second recorded example of an enamelled ‘Wigornia’ creamer with this moulding, although the internal decoration is different (see Bonhams Fine British Pottery and Porcelain, 13 Sep 2006, lot 133).
Provenance: An English Private Collection.
Condition: The scroll shaped handle is a replacement based on the original. Seven small chips to the rim have been invisibly restored. There are clay tears surrounding the interior of the foot rim from manufacture. No cracks or overpainting to the decoration.
Dimensions: Height 6 cm; Length 11.5 cm; Width 7 cm
Worcester Porcelain 1751-1790: The Zorensky Collection, Simon Spero & John Sandon (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1996).