CHAPTER 19: CERAMICS

Figure 19.4: Chinese hard-paste porcelain canister, c. 1775-80. Painted in underglaze-blue with a Chinese river landscape; gilt line borders and decoration added in London. Height 11 cm (4 ¼ in). © Victoria and Albert Museum 

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Figure 19.6: Chinese hard-paste porcelain canister, c. 1760. Painted in coloured enamels and gilding with the Arms of Cowper. Height 13.5 cm (5 ¼ in). Courtesy of Heirloom and Howard Ltd, Chippenham 

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Figure 19.7: Chinese hard-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1755-60. Painted in coloured enamels and gilding with ‘The Fable of The Stag and The Fawn’ on the front and ‘The Fable of The Fox and The Grapes’ on the reverse, nos. 22 and 69 in S. Croxall’s Aesop’s Fables, published in London, 1722; painting executed in London by Jefferyes Hamett O’Neale; gilt borders possibly executed in the workshop of James Giles. Height 12 cm (4 ¾ in). Stockspring Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.8: Chinese porcelain tea chest, c. 1775. Interior dividers also porcelain; Old Sheffield plate English-made handles and canisters; lid bearing a later engraved bookplate with the arms of Cuming impaling Bishop. Width 25.1 cm (9 7/8 in). © Christie’s Images Ltd 

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Figure 19.9: Pewter box fitted with set of six Chinese hard-paste porcelain canisters, c. 1760-90. Painted in coloured enamels; lids inscribed with names of teas: Congo, Gobee (Bohea), Sauchon (Souchong), Pecko (Pekoe), Heusan (Hyson) and Singlo. Height (of box) 11.8 cm (4 ¾ in). © The Trustees of the British Museum, London 

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Figure 19.10: Chinese porcelain canister, c. 1780. Painted in ‘famille rose’ style; gilt scroll moulded wave border at base. Height 12 cm (4 ¾ in). Waddington’s, Toronto, Canada 

Figure 19.13: Staffordshire red stoneware tea bottle made by the Elers Brothers, c. 1695. Slip-cast with chinoiserie decoration in low relief; figure of a man beneath a tree on front; flowering branches of tea plant on reverse; ho-ho birds on sides; silver lid probably original. Height 10.2 cm (4 in); width 3.2 cm (1 ¼ in). Hampshire County Council Museums and Archives Service 

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Figure 19.15: Miniature Staffordshire red stoneware toy tea service, c. 1770s. Cylindrical form of canister reflecting contemporary Dutch silver examples. Sampson & Horne Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.16: Staffordshire black basalt canister and lid, c. 1780-90. Applied low relief neo-classical-style decoration, including Bacchanalian boys; lid surmounted by knop in form of a widow. Although typical of Wedgwood, this canister is not signed, and was therefore probably made by one of his Staffordshire contemporaries. Height 15.3 cm (6 in). Private collection 

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Figure 19.17: Staffordshire caneware canister and lid by Elijah Mayer of Hanley, c. 1780-90. Applied low relief decoration of Bacchanalian boys; lid surmounted by knop in form of a widow; highlighted with blue enamel line borders; base impressed ‘E. Mayer’. Height 13.8 cm (5 ½ in). Stockspring Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.18: Staffordshire jasperware canister and lid by Josiah Wedgwood, c. 1790. Blue-stained body applied with low reliefs in white of putti playing; border of vertical engine-turned stripes below; lid with similar engine-turned decoration and ball knop; base impressed ‘Wedgwood’. Height 13.9 cm (5 ½ in). Stockspring Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.19: Two Staffordshire canisters. Left: salt-glazed stoneware, c. 1755; right: green-glazed earthenware, c. 1755-60. Both moulded with flowering tea plant and title ‘CIA or TE herb’on front, and tree and vine named ‘Herb Teng’ on reverse. Left: height 9.6 cm (3 ¾ in); right: height 10.1 cm (4 in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

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Figure 19.20: Salt-glazed stoneware canister from Cambrian Pottery, Swansea, c.1770s. Body incised (flower’d) with verse; lettering filled in with powdered pigment. Height 10.1 cm (4 in.). Sampson & Horne Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.21: Staffordshire, or possibly Yorkshire, salt-glazed stoneware canister, c.1760-65. Painted in coloured enamels with ladies and gentlemen promenading in gardens; front with inscription FINE BOHEA TEA within elaborate rococo cartouche; wooden cap lid (probably later). Height 15.5 cm (16⅛ in.). © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

