Every porcelain producer in mid 18th century European, sought to emulate the established Oriental market. The foremost influence was Chinese and particularly blue and white. From the Bow porcelain factory the collection has set patterns such as the Cross Legged Chinaman, the Desirable Residence and several others in the Chinese idiom such as the pickle dish with peony and bamboo.
A Bow porcelain mug in the Cross Legged Chinaman pattern circa 1753-55 (FS17/30)
My favourite though has to be the ‘Golfer and Caddy’ whilst I am aware that the pattern name was attached later I have no idea what it depicts, but it still makes me chuckle and estimated at £50-70 it seems very little for a piece of English social history.
A Bow porcelain plate in the Golfer and Caddy pattern circa 1760 (FS17/27)
However I guess the ‘blue and white’ export market was still very strong in the 1750’s so Bow had to work hard to become competitive. There seemed to be a greater hunger for enamelled wares – thickly and boldly decorated with prunus, chrysanthemum and peony in typical rich pink, green and blue hues. With this famille rose decoration, Bow seemed to have the edge over their main rivals at Chelsea who made very little.
A Bow porcelain vase with famille rose decoration circa 1750-52 (FS17/16)
