Pair of Staffordshire Pottery Greyhound /Whippet Pen Holders, Early 19th Century

This is a stunning game pie tureen with cover made by Minton in 1881. The piece is made of majolica and has realistically relief-moulded game on the cover: a rabbit, a mallard and a ...

This is a superb coffee pot made in England between 1800 and 1825. The pot is made of pearlware and has a very charming blue transfer printed pattern of fallow deer in a snowy landscape with farm buildings. This transfer print looks like an early 19thC print; as we couldn't identify the maker it was impossible to date it exactly. A charming detail is that the rim of the cover and the footrim, which are printed with a row of houses, both are printed up side down; this was probably done by children, who often did the smaller transfer prints because their little fingers could handle the thin strips of paper better than adults. The coffeepot is unmarked. There is an old shop label on the underside stating it is "English, probably Spode" - however, although this pot is certainly English, it is certainly not Spode. CONDITION REPORT The coffee pot is in good antique and usable condition without any damage to the pot or the spout; there are just some chips off the lower rim of the cover, which are not visible when in position and are inconsequential for using the pot. As is normal for antique pearlware...

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 p...

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...