Flight and Barr Worcester Queen Charlotte Pattern Tea-Cup and Saucer c1800

This is the Flight and Barr version of the Queen Charlotte pattern. Both cup and saucer bear the incised B marks.

The pattern takes inspiration from Japanese Imari wares and it was a widely copied style both in Europe and China. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz met the soon to be George111 at the marriage altar and became Queen just two weeks later. We know that the King and Queen visited the Worcester factory in 1788 and made purchases but its is most likely that Worcester simply took the opportunity to use the name Queen Charlotte as a marketing ploy. Had the Queen herself inspired a design then surely it woulkd be reasonable to expect soemthing more teutonic. less oriental and almost certainly a design containg flora as she is know to have been a very keen botanist. Queen Charlotte is also more memorable a name than . “fence pattern” or “fruit and moths” and thus the marketing ploy is still working almost 250 years later.

Reference. “The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain” – H Sandon p103