Lot 387
An important Lowestoft tea canister, dated 1797
18 May 2011, 10:30 BST
New Bond StreetSold for £11,400 inc. premium
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An important Lowestoft tea canister, dated 1797
Of rectangular section with a curved shoulder, inscribed in black with the monogram MM above the motto 'Joy guide her Footsteps', within a puce monochrome classical garland, the reverse with initial cipher 'JDR' within a puce monochrome garland tied with ribbons, flowers painted to the sides and the edges picked out in bright blue enamel, 10.3cm high, dated indistinctly '1797' in red enamel to underside (cover lacking)
Footnotes
Provenance: The Godden Reference Collection. Illustrated by Geoffrey Godden, Lowestoft Porcelains (1985), colour pl. 12 and pl 228 and discussed on p. 236. Exhibited at Stoke-on-Trent Museum and illustrated in Eighteenth Century English Porcelain (1985), colour pl. XVIII and pls. 164 and 165. On p.203 Godden recounts the story of its purchase form David Manheim for the sum of £36 in October 1955. No wares of the same pattern are recorded, suggesting this was a presentation piece rather than part of a service. Godden suggests that 'MM' is the recipient of the gift and 'JDR' the donor who could be James Redgrave, John Redgrave senior or John Redgrave junior, the later probably being the painter of the piece. The connection is established by similar flower painting found on birth tablets made for members of the Redgrave family. See the example illustrated by Godden, op cit (1985), pl.166 commemorating the birth of Susanna Redgrave on 9 April 1794. It would seem likely that these tablets were painted by a member of the family as the painting is so much better than average. The group of Lowestoft porcelains inscribed by the same hand also includes the mug, lot 431 in this sale.