This is a very rare offer of a spectacular moulded and pierced chestnut basket, cover and stand, made by Worcester between 1770 and 1775 in their 1st or "Dr Wall" period. The set consists of the basket, a cover and a stand.
These baskets are called "chestnut baskets" and were fashionable in this period; Worcester created many different ones with and without covers and stands. This rather elaborate one has a pierced cover, bowl and stand, the body of the basket covered with little puce florets, and the cover and stand enriched with beautifully applied flowers and twig handles. In the centre of the stand a beautiful flower arrangement has been painted by a skilled hand.
The reason the item is pierced is so that the steam coming off the hot chestnuts can escape, preventing the chestnuts from getting soggy.
The Worcester Porcelain Company was one of the first potteries in Britain to produce porcelain. Alongside other great potteries such as Derby, Chelsea and Bow, they pioneered a new industry that would grow out to be huge in the following century. This set is from the first period, which is often called the "Dr Wall" period after its founder. In later years Worcester went through many different ownerships and styles, and ultimately it became the Royal Worcester factory that only finished operation in the early 21st Century.
The items are potted in the typical early Worcester porcelain, which still contained very little bone ash, and is slightly grey/beige of colour.
DOCUMENTATION: An image of a basket like this can be seen in plate 393 on page 316 in "Worcester Porcelain 1751-1790 - the Zorensky Collection" by Simon Spero & John Sandon.
CONDITION REPORT All three items are in excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, other than the usual small losses to the flower applications, as visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1700s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS the stand is 25.5cm (10") wide at the longest side.
