Blue and White Sauce Boat, Bow Porcelain Factory, circa 1751

Probably an early prototype, the largely open base showing an apparently unique structure described by Watney as ‘a favourite primitive buttressed by a strong overall cone-shape and further strengthened by a cut-out additional layer inside the base in the manner of pastry making.’ (Freeman Collection, Forward, 1982). Toper is an old English word for a drunk. Annulet Mark. Prov: Taylor Coll, Albert Amor...

An early coffee can, painted under the glaze with a Scholar’s Rock and associated items. Prov. Taylor Collection; Stockspring Antiques.

An early coffee can, painted under the glaze with Bamboo and a pagoda. Underglaze B mark. Provenance: Taylor Collection; Sutherland; Aubrey Toppin; Charles Dyson.      

An early coffee can, painted under the glaze with the cross-legged man pattern. An early and unusual shape for this scarce pattern. Provenance: Taylor Collection; Robyn Robb.         

Meissen, Germany. Large Blue Onion pattern sauce boat. Hand-painted in blue. Approximately 1900. Marked. Perfect condition. Third factory quality. Dimensions: L 25.0 cm x W 17.0 cm x...

Royal Copenhagen Dagmar, white. Porcelain sauce boat with gold edge. Model number 607/9344. Measures: 23 x 8.5 cm. 1st factory quality. In v...

Blue Fan Royal Copenhagen porcelain dinnerware. Two pieces. Oval sauce boat on fixed base, no. 11550. One factory quality, perfect condition. Measures: H 8 cm, L 22.5 cm.

This is a very charming orphaned coffee cup made by the Bow Porcelain factory in about 1755. The cup is decorated in a Chinese "famille rose" peony pattern. This cup would have been part of a large tea service, and the tiny size shows how expensive coffee was in the 18th Century. The Bow Porcelain Factory was one of the first potteries in Britain to make soft paste porcelain, and most probably the very first to use bone ash, which later got perfected by Josiah Spode to what is now the universally used "bone china". Bow was the main competitor of the Chelsea Porcelain Factory, but where Chelsea made very fine slipcast porcelain, Bow made a different soft paste porcelain that tended to be softer and could be pressed into moulds. Bow served a larger public generally at lower prices. The factory was only in operation between 1743 and 1774, after which the tradition got incorporated into some of the later famous potteries such as Worcester and Derby. The cup is unmarked, which is normal for Bow items of this era. Condition report the cup is in excellent condition without any damage or repairs. There are various glazing imperfections, which are quite normal for porcelain of this era. Antique British porcelain...