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Figure 19.22: Nottingham salt-glazed stoneware canister by William Lockett, dated 1764. Modelled as a squeezebox; front and back moulded with Venus and Cupid; base inscribed ‘Wm. and Ann: Lockett Octr ye 17 1764’; dark brown glaze. Height 15 cm (96 in).  Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery 

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Figure 19.23: Tin-glazed earthenware (delftware) canister, perhaps Bristol, c. 1750. Painted in blue with gentleman in contemporary dress; facetted corners painted with diaper pattern inspired by Chinese porcelain. Height 11 cm (4 ¼ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London  

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Figure 19.24: Sussex lead-glazed earthenware canister, Chailey or Brede, dated 1793. Brown body impressed with metal bookbinders’ tools; impressions infilled with cream-coloured slip, spelling inscription ‘Hester Parsons June 26 1793’ surrounded by stars. Height 16.5 cm (5 3/8 in). Phillips (auctioneers), London  

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Figure 19.25: Large Staffordshire lead-glazed earthenware double canister, c. 1755-60. Moulded with ‘Domino’ pattern; translucent glaze tinted in brown, green and grey to imitate tortoiseshell. Height 14.6 cm (5 ¾ in). Stockspring Antiques, London  

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Figure 19.26: Staffordshire lead-glazed earthenware canister, c. 1760. Moulded on front with portrait of Frederick II, King of Prussia, (Frederick the Great), and on reverse with Prussian eagle, rampant lion and trophies of war. Height 12 cm (4 ¾ in). Sampson & Horne Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.27: Two Staffordshire lead-glazed earthenware canisters, the pineapple c. 1765, the cauliflower c. 1770. Realistically moulded and coloured with metallic oxides. Height (of pineapple) 10.5 cm (4 ¼ in); height (of cauliflower) 9.5 cm (3 ¾ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

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Figure 19.28: Creamware canister by Josiah Wedgwood, c. 1770-75. Transfer-printed in black with ‘The Tea Drinkers’, a version of the engraver Robert Hancock’s designs for the Worcester porcelain factory entitled ‘The Tea Party’ (first published in 1756); base impressed ‘WEDGWOOD’. Height 14.3 cm (5 5/8 in); width 8.3 cm (3 ¼ in); depth 5.7 cm (2 ¼ in). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Starr and Wolfe Family, 2018 (2018.889.6) 

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Figure 19.30: Pair of Yorkshire lead-glazed cream-coloured earthenware (creamware) canisters, dated 1775. Each painted in coloured enamels with gentleman in contemporary dress wielding a hatchet; inscribed ‘Richard Heath 1775’; arched shoulders painted in puce and green to indicate contents - Green and Black Tea. Height 11 cm (4 ¼ in). Courtesy of Garry Atkins, London 

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Figure 19.31: Large Yorkshire lead-glazed cream-coloured earthenware (creamware) canister and lid, possibly Rothwell, c. 1770. Painted in manganese with exotic birds; inscribed on one side ‘GREEN TEA’, and on the reverse with the popular verse ‘When this you see/Remember me/Th’o’ maney miles/Wee distant be’, suggesting its manufacture as a gift. Height 21 cm (9 ¼ in). Sampson & Horne Antiques, London 

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Figure 19.33: Salt-glazed stoneware canister attributed to the Indeo Pottery in Bovey Tracey, Devon, dated 8 October 1770. Decorated in underglaze blue and inscribed ‘Ann Cook’. Height 12 cm (4 ¾ in). Image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford 

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Figure 19.34: Staffordshire stand containing two canisters in blue-tinged lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) c.1800. Two navette-shaped panels moulded in low relief with two scenes of ‘Domestic Employment’, originally modelled by Lady Templetown for Josiah Wedgwood between 1783 and 1789; the whole enriched in gilding. Height 24.2 cm (9 ½ in). Courtesy of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent 

