A very Fine and Rare Chelsea Porcelain Apple Box and Cover, beautifully modelled with a high degree of naturalistic accuracy as a Russet-Streaked and mottled Apple, painted in delicate tones with red enamel striations over a yellow body with slight tones of orange and with puce, pale brown and ash grey spots on the fruit, with brown branch twig and green leaves to one end. The Cover which forms the upper part of the fruit surmounted by a looped applied Caterpillar coloured in puce with turquoise underside and dark puce segmented detailing to the body and the head.

For this rare form with Caterpillar finial see example formerly in the Thomas Burn Collection, Rous Lench Court, Worcestershire, illustrated R. J. Charleston and Donald Towner, English Ceramics 1580-1830: A Commemorative Catalogue to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the English Ceramic Circle 1927-1977, London, 1977 no. 123.
An example from the collection of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at Clarence House now within the Royal Collection of His Majesty King Charles III (RCIN 107365). Another example is in the Victoria & Albert Museum from the Lady Charlotte Schreiber collection.

Apple boxes are mentioned on the 15th day of the 1755 Sale of the Chelsea manufactory's stock, on Wednesday, March 26th, held at the Great room of Mr Ford in the Haymarket, lot 46c: "Four fine large apples and leaves for desart.’ In the eighteenth century dessert was regarded as an entirely separate postlude to the main courses of dinner. Elaborate and detailed recipes of the period describe arrangements for fruit and sweetmeats, jellies and candied fruit in all shapes and sizes. These displays were mirrored by the extensive range of elaborate naturalistic shapes created by the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory to be filled with popular delicacies and ‘surprises’ of fruit conserved or cooked in some delicate way.

Marks:   The inside of the base with small red enamelled anchor mark