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Lot Essay
With the discovery of the present lot, four pieces of this type are now known. They include two scalloped plates and a waste bowl. All are linked by a common ground colour referred to by Giles as 'Sky Blue' and by elements of their decoration.
See H. Rissik Marshall, Coloured Worcester Porcelain of The First Period, 1954, p. 267 pl. 47, no. 948; p. 207, pl. 28, no. 626 and p. 10 a and b for the two scalloped 'sample plates'. Also see page 33 and colour pl. 9 for a discussion and cross-referencing for Teniers style painting from the Giles workshop including one of the aforementioned plates then in the Frank Lloyd Collection, now in the British Museum. Cf. R.L. Hobson, Catalogue of the Frank Lloyd Collection..., London, 1923, p.79, pl. 70, no. 340. See Stephen Hanscobe, James Giles China and Glass Painter (1718-80), Exhibition Catalogue, Stockspring Antiques, 9th-21st June 2005, Chapter 2, no. 23 where the plate in the Ashmolean Museum is discussed.
Dinah Reynolds, Worcester Porcelain in the Ashmolean Museum, 1751-1783, The Marshall Collection, revisits these examples on p. 74 and 75, no. 366. Here the author discusses the linking elements between the two plates and a waste bowl discovered by Christie's.
See an anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 29 January 1973, lot 183 for this bowl thrice illustrated in colour as the catalogue frontispiece. Again illustrated by Gerald Coke, In Search of James Giles, 1718-1780, Wingham, 1983, p. 165, pl. 41c and by Anne George, The Elegant Porcelain of James Giles, Albert Amor, London 1983, no. 1. This example is now in the Museum of Worcester Porcelain, Worcester.
Also see John Sandon, The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain Volume I 1751-1851, Woodbridge, 1996, p. 305 for a teapot and cover of similar form to the present.
It is interesting to note that the discovery of a teapot adds credence to the belief that these pieces were not made as salesman's 'samples' and were indeed a part tea or dessert service produced to special order, possibly for use by Giles in his showroom to demonstrate the quality of work that he was capable of creating. As all four pieces have the same ground colour, it is unlikely that they were made to illustrate the type of decoration that the Giles studio could produce. Giles had a wide repetoire of ground colours and rarely produced pieces in this costly colour. Furthermore teapots and waste-bowls are not the easiest of forms to transport. Lastly there is little documentary evidence to suggest that Giles sought business by the means of travelling salesmen.
In addition to the previously mentioned linking patterns, this example uniquely diplays both a red and yellow scale pattern cartouche, as well as familar Giles Japonism elements. See H. Rissik Marshall, Coloured Worcester Porcelain of The First Period, 1954, p. 74, colour pl. 22 for a yellow and red scale cup and saucer noted as 'the rarest of all scale colours'. The author states that at the time of publication it was the only known example.
See H. Rissik Marshall, Coloured Worcester Porcelain of The First Period, 1954, p. 267 pl. 47, no. 948; p. 207, pl. 28, no. 626 and p. 10 a and b for the two scalloped 'sample plates'. Also see page 33 and colour pl. 9 for a discussion and cross-referencing for Teniers style painting from the Giles workshop including one of the aforementioned plates then in the Frank Lloyd Collection, now in the British Museum. Cf. R.L. Hobson, Catalogue of the Frank Lloyd Collection..., London, 1923, p.79, pl. 70, no. 340. See Stephen Hanscobe, James Giles China and Glass Painter (1718-80), Exhibition Catalogue, Stockspring Antiques, 9th-21st June 2005, Chapter 2, no. 23 where the plate in the Ashmolean Museum is discussed.
Dinah Reynolds, Worcester Porcelain in the Ashmolean Museum, 1751-1783, The Marshall Collection, revisits these examples on p. 74 and 75, no. 366. Here the author discusses the linking elements between the two plates and a waste bowl discovered by Christie's.
See an anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 29 January 1973, lot 183 for this bowl thrice illustrated in colour as the catalogue frontispiece. Again illustrated by Gerald Coke, In Search of James Giles, 1718-1780, Wingham, 1983, p. 165, pl. 41c and by Anne George, The Elegant Porcelain of James Giles, Albert Amor, London 1983, no. 1. This example is now in the Museum of Worcester Porcelain, Worcester.
Also see John Sandon, The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain Volume I 1751-1851, Woodbridge, 1996, p. 305 for a teapot and cover of similar form to the present.
It is interesting to note that the discovery of a teapot adds credence to the belief that these pieces were not made as salesman's 'samples' and were indeed a part tea or dessert service produced to special order, possibly for use by Giles in his showroom to demonstrate the quality of work that he was capable of creating. As all four pieces have the same ground colour, it is unlikely that they were made to illustrate the type of decoration that the Giles studio could produce. Giles had a wide repetoire of ground colours and rarely produced pieces in this costly colour. Furthermore teapots and waste-bowls are not the easiest of forms to transport. Lastly there is little documentary evidence to suggest that Giles sought business by the means of travelling salesmen.
In addition to the previously mentioned linking patterns, this example uniquely diplays both a red and yellow scale pattern cartouche, as well as familar Giles Japonism elements. See H. Rissik Marshall, Coloured Worcester Porcelain of The First Period, 1954, p. 74, colour pl. 22 for a yellow and red scale cup and saucer noted as 'the rarest of all scale colours'. The author states that at the time of publication it was the only known example.