Tea Bowl, Worcester, soft paste porcelain, c.1770

This small Worcester tea bowl is finely moulded with the Chrysanthemum design and painted in bright colours with the Old Worcester Parrot pattern. The interior of the bowl shows a bird perched on a famille rose peony wreath, pecking at fruit. The border is of flowering garlands entwined around a blue band.

Reeded examples are also known, although they have a different border. Although the design is based on Chinese Yongzheng patterns, the border of this example reflects contemporary French (Sèvres) taste in English porcelain.

Unmarked.

There is a small area of kiln grit inside the tea bowl, and a small glazed clay tear to the outside of the tea bowl, neither of which detracts.

Condition: Excellent - no damage or restoration. The painted decoration is very fine and there is no wear to the gilding.

Dimensions: Diameter 3" (7.6cm); Height 1 3/4" (4.4cm)

This attractive and finely potted tea bowl would enhance any collection of good, early English porcelain. A similar example of this pattern was included in the Zorka Hodgson Collection of English Porcelain, which was sold at Bonhams, London, in 2008.

Worcester Porcelain 1751-1790: The Zorensky Collection, Simon Spero & John Sandon (Antique Collectors' Club, 1996).