Porcelain -- Collectors and collecting; Porcelain, English; Pottery -- Collectors and collecting; Pottery, English -- History
The children of the neighbourhood were observed to have as playthings
bits of broken china of a high-class and delicate ware, never emanating
from the china shops of Bow, and Mr. Higgins, attached to the match
factory, henceforth kept strict watch over the excavations, and careful
examination unearthed a number of broken specimens of the Bow ware. He
and his sister carefully arranged the broken pieces, and they form an
excellent authority, these trays of broken china, for determining the
paste and glaze, and identifying the decoration and designs of Bow. By
means of this find it was possible to classify many doubtful pieces of
china in well-known collections hitherto wrongly attributed to other
factories. This discovery by excavation was followed many years later
by a similar find at Lowestoft.
It is interesting to note that among the fragments found, not a single
piece is of Delft or common earthenware, but all are of porcelain.
The designs of many of them are of Chinese landscapes, with flowers,
figures, and birds. Their general character may be gathered from sketch
of four examples. They are all painted in blue with the exception of
a cup painted with green leaves and crimson-lake flowers. None of the
pieces is printed, but all are painted with a brush. The other two
illustrations we give are of china ornamented in relief, the favourite
pattern being the mayflower. Each of these Bow cups is a typical
example. The design stands out very sharply, and is raised from the
surface of the china. The cups are rather heavy for their size.
Among the _débris_ were found many pieces of an ornamental character, a
salt-cellar beautifully modelled, formed of three shells, with smaller
shells and seaweed between, but the upper shell to hold the salt is
missing. Pieces of dishes, evidently intended to hold sweetmeats, were
unearthed from this sewer hole, with finely designed corals and shells
and seaweeds. Some natural shells were also found, which had evidently
served the artists as models. Two china pug-dogs were discovered with
collars bearing roses on them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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