Early Worcester Teapot and Cover, Circa 1758.

An Early Worcester Teapot and Cover, of globular shape with rising looped handle, the slightly domed cover with acorn knop, painted in tones of underglaze blue with the ‘Dragon’ pattern, showing the immortal creature fanned out in its scaled form, flying across one side trying to catch stylised flaming pearls, the cover with further stylised elements.

Marks:
Workman’s mark in underglaze blue to the underside of the teapot.

An early example of the pattern which spans from c. 1755-1765, the dragon pattern was used at Gilbody, Chaffers, Vauxhall, Derby, Bow and Lowestoft. It was a pattern copied from the Chinese that proved popular with English society during the mid-eighteenth century. The rare early examples at Worcester, like this piece, have the scales carefully picked out. The pattern is also recorded in manganese on a bowl, in a private collection, dating to c. 1755.