Pair of Fluted Dessert Plates, Kakiemon Decoration, Bow Porcelain Factory

Pint mug of baluster form with flared base and grooved strap-handle with heart-shaped termination. The face of the mug painted after the Kakiemon with the two Quail pattern. The reve...

Of full-bellied pear-shape with large sparrow-beak lip set slightly below the top rim of the body in front of a triangle of circular pouring holes and at the right angle to the strap...

An early example of bow’s output, with a smooth, silky glaze. Painted after the Kakiemon with a phoenix, butterfly and various plants after the Japanese; with reserved panels featuri...

An unsually early set of handles with original steel tines and blade. Pistol grip form moulded with acanthus scrolls, leaves and swags and painted with indianische Blumen in a Kakiem...

This is a beautifully hand painted Chinese Export porcelain Plate from the Qing, Kangxi period, 1662-1722. The plate is finely potted with a carefully cut base rim and a lovely rich...

Heading : Chelsea porcelain botanical plate Date : c1760 Period : George II / George III Marks : Brown anchor Origin : Chelsea, England Colour :Polychrome ...

This is a fabulous pair of figures of Liberty and Matrimony made by the Bow Porcelain factory between 1760 and 1764. These figures were a popular pair portraying marriage. The bow...

This is a wonderful pair of figures of Arlecchino and Columbina, made by the Bow Porcelain factory in about 1758. These figures formed part of a series of the Commedia dell'Arte, a very popular series of theatrical figures that served as decoration at the dinner table 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. These figures were used to adorn the dinner table when dessert was served; groups of figures served to express something about the host, the guests, or to direct the conversation. The Italian Commedia Dell'Arte, a comical form of masked theatre, was very popular in those days and Bow copied many figures of the German Meissen series that were brought out in the decades before. This pair dates from about 1758, which was at the height of Bow's ability to make beautiful figurines often copied from Chelsea or Meissen. The pair is modelled after a Meissen pair by Kaendler. The porcelain is translucent with a beautiful milky glaze - Bow was probably the first pottery using bone in its porcelain recipe. Arlecchino (Harlequin) is playing the bagpipes, dressed in an odd costume of mismatched chintz and playing cards and wearing a funny black trumpet...