Figure 19.35: Blue-tinged lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) canister of ‘Macaroni’ type, possibly by the Staffordshire maker William Pratt, c. 1790. Relief-moulded decoration. Height 12 cm (4 ¾ in). Private collection 

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Figure 19.36: Blue-tinged lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) double canister and lid, c. 1790-1810. Body moulded with panels of hunting scenes in low relief; picked out in underglaze ‘high temperature’ colours of blue, green and ochre. Height 10.7 cm (4 ¼ in). Courtesy of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent

Figure 19.37: Lead-glazed earthenware canister, inscribed ‘T. M. Harris 1798’. Underglaze-blue and moulded decoration of putti; lid surmounted by recumbent dog or lion. Height 16.2 cm (5 ¼ in). © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

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Figure 19.38: Blue-tinged lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) canister, c. 1803-5. Transfer-printed and highlighted in ‘high temperature’ colours of Pratt type with figure of Britannia flanked by a French and Austrian woman with cannons; made to commemorate the Peace of Amiens (March 1802). Height 10.2 cm (4 in). Private collection 

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Figure 19.39: Staffordshire blue-tinged lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) canister and lid, c. 1780-90. Sides painted in underglaze-blue with figure of Chinese lady holding a branch, possibly intended to be a tea plant, alternating with flower sprays; lid inscribed BOHEA. Height 13.2 cm (5⅛ in.). Private collection 

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Figure 19.40: Maling earthenware canister and lid, c. 1929. Squat hexagonal ‘Hector’ shape; transfer-printed in underglaze-blue with images of local castles; Durham Castle on front (Windsor Castle on lid); one of four canisters produced by Maling for the North East Coast Industries Exhibition in 1929. Height 19 cm (7 ½ in). By permission of the Maling Collectors’ Society 

Figure 19.41: Chelsea soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1745-9. Slip-cast in shape of fat chuckling Chinaman, his hat forming the lid; teapots from the same mould are known, although no other canisters appear to be recorded. Height 17.2 cm (6 ¾ in); width 11.4 cm (4 ½ in). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964, (64.101.415)   

Figure 19.42: St. James’s soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1750. Body decorated with swags pendant from loops; lid surmounted by wild strawberries. Height 13.2 cm (5 ⅛ in); diameter 8.3 cm (3¼ in). © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

Figure 19.43: Limehouse soft-paste porcelain canister, c. 1746-8. Moulded in shape of child’s head; lid in shape of pointed Chinese hat (now missing); picked out in underglaze-blue. Height 11 cm (4 ¼ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.44: Bow soft-paste porcelain canister, c. 1775. Body moulded with overlapping pine-cones; banded in ‘French’ green; anchor and dagger mark in red possibly denotes outside decoration. Height 10.2 cm (4 in). Anton Gabszewicz, London 

Figure 19.45: Vauxhall soft-paste porcelain canister, c.1750. Chinese-style decoration in blue on a white ground. Height 11.5 cm (4½ in); width 8.3 cm (3¼ in). © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

Figure 19.46: Vauxhall soft-paste porcelain canister, c. 1755-58. Painted in coloured enamels with scattered sprays and sprigs of flowers in style of Meissen porcelain. Height 11 cm (4 ¼ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.47: Derby soft-paste porcelain canister, c. 1760. Transfer-printed in underglaze-blue with chinoiserie decoration known at Derby as the ‘Fence’ pattern. Height 9 cm (3 ¼ in). Stockspring Antiques, London  

Figure 19.48: Worcester soft-paste porcelain toy canister and lid, c. 1765. Painted in underglaze-blue; open crescent mark painted under base. This example closely follows the shape of Dutch domestic silver and may have been made for the Dutch dolls’ house market. Height 6.1 cm (2 3/8 in). Phillips (auctioneers), London  

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Figure 19.49: Worcester soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1780-82. Body painted in coloured enamels with neo-classical urn in puce camaieu and inscription ‘KEW’ flanked by flower sprays with a bow and arrow; painted open crescent mark under base. Probably made for the royal family’s private use at Kew Palace. Height 16.7 cm (5 ½ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London   

