First Period Worcester “Gentleman’s Mandarin” Teapot c1770

Description

Heading : A first period Worcester baluster shaped porcelain teapot
Date : 1765-70
Period : George III
Marks : None
Origin : England
Colour : Famille rose
Pattern : “Gentleman’s mandarin”. Chinese figures with elaborate gilded panels.
Size : 6 inches tall to top of finial and 7 1/2 inches handle to spout
Condition : very minor fritting to finial
Restoration : None
Weight : 595 grams

Additional Information : Decorative themes with large Chinese figures and elaborate gilding are often referred to as “gentleman’s mandarin”. It may be that early imported Chinese porcelain was known as mandarin or it may allude to the Gentlemen depicted who look like Chinese apparatchiks. literally “Mandarins”