Tureen, cover, and stand

Date1758-1769

Artist/Maker Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory 1745-1769

MediumSoft-paste porcelain

DimensionsAH: 5 3/16"; Diam: 10 58"; handle to handle: 15"; A+B:H: 9 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1968-778,A&B

DescriptionRound tureen of squat, globular form with a foot ring; pair of horn-like handles project from applied plaques of scrolls and shell edge; exterior body decoration of deep blue ground with two shaped reserves filled with realistic and fanciful birds in well-painted and detailed wooded landscapes; traces of gilding on handles and around reserves and lip. Domed cover with socket, scalloped flange, and elaborate scroll finial; blue ground (flatter and more opaque than on tureen) with two shaped reserves filled with flying birds with no landscape; gilt almost entirely worn off.

Gold anchor period.Label TextThe French influence on Chelsea gold anchor period wares is seen here in both the gilt-decorated mazarine ground and the reserves of flying birds.

The I in gilt with the anchor on the stand may be an initial of the painter or gilder, or perhaps a roman numeral indicating that this was one of a pair of tureens. The marks may have worn off the tureen and the cover as the gilt decoration has.Inscription(s)NoMark(s)NoProvenanceEx coll: Viscount Downe, Scarborough, Yorkshire, and London
Tilley & Co., London