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Figure 19.50: Worcester soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1760-65. One of several versions of the transfer-printed design of ‘The Tea Party’ engraved for Worcester by Robert Hancock. This version of shows a full tea equipage, including a tea chest and canister on the table. Height 15.4 cm (6 in). Phillips (auctioneers), London  

Figure 19.51: Worcester soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1770. Painted in coloured enamels with clusters of spotted fruit between apple-green borders edged with gilt rococo scrolls. Height 17.4 cm (6 ¾ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.52: Part of a Worcester soft-paste porcelain tea service, c. 1770-72. Painted in coloured enamels with ‘Scarlet Japan’ design; some pieces bear square pseudo-Chinese seal mark in underglaze-blue. Height of canister 17 cm (6 5/8 in). Phillips (auctioneers), London    

Figure 19.53: Worcester soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1775-8. Painted in coloured enamels with version of ‘Hop Trellis’ pattern. Height 16.6 cm (5 ½ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.54: Worcester soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1785-90. Painted in underglaze-blue and gilding with vertical stripes; in the style of Paris porcelain of the type imported by Thomas Flight, and sold in his London shop alongside Worcester copies. Height 12.5 cm (4 ⅞ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London   

Figure 19.55: Caughley soft-paste porcelain canister and lid, c. 1780-85. Transfer-printed in underglaze-blue with chinoiserie ‘Fenced Garden’ pattern; initials EW painted in monogram on one side. Height 12.3 cm (4 ¾ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.56: Liverpool soft-paste porcelain canister and lid from factory of Philip Christian, c. 1770. Moulded pleat decoration, with moulded cartouches painted in underglaze-blue with Chinese scenes. Height 11.3 cm (4 ½ in). Robyn Robb, London 

Figure 19.57: Liverpool soft-paste porcelain canister and lid from factory of Philip Christian, c. 1770. Painted in coloured enamels with Chinese figures and furniture in style of 1760s Chinese ‘famille rose’ porcelain. Height 10.8 cm (4 ¼ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London  

Figure 19.58: Pair of Lowestoft soft-paste porcelain canisters of type associated with James Hughes, c. 1762. Numeral 5 painted in underglaze-blue beneath base, probably mark of painter, Robert Allen. Height 8.9 cm (3 ½ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.59:  Three Lowestoft soft-paste porcelain canisters, c. 1765, c. 1775 and c. 1775. Left: painted in underglaze-blue with flowers; height 9.3 cm (3 5/8 in); centre: transfer-printed in underglaze-blue with ‘Fence’ pattern; height 10.6 cm (5 1/8 in); right: painted with ‘Mansfield’ pattern. Height (centre) 10.1 cm (4 5/8 in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.60: Bristol hard-paste porcelain canister, c. 1775. Unusual bellied ogee shape and painting in coloured enamels with flowers, both in manner of German neo-classical porcelain. Height 12.5 cm (4 7/8 in). Stockspring Antiques, London 

Figure 19.61: New Hall hard-paste porcelain canister, c. 1790. Painted with flower sprays in red, green and pink enamels; ‘pattern no. 195’ inscribed in red enamel under base. Height 11 cm (4 ¼ in). Phillips (auctioneers), London 

Figure 19.62: Minton bone china caddy and lid, c. 1875.  Moulded in form of bale tied with rope; painted in coloured enamels and gilding to imitate Japanese cloisonné enamel; designed for Minton by Dr Christopher Dresser. Height 10 cm (4 in.); width 10 cm (4 in.); depth 6.6 cm (2½ in.) Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove 

Figure 19.63: Glazed pottery and silver caddy made for Liberty & Co. as part of their ‘Cymric’ range, dated 1900/01. Soufflé glazed body of the caddy by made by the Ruskin Pottery; enameled lid set with fire opals and a central turquoise; silver mounts marked for Liberty & Co., the lid dated 1900 and the base 1901; their design attributed to Oliver Baker. Height 14.5 cm (5 5/8 in); diameter 10.5 cm (4 ¼ in). The Peartree Collection 

Figure 19.64: Canister with the ‘Italian’ pattern still made by Spode today and reproducing a design that was introduced by the factory in about 1816; the original design was based on a drawing by the seventeenth century Dutch artist Frederick de Moucheron. Height 14 cm (5 ½ in). Photo: Ellie Harris