Fergus Gambon
Director
Lot 396*
An important Worcester centrepiece, circa 1755
1 December 2021, 10:30 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £4,462.50 inc. premium
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Anna Burnside
Head of Sale
An important Worcester centrepiece, circa 1755
Of deep oval form, the exterior crisply moulded with basket-weave, the two braided handles applied with flowers and leaves at the terminals, the centre finely painted in blue with the 'Six-Piered Bridge' pattern (I.B.33), a fisherman and a young boy crossing the bridge connecting two islands, varied buildings perched on the rocky landscape, trees sprouting between them, more fishermen steering their sampans through the water, 36.7cm wide across the handles, workman's mark inside footrim
Footnotes
This rare basket is one of just a small number of extant examples, the others mostly in poor condition. One is illustrated in Branyan, French and Sandon, Worcester Blue and White Porcelain (1990), p.131 and was sold as part of the Crane Collection by Bonhams on 31 March 2010, lot 95. Another was in the Liane Richards Collection, sold by Bonhams on 13 April 2016, lot 161 (part). A fine example is in the Radlett Collection and can be seen in the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, no.G05.18.35. The present lot has a more elaborate border, which is all the more impressive for its clarity and detail when comparing it with contemporary less successful and blurred attempts on other high-sided shapes. Interestingly, the same workman's mark can be found on the pair of junket dishes, lot 400 in this sale.
