

Tea party in the Pagoda
Pagoda Last week I showed a beautiful tea service by New Hall, made around the year 1800. This week I have another one from that period, made by Miles Mason. And again this is a service that is in near-perfect condition and suitable for use. I am always so excited when I come across a whole service like this; usually these get split up and sold off piece by piece, but there is something magical about seeing the whole service together and nothing beats using it for a special t


Knitting wool
Knitting Wool I am often asked about the names of patterns. Many patterns didn't have a particular name, as there were too many patterns to give much thought to names; in the late 18th and early 19th Century British porcelain makers were in mad competition with each other to come up with as many original patterns as they could. But there are some well-known patterns that were made over and over again, and this is one of them: the "knitting wool" pattern. This pattern derived


Of boats and yokes
I am often asked the question: can you transport porcelain safely all over the world? The answer is: yes of course, in fact porcelain travels very well if packed correctly! But if you have been a buyer of porcelain recently, you will know that transport has been a bit challenging recently. But not impossible - all your treasures have been arriving safely though slowly, and after a short pause we are now shipping as normal again! Global status update As a result of a triple wh


Bellona
A rare find Not long ago I had a very lucky find at an auction: a rare porcelain figure made by the Bow factory in about 1760. I had never seen this one but could tell immediately that it was a genuine Bow figure - Bow figures are my favourite! Slip cast or press moulded What's so special about Bow figures? They are made of very early English porcelain. Bow experimented with bone china so these are a bit whiter than most porcelain of that era. And what I love about the Bow fi