Worcester Chestnut Basket, Blue on White Pine Cone, 18th Century, circa 1770

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Worcester Chestnut Basket, Blue on White Pine Cone, 18th Century, circa 1770

About the Item

This is a rare pierced basket with encrusted flowers and leaves, made by Worcester around 1770 in their 1st or "Dr Wall" period. The basket has a cover and and a stand. These baskets were used for hot chestnuts, which was a popular dessert in the 18th Century; the pierced cover would let the steam through and make sure the chestnuts wouldn't get soggy. Worcester was one of the first potteries in Britain to create items in porcelain. Alongside other great potteries such as Derby, Chelsea and Bow, they pioneered a new industry that would grow out to be huge in the following century. This cup and saucer are from the first period, which is often called the "Dr Wall" period after its founder. In later years Worcester went through many different ownerships and styles, and ultimately it became the Royal Worcester factory that only finished operation in the early 21st century. This covered basket on a stand has many spectacular features; its walls are very charmingly moulded like a woven basket and there are encrusted porcelain flowers around all the handles. The handles are realistically shaped like bent twigs including the blemishes that twigs usually have. The floor of the basket and the face of the stand are painted with a beautiful flower bouquet of flowers, fruits, chestnuts and pine cones - this pattern is called the "pine cone" pattern. There are transfer printed bands of blue decoration around all the rims, and the faux-woven walls of the basket have transfer printed flowers all over. CONDITION REPORT The basket is in good antique condition but has cracks through the cover and various chips and restorations to the encrusted flowers, as visible in the pictures. The blue colour of the cover is slightly brighter than the basket and stand; they may have been made in different batches. Both basket and stand are in excellent structural condition and the blue colour is fresh throughout. Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account. There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Dimensions: Stand 26.7 X 21cm (10.5" X 8.25"), basket 20 X 12.7cm (8" X 5"); height 5" incl. stand and cover.

Creator:
1st Period Worcester Dr. Wall (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 5 in (12.7 cm)Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)Length: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 3
Style:
George III (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1770-1779
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1775
Condition:
Generally good condition; cover cracked and some losses to encrusted flowers, otherwise good.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A-WOR331stDibs: LU4805119237792