ENGLISH, BOW WARE (CIRCA 1754-58)

The Sima Guang design was reproduced by the Bow factory between 1754 and 1758 and the Chelsea factory around 1755. The bowl closely imitates the Arita prototype (see lot 21) although the color and greater weight of the body and the handling and luminosity of the enamels distinguish it from the original. The Chelsea pattern has been known since release by the name 'Hob in the well,' apparently after a popular play called "Flora or Hob in the well" published by Thomas Doggett in 1698 and adapted by Colley Cibber in 1711. For a Chelsea example see John Ayers et al., Porcelain for Palaces: The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650--1750, exh. cat. (London: Oriental Ceramic Society and British Museum, 1990), pl. 193.