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Antique Porcelain

The best coffee pot, ever

The best coffee pot, ever

Today we are going blue and white! And we have the best coffee pot, ever. A while ago I showed a Miles Mason tea service in the famous blue on white "Pagoda" pattern, and it was snapped up right away. But I have more... Today I am presenting a similar set of 6 trios by Miles Mason, also in the Pagoda pattern from about 1810, and I've combined it with what I think is the most wonderful coffee pot I've ever held in my hands. It was made by Rathbone in about 1815 and is in perfe

The Story of British Porcelain

The Story of British Porcelain

Are you confused about the history of British porcelain? You are not the only one, as it is such a complex field! I have shelves of excellent books on British porcelain, but none of them give me a clear overview of this very confusing and unwieldy topic. Currently, anyone who wants to get an overview of British porcelain will need years of study. So I was thrilled when the magazine Homes & Antiques approached me to write a monthly column, as I realised that this was the perfe

A layered story

A layered story

This weekend is Easter, and after and exceptionally long and dark winter the spring has never been so welcome! 🌷 I know many of you are still in lockdown, or are just returning to lockdown... here in England we are just enjoying a slight relaxation after a winter of strict lockdown. But Easter will be special no matter what: we have some time off to admire the new flowers outside, feel the first rays of the sun on our face when we go out, and we can make things wonderful fo

Birds and love letters

Birds and love letters

Porcelain manufacturers created tens of thousands of patterns in the early 19th Century - perhaps more, I don't think anyone has ever counted them! Many of these are obscure, undocumented or forgotten today. But some were very popular in their own time and have remained popular ever since. Coalport's pattern no. 759 is one of these: the iconic birds and flowers set in reserves on a cobalt blue ground with rich gilding. Love letters You can see a little collection of these ite

Getting it wrong

Getting it wrong

We all get it wrong sometimes... One of things I love about dealing with antique porcelain is that you never stop learning. I have assembled a large library of reference books and spend countless hours researching my pieces - and writing about them (watch the upcoming Homes & Antiques issues as I've been busy writing!). I have gotten to know many experts whose friendship and mentorship I treasure. I try to get things right, but sometimes get them wrong - and when I stand corr

Unicorn, giraffe and kylin

Unicorn, giraffe and kylin

Barr, Flight & Barr Kylin pattern dishes Today we have some very special dishes made by Barr Flight & Barr between 1807 and 1813. This pattern is sometimes called "Dragons in Compartments" and sometimes "Kylin". The original Worcester factory started this pattern back in the 1770s and variations of this have since been done many times by all three Worcester factories.⁠ ⁠ Kylin or qilin The word Kylin comes from the Chinese "qilin", or "kirin" in Japanese. It is a mythical mon

A Royal colour

A Royal colour

A rare set of plates Today I have a beautiful and very rare set of plates. And having grown up in The Netherlands, to me this is a Royal colour: beautiful warm orange. This set was snapped up before I could even place it in the shop... when I was lucky enough to purchase it I sent a triumphant snapshot to a friend I was chatting to across the world, and off they went! But they still deserve to be shown as these are of a quality you don't come across too often. Chamberlains W

Tea party in the Pagoda

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

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

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

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