BOW PLATE.
Decorated with oriental floral design in overglaze colour in red, green, and blue. (Diameter, 83⁄4 in.).
In the collection of the Author.
The discovery is interesting of fragments of old Bow porcelain, and portions of “saggers” on the site of one of the kilns while digging a drain from the match factory.
BOW WHITE CHINA CUPS HAVING RAISED MAYFLOWER PATTERN AFTER CHINESE DESIGNS.
Victoria and Albert Museum.
The children of the neighbourhood were observed to have as playthings bits of broken china of a high-class and delicate ware, never emanating from the china shops of Bow, and Mr. Higgins, attached to the match factory, henceforth kept strict watch over the excavations, and careful examination unearthed a number of broken specimens of the Bow ware. He and his sister carefully arranged the broken pieces, and they form an excellent authority, these trays of broken china, for determining the paste and glaze, and identifying the decoration and designs of Bow. By means of this find it was possible to classify many doubtful pieces of china in well-known collections hitherto wrongly attributed to other factories. This discovery by excavation was followed many years later by a similar find at Lowestoft.
It is interesting to note that among the fragments found, not a single piece is of Delft or common earthenware, but all are of porcelain. The designs of many of them are of Chinese landscapes, with flowers, figures, and birds. Their general character may be gathered from sketch of four examples. They are all painted in blue with the exception of a cup painted with green leaves and crimson-lake flowers. None of the pieces is printed, but all are painted with a brush. The other two illustrations we give are of china ornamented in relief, the favourite pattern being the mayflower. Each of these Bow cups is a typical example. The design stands out very sharply, and is raised from the surface of the china. The cups are rather heavy for their size.
Among the débris were found many pieces of an ornamental character, a salt-cellar beautifully modelled, formed of three shells, with smaller shells and seaweed between, but the upper shell to hold the salt is missing. Pieces of dishes, evidently intended to hold sweetmeats, were unearthed from this sewer hole, with finely designed corals and shells and seaweeds. Some natural shells were also found, which had evidently served the artists as models. Two china pug-dogs were discovered with collars bearing roses on them.