Rare First Period Worcester Valentine Pattern Tea Bowl & Saucer c1760

Description

Heading : First period Worcester porcelain tea bowl and saucer
Date : c1758-62
Period : George II/III
Marks : Unmarked
Origin : Worcester. England
Colour : Pastel palette combined with vibrant puce and blue
Pattern : Valentine. Kissing doves on cupids bow. and the two hearts on the altar of love. Polynesian breadfruit tree with an entwined garland vine. all surrounded by an intracte puce border.
Size : Teabowl 4.2cm tall by 7.5cm in diameter. Saucer 12.2cm in diameter
Condition : Displays as perfect. see below
Restoration : Teabowl 3mm restored chip to the rim and 27mm hairline crack. saucer broken into 4 and restored. This can only be seen with a strong light.
Weight : 110 grams combined

Refferences : The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain by John Sandon – page 353.

For an example of this pattern in the Victoria and Albert museums collection. follow this link 

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O336834/cup-and-saucer-worcester-porcelain-factory/

Additional Information :This well-known Worcester design has its roots firmly in the days of Empire. as it is based in part on a series of illustrations done by a crew-member who was part of the buccaneering voyage of (then) Commodore George Anson in the 1740’s. which have been used to modify an original oriental design.

Anson’s sortie with a squadron of warships – initially intended to harry the Spanish during the curiously-named War of Jenkins’ Ear – ended up being a four-year circumnavigation of the globe. Having almost been entirely scuppered in its early stages by virulent disease amongst the crews. unfeasibly poor weather and almost catastrophic damage to the ships. it ended up with a triumphal return to home waters laden with Spanish gold. hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of other booty. personal riches and the acclaim of a kingdom for the eventual First Lord of The Admiralty. who ultimately cut a swashbuckling swathe through the Spanish shipping of the South Pacific.

Having plundered his way across the Atlantic. up the coast of South America and across the Pacific to the Chinese coast. Anson at first endured distinctly frosty relations with the rulers of the Province of Canton where he made landfall. looking for a friendly port to effect repairs to his ships. Expected to pay not inconsiderable taxes and “honorific duties” to the authorities having arrived in the Pearl River (75 miles to the north east of Hong Kong). relations with the natives were initially very frosty. as Anson insisted instead that his somewhat incredulous hosts instead pay due deference to him. as a representative of the King of England.

There were numerous run-ins with the local inhabitants; members of Anson’s crews were beaten. scurrilous rumours about an approaching Spanish armada were spread in an attempt to hasten the departure of the unwelcome guests and all manner of albeit ill-gotten gains were stolen from the English ships. However. Anson – aware of the necessity of a long sojourn so that his fleet could be properly refitted for the return leg of their voyage – insisted that his men always treat the Cantonese with respect. traded properly for the vittles and services that they required rather than forcibly repatriating their lost provisions and generally behaved in a manner befitting Englishmen abroad.

This magnanimous approach from the seafaring men eventually earned at least grudging respect from the Cantonese after Anson’s crew to a man pitched to help in fight a huge fire which threatened to spread unchecked through vast swathes of the city. The rudimentary home-town “fire brigade” had proved unable to check the progress of the conflagration. and it was only the intervention of the English sailors under the efficient command of their officers which enabled the fire to be controlled and eventually extinguished with damage of a far lesser degree that at one point appeared to be inevitable.

As Commodore. Anson was duly feted as the savior of the city. and it was proposed that he be presented with a specially commissioned fine china dinner service. The Cantonese spoke with Anson’s officers in order that they could contrive a suitable decoration for the service. and were directed towards one of the petty officers. a Lieutenant Piercy Brett who. as well as having been appointed working draughtsman to the fleet. had exercised his talents during the voyage by making many sketches and paintings depicting the sundry travails of the expedition. In order to add a formal touch. Brett provided a drawing of Anson’s heraldic family crest for the decorators to replicate. and he also suggested that a theme containing pastoral and exotic emblems of (quite proper and very English) love would be appropriate. as Anson was betrothed to Lady Elizabeth Yorke. daughter of the Earl of Hardwicke.

It must have been made clear that none of the rather more earthy oriental depictions of –shall we say – lustful congress with which you are probably aware would have been at all seemly. On a slightly less contentious note. Brett also handed over his drawings of breadfruit trees. These trees. having been encountered on the Ladrone Islands – an arc of fifteen islets and atols running north from Guam – had proved absolutely vital in sustaining Anson’s debilitated crew as they sought to recover from the ravages of scurvy. and would have retained particular resonance to anyone who ultimately survived the trip.

The breadfruit trees were made an integral part of the designs on the crockery. which already included pairs of flaming hearts hovering over braziers and kissing birds by way of the original love-themed illustrations. and which were augmented by the inclusion of warships sailing under the British ensigns. palm trees (also from Brett’s sketches). and lighthouses. which are said to show those on Macao Island in the Pearl River delta and the Eddystone Light in Plymouth to illustrate both the distant extremity from which the fleet had originated. and the most notable navigational feature of the foreign port in to which it had sailed seeking sanctuary on the other side of the world.

Although the design on the service. which was to became known as the Valentine Pattern. was replicated after it had returned to Britain in the hands of its owner. the original set can always be identified by details on Anson’s coat of arms which denote his standing in the peerage at the time of its original inception. drawn from Brett’s contemporary design notes. The armorial standard was amended and updated shortly after the return home of our hero to reflect his elevation to the lofty status of Lord Anson. Baron of Soberton. largely as in recognition of his endeavours whilst at